morrison-dylan-fan Despite having heard of him for a number of years,I have somehow never got round to taking a look at a film starring Humphrey Bogart.Taking a look at movie reviews on IMDb a few months ago,I suddenly stumbled upon what sounded like an excellent Gangster movie starring Bogart.Expecting to find the title on Amazon,I was shocked to find out that the film had not come out on DVD,or VHS.Sadly accepting that I would probably be unable to see the film,I was pleasantly caught by surprise,when I discovered a TV screened edition of the title,which led to me excitingly getting ready to see Bogart take a big shot.The plot:Lying in a prison hospital bed after surviving a shootout,Joseph "Duke" Berne is greeted by a former prisoner called George Anderson,who along with his girlfriend,wants to thank Joseph from stopping him being wrongly sent to death row.Feeling that this hospital bed,may soon become his death bed,"Duke" decides to tell Anderson about what led to him laying in this hospital bed.The past:Freed from prison after serving 5 years,Berne vows to leave his past life behind,and to instead "go straight".Soon after coming out of jail,Joseph runs into some old "friends" who ask if he can do them some favours.Angered about them trying to pull him back into the underworld,"Duke" pushes one of the gangsters to the ground,and tells him the that part of his life is now long gone.Being told by one of his (now former "friends" ) that a local attorney called Martin T. Fleming is interested in talking to him,Joseph decides to pay Fleming a surprise visit.Entering Fleming's office,"Duke" is shocked to discover,that a former long time girlfriend of his's named Lorna,has now become Fleming's wife.With having heard about Berne's past skills,Fleming asks Joseph if he would be willing to do "one last job",which would involve him working with a gang on Fleming's payroll to steal $100,000.Feeling that his back is up against the wall,"Duke" agrees to Flemings demands.Later that night:Getting ready to go out on his "one last job",Berne is stopped in his tracks,when Lorna's suddenly appears,holding a gun and telling Joseph that if he goes out to commit the crime,she will shoot him right away.Caving in to Lorna's demand's,"Duke" inadvertently ends up losing his last "big shot" at freedom.View on the film:Whilst the second half of the movie shows the title's age by featuring some…less than pc moments,such as one of the actors (not Bogart) covering himself with black pant,director Lewis Seiler and cinematography Sidney Hickox closely work together to give this wonderful Film Noir a raw,gritty atmosphere.Going "back in time" to the events that have led to "Duke" being on his "death bed",by stylishly scattering images and voices across Berne's eyes,Seiler and Hickox gradually drain any sense of light from "Duke's" shadow filled world,as Berne finds his "going straight" road to disappear into the darkness.Whilst Joseph Berne's nickname of "Duke" did leave me to temporary think about John Wayne, (aka:"Da Duke!") the terrific screenplay by Abem Finkel,Daniel Fuchs and Bertram Millhauser ruthlessly kicks "Duke's" body down their low-lit gutter street the moment his body lands on the hospital bed,with the writers showing Berne's big shot at freedom being something that he is unable to free from his shadowy past,and the ruthless corruption that will eventually choke the life out of him.Showing that despite starting the movie in bed,that he is not going to give a performance laying down,Humphrey Bogart gives a powerful performance as Berne's,with Bogart showing "Duke's" desire to "go straight" to be at the centre of the character's conflicted heart,as Berne's discovers that everything he desires and holds dear is connected to his crocked past.Joining Bogart,Stanley Ridges gives an excellent,gleeful performance as Martin T.Fleming,with Ridges showing Fleming to be prepared to do anything to get his hands filled with cash.Giving a vicious femme fatale swipe,the terrific Irene Manning gives a stunning performance as Lorna Fleming,with Manning showing "Duke" all of the temptations in front of him,as long as he gives up on his last ever big shot.

bkoganbing The Big Shot was completed just as the USA was getting into World War II and it would be many years before Humphrey Bogart once again played a gangster role. He ended his career as Warner Brothers gangster however with a good role that more than faintly resembled his High Sierra and George Raft's part in Each Dawn I Die.The story of The Big Shot is told in flashback as Bogart lies in a prison hospital. As he relates it, Bogey's a three time loser who if he gets another conviction it's permanent accommodations for him at the state's expense. Like Roy Earle in High Sierra, it's really too late for him to go straight.But what a surprise he gets when he finds his former girl friend, Irene Manning, now married to big shot criminal attorney and criminal mastermind Stanley Ridges. When they start taking up where they left off, it's the beginning of the end for Bogey.Like Roy Earle and Hood Stacey in Each Dawn I Die, there is an air of doom about Bogey's Duke Berne in The Big Shot. No matter what he does it will end bad for him as it does for those other characters. But the audience gets quite a ride. Best bit of action is that police chase with Bogart and Manning being pursued by upstate cops.Best supporting performance in the film is that of Chick Chandler who plays another convict Dancer with whom Bogey makes a prison break. Chandler did work in vaudeville and was a song and dance man and got to use those skills in the role. Also Stanley Ridges is one mean and nasty villain.This was the time that Bogart was between classics The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. Though The Big Shot is not up there with those two, it's a lot better than other stuff he was doing at the time like All Through the Night and Across the Pacific. This is a good film for a Bogart fan to introduce someone else to the charisma and persona of Humphrey Bogart without using a classic.

Neil Doyle HUMPHREY BOGART once admitted that he had to spend years at Warner Bros. dodging bullets and writhing around on the floor as a bullet-ridden gangster type, before being taken seriously in other roles. THE BIG SHOT is a prime example. It came at a stage in his career where he was on the verge of becoming one of the biggest stars ever, with CASABALANA giving him the iconic role of Rick and taking him away from gangster roles for awhile. But until then, he was still a full-fledged gangster star.Basically, it's a grade-B yarn with IRENE MANNING (who starred in "The Desert Song" opposite Dennis Morgan a year later), as his romantic interest in a cast that includes SUSAN PETERS, STANLEY RIDGES, MINOR WATSON and HOWARD DA SILVA.Bogart is an ex-inmate, a three-time loser trying to go straight and we see his story in flashback as he lies on a hospital bed. Lured back into a life of crime when he can't find a job, he joins Da Silva's gang and has to deal with romantic complications involving ex-girlfriend Manning, married to crime boss Stanley Ridges. He gets accused of being one of the armored car bandits and has to figure a way to get himself clear of a frame-up. Ridges frames him while posing as his lawyer and Bogart gets sent to prison for a life term.The prison break scene is the highlight of the drama and rescues the film from a slow pace that only steams up toward the conclusion. Bogart has a moral problem. A good guy (RICHARD TRAVIS) who tried to prevent Bogie and friend from making a jail break, gets accused of being mixed up in the escape. When a prison guard dies during the attempt, Travis has to take the blame.The plot takes a turn when Bogart decides he can't let Travis, an innocent man, take the rap.Summing up: Worthwhile for Bogie fans, but we've all seen this kind of crime drama before.

classicsoncall Humphrey Bogart portrays three time convict Joseph "Duke" Berne, with twenty years of prison time under his belt. But he's running gun shy now, as the next offense will put him away for life. When former cohorts show up planning an armored car heist, the Duke is in, until he runs into former flame Lorna (Irene Manning), now married to mob lawyer Martin T. Fleming (Stanley Ridges). He sits out the heist while the gang gets pinched, but gets fingered anyway by a nervous witness who's pressured to make an ID during intense police grilling.Now he needs attorney Fleming's help with an alibi, which comes in the form of young car salesman George Anderson (Richard Travis). Anderson's testimony will get Duke released, but small time hood Frenchy (Joe Downing), with a score to settle with Duke, rats out his involvement with Mrs. Fleming to her husband. The prosecuting attorney brings in Anderson's girlfriend who doesn't corroborate the salesman's story. Now Anderson and Duke both find themselves behind bars.Almost immediately, Duke starts planning his escape, and forms an alliance with The Dancer (Chick Chandler), a talented con man who will head up the prison's talent show. With the help of James Cagney lookalike Quinto (Murray Alper), who plants a gun under the warden's car to be retrieved by Duke in the prison machine shop, the stage for the breakout has been set.Meanwhile, George is implicated in the escape and faces more hard time if he doesn't spill his guts to the warden. With his conscience getting the better of him, Duke decides to turn himself in. What follows is a quite thrilling car chase scene over slick, snow covered mountain roads. Lorna takes a bullet in the chase, and when she doesn't make it, Duke's revenge on Fleming takes form. In a confrontation with Fleming, Duke gets his revenge, but takes a bullet himself.Told in flashback from the prison's hospital ward, "The Big Shot" is an interesting period piece. Note the sign in a scene from Sardo's Restaurant - "Italian Dinner - 60 cents"! The film's not in the same league with edgier gangster dramas like Cagney's "White Heat" or "Public Enemy", or even Bogey's earlier effort "Bullets or Ballots" with Edward G. Robinson. But it's not bad either, and a well spent hour and a half or so if you can find it. The film hasn't been released commercially, so you'll have to scour the late night cable movie channels, or source it from a private collector.