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IMDbPro

Beat the Devil

  • 19531953
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
9.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,856
11,187
Beat the Devil (1953)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:58
1 Video
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureComedy
On their way to Africa are a group of rogues who hope to get rich there, and a seemingly innocent British couple. They meet and things happen...On their way to Africa are a group of rogues who hope to get rich there, and a seemingly innocent British couple. They meet and things happen...On their way to Africa are a group of rogues who hope to get rich there, and a seemingly innocent British couple. They meet and things happen...
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
9.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,856
11,187
    • John Huston
  • Writers
    • Claud Cockburn(based on the novel "Beat the Devil" by)
    • Truman Capote(screenplay)
    • John Huston(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Humphrey Bogart
    • Jennifer Jones
    • Gina Lollobrigida
    • John Huston
  • Writers
    • Claud Cockburn(based on the novel "Beat the Devil" by)
    • Truman Capote(screenplay)
    • John Huston(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Humphrey Bogart
    • Jennifer Jones
    • Gina Lollobrigida
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 144User reviews
    • 61Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Beat the Devil
    Trailer 1:58
    Watch Beat the Devil

    Photos125

    "Beat the Devil" Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, and Gina Lollobrigida 1953 Romulus/Santana
    Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, and Gina Lollobrigida in Beat the Devil (1953)
    Peter Lorre, Gina Lollobrigida, Marco Tulli, and Edward Underdown in Beat the Devil (1953)
    Beat the Devil (1953)
    Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, and Gina Lollobrigida in Beat the Devil (1953)
    Beat the Devil (1953)
    Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Jennifer Jones, and Gina Lollobrigida in Beat the Devil (1953)
    Edward Underdown in Beat the Devil (1953)
    Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, and Robert Morley in Beat the Devil (1953)
    Beat the Devil (1953)
    Beat the Devil (1953)
    Beat the Devil (1953)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Humphrey Bogart
    Humphrey Bogart
    • Billy Dannreuther
    Jennifer Jones
    Jennifer Jones
    • Gwendolen Chelm
    Gina Lollobrigida
    Gina Lollobrigida
    • Maria Dannreuther
    Robert Morley
    Robert Morley
    • Peterson
    Peter Lorre
    Peter Lorre
    • Julius O'Hara
    Edward Underdown
    Edward Underdown
    • Harry Chelm
    Ivor Barnard
    Ivor Barnard
    • Maj. Jack Ross
    Marco Tulli
    Marco Tulli
    • Ravello
    Bernard Lee
    Bernard Lee
    • Insp. Jack Clayton
    Mario Perrone
    Mario Perrone
    • Purser on SS Nyanga
    Giulio Donnini
    • Administrator
    Saro Urzì
    Saro Urzì
    • Captain of SS Nyanga
    • (as Saro Urzi)
    Juan de Landa
    Juan de Landa
    • Hispano-Suiza Driver
    Aldo Silvani
    Aldo Silvani
    • Charles
    Dave Crowley
      Julie Gibson
      Julie Gibson
        Alex Pochet
        • Hotel Manager
        • (uncredited)
        Mimmo Poli
        Mimmo Poli
        • Barman
        • (uncredited)
          • John Huston
        • Writers
          • Claud Cockburn(based on the novel "Beat the Devil" by)
          • Truman Capote(screenplay)
          • John Huston(screenplay)
        • All cast & crew
        • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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        Storyline

        Edit

        Did you know

        Edit
        • Trivia
          Humphrey Bogart was involved in a serious automobile accident during production of this film, which knocked out several of his teeth and hindered his ability to speak. John Huston reportedly hired a young British actor noted for his mimicry skills to rerecord some of Bogart's spoken lines during post-production looping. Although it is undetectable when viewing the film today, it is Peter Sellers who provides Bogart's voice during some of the scenes in this movie. However this cannot be confirmed.
        • Goofs
          Bogie enters the lifeboat wearing a plain suit but gets out wearing a pinstriped suit.
        • Quotes

          Julius O'Hara: Time. Time. What is time? Swiss manufacture it. French hoard it. Italians squander it. Americans say it is money. Hindus say it does not exist. Do you know what I say? I say time is a crook.

        • Alternate versions
          The original American release version was truncated and had scenes moved around, making a mess of the story line. The uncut version--released overseas by Romulus--was finally restored in the U.S. by Sony in 2016.
        • Connections
          Edited into Your Afternoon Movie: Beat the Devil (2022)

        User reviews144

        Review
        Review
        Featured review
        A Spoof That Works After a Half Century
        Hadn't seen this film in a long time and I'm glad to have caught it again. It's at the apex of black-and-white barely tongue-in-cheek comedies with a stellar cast that had a blast making the film.

        Jennifer Jones, beautiful as always, seems barely able to stay inside her role, laughter threatening to break out at any moment. Humphrey Bogart has a recurrent quizzical "Am I really doing this?" expression.

        Tied in with a gang of bumbling crooks seeking a fortune in uranium in Africa, illicitly of course, Bogart, married to a cute Gina Lollabrigida, falls in love with a faux English gentleman's wife as fast as his spouse goes for the supposed representative of the landed gentry. Of course cuddling and sweet words substitute for sex.

        Robert Morley, always funny, is the putative leader of a gang that can't get their act together with Peter Lorre shedding his customary menacing stare for a busman's holiday as a gangster with a sense of humor.

        The action ranges from beautiful Italy to a placid sea voyage aboard a rickety tub commanded by a rum-soaked moron whose Italian expletives are not understandable but who cares? The main characters, shipwrecked, wind up on an African shore where they're greeted by what today are embarrassingly stereotyped Arabs (I cringed at one of the European's comic invocation of Islam but then the movie has to be taken on its own terms and time, right?).

        The resolution is lame - the characters all look ready to leave the set and get drunk before undertaking a new film. But this is one of the best spoofs of the noir genre and what makes it fly is the ensemble of first-rate actors in roles neatly the opposite of those they were usually seen performing.

        Rent it! (Please)
        helpful•68
        15
        • lawprof
        • Feb 7, 2002

        Details

        Edit
        • Release date
          • December 17, 1953 (Italy)
          • United Kingdom
          • Italy
          • United States
          • Arabic
          • English
          • Italian
        • Also known as
        • Filming locations
          • Amalfi Coast, Salerno, Campania, Italy
        • Production companies
          • Romulus Films
          • Dear Film
          • Santana Pictures Corporation
        • See more company credits at IMDbPro

        Box office

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        See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

        Technical specs

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        • 1 hour 29 minutes
          • Black and White

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