High Sierra (1941)

After being released from prison, notorious thief Roy Earle is hired by his old boss to help a group of inexperienced criminals plan and carry out the robbery of a California resort.

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

John Huston (screen play), W.R. Burnett (screen play)

Stars:

Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Curtis

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ida Lupino	...	Marie
Humphrey Bogart	...	Roy Earle
Alan Curtis	...	'Babe'
Arthur Kennedy	...	'Red'
Joan Leslie	...	Velma
Henry Hull	...	'Doc' Banton
Henry Travers	...	Pa
Jerome Cowan	...	Healy
Minna Gombell	...	Mrs. Baughmam
Barton MacLane	...	Jake Kranmer
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Ma (as Elizabeth Risdon)
Cornel Wilde	...	Louis Mendoza
Donald MacBride	...	Big Mac
Paul Harvey	...	Mr. Baughmam
Isabel Jewell	...	Blonde

Storyline

Roy 'Mad Dog' Earle is broken out of prison by an old associate who wants him to help with an upcoming robbery. When the robbery goes wrong and a man is shot and killed Earle is forced to go on the run, and with the police and an angry press hot on his tail he eventually takes refuge among the peaks of the Sierra Nevadas, where a tense siege ensues. But will the Police make him regret the attachments he formed with two women during the brief planning of the robbery.

---

Plot Keywords:

mountain | mountain road | heist | mob boss | farmer | 

---

Taglines:

Towering Thrills with this Year's Academy Award Star!

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Ida Lupino found herself unable to cry during the film's final scene, co-star Humphrey Bogart coaxed her into it by telling her, "Listen, doll, if you can't cry, I'm going to take the picture away from you." Despite this, Lupino disliked Bogart's verbal treatment of her, and refused to accept another co-starring role with him in Out of the Fog (1941). He was replaced by John Garfield.

---

Goofs

About 10 minutes into the movie, when Earle is driving up to the cabin, you see Algernon sleeping in a chair with Pard, the dog, near his feet sleeping on a box. The scene then cuts back to Earle looking at them asleep and you see Pard then at the head of Algernon sleeping on top of a barrel. The scene pans across the two sleeping and then shows Earle honking his horn to awaken them. As Algernon rises the scene then cuts back to a full view so that you now see Pard back at his feet on the box.

---

Quotes

Art: If I didn't know where they were from, I'd think they were phony.
Roy Earle: Poor old Mac. There he was lying dead with $500,000 beside him. Well, it's all yours and all I want is my cut.
Art: You gonna have to wait a few days for that Roy;
Roy Earle: [surprised and annoyed] What?
Art: Don't look at me like that. my share you can put in your eye. Larry's the head man now that Mac's gone.
Roy Earle: Kansas City?
Art: That's him. He's flying out. Now, you leave the stuff with me and hide out for a while. I can help you out a little.
Roy Earle: Are you trying to ...
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

"Pard" as Portrayed By "Zero"

---

Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer colorized version.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: War of the Colossal Beast (1991)

---

Soundtracks

I Get a Kick out of You (1934)
(uncredited)
Written by Cole Porter
Played on a record at Velma's Home
Danced to by Joan Leslie and John Eldredge

User Reviews

Ida Lupino easily equals Lauren Bacall.

The first thing to bear in mind is that there are actually TWO movies."High sierra" and its western remake "Colorado territory" (1949),both Walsh 's works.The latter is probably superior to the former,since the final is more impressive,but you should not underestimate it though;Humphrey Bogart is much better than Joel McCrea and Ida Lupino is at least as good as Virginia Mayo:actually,except for Lauren Bacall,Ingrid Bergman and Katherine Hepburn,rarely a Bogart's female partner had such an intensity,such a presence :sometimes she even steals the show,particularly in the last scenes.

There are two female parts in Walsh's movie -as in the remake,in which the second one is played by none other than Dorothy Malone- Lupino's bad gal with a strong heart,whose stature keeps on growing during the whole movie:a gangster's moll at the beginning of the story,she becomes a tragic character whose pursuit of happiness is moving at the end.On the other hand the crippled girl,who seems a sweet ,romantic (check the scene of the stars),and touching heroine,becomes an hateful silly goose when she's had the operation.And she 's changed physically as well:she grew into a sophisticated girl,we hardly know her in her last scene.

The car chases are masterfully filmed ,the grandiose landscapes lovingly filmed as if they were seen through Bogart's eye ,this man who had been in jail for a long time and who longed for freedom...this freedom he would earn anyway.Ida Lupino's last words will move you to tears.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

High Sierra

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$455,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1