Beat the Devil
Bogart stars as Billy Dannreuther, frontman for a group of sinister "businessmen" stranded in an Italian port town, scheming for a way to take ownership of uranium-rich, government-owned land in Africa. Into this nest of vipers falls a naive British couple, Mr. and Mrs. Chelm (Edward Underdown and Jennifer Jones). As the lonely Mrs. Chelm flirts with Mr. Dannreuther, she weaves an outrageous tapestry of lies about her husband's financial and political interests, not realizing the ocean of deceit into which she is submerging them. Dannreuther's wife (Gina Lollobrigida), meanwhile, begins a flirtation of her own with Mr. Chelm, so that every allegiance is tested, every loyalty questioned in this romantic and criminal merry-go-round.
Originally the script, based on Claud Cockburn's novel (written under the pseudonym James Helvick), was penned by two of Huston's frequent collaborators, Anthony Veiller (Moulin Rouge, 1952) and Peter Viertel (author of the semi-biographical novel about Huston, White Hunter, Black Heart). But by all accounts, the resulting screenplay was lackluster and had been deemed "unacceptable under the provisions of the Production Code" by the censors. Producer David O. Selznick, who was not involved with the production but who was married to Jones, recommended that Huston call in writer Truman Capote (Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961; In Cold Blood, 1967), who had worked on the script of Selznick and Jones's Indiscretion of an American Wife (1953). Capote's touch, it turned out, was exactly what the film needed to be transformed into something unique. Capote wrote the script while on the set, working two to three days ahead of the shooting schedule. The resulting screenplay is spontaneous, unpredictable and, one could argue, unbothered by the obligation to form a traditional Hollywood narrative.
At times the film seems more like a literary parlor game than an espionage thriller, with dialogue scripted so intricately that one dare not laugh for fear of missing the next turn of phrase to tumble from the actors' lips.
The effectiveness of the film lies in the actors' deadpan demeanor. Rather than play the film as a conventional comedy, every line is delivered with utter seriousness, which only adds to the film's eclectic tone. Bogart was even more tight-lipped than usual, possibly due to an automobile accident he and Huston were involved in while being driven to a location in Ravello, Italy - an accident that badly cut Bogart's tongue and knocked out his bridge of front teeth. The devilish Huston couldn't stifle his laughter at the sight of the bloody-mouthed (but not seriously injured) Bogart, whom he remembered muttering in response, "John...you dirty, no-good thun-of-a-bith!"
Capote cut a strange figure among the uber-masculine Bogart and Huston, but the five-foot, squeaky-voiced, openly gay writer quickly won their favor. It is said that Bogart challenged the diminutive Capote to an arm wrestling bout and lost. When Bogart challenged him a second time, Capote insisted they wager $50, which the writer won by defeating the actor again. After a third match - and another victory for Capote - the evening degenerated to full body wrestling and Capote again reportedly was triumphant. "He put Bogie on his ass," Huston later said. "He was a little bull."
The actor and director were not merely impressed by Capote's strength but awed by his skills as a writer. "He wrote like fury," Bogart said. "He had the damnedest and most upside-down slant on humor you've ever heard."
Beat the Devil was the last of six collaborations between Huston and Bogart, and brought their partnership full circle as it spoofed the detective-story conventions that flavored their first film together, The Maltese Falcon (1941). In the roles of two of Dannreuther's confederates, Huston cast Peter Lorre (who had played Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon) and Robert Morley (in homage to Kasper "Fat Man" Gutman, as portrayed by Sydney Greenstreet). Both films are labyrinthine dramas in which one is never sure of anyone's true motive and the guiding factor in everyone's life appears to be greed.
Producer/Director: John Huston
Screenplay: Truman Capote and John Huston
Based on a novel by James Helvick
Cinematography: Oswald Morris
Production Design: Wilfred Shingleton
Music: Franco Mannino
Principal Cast: Humphrey Bogart (Billy Dannreuther), Jennifer Jones (Gwendolen Chelm), Gina Lollobrigida (Maria Dannreuther), Robert Morley (Petersen), Peter Lorre (O'Hara), Edward Underdown (Harry Chelm), Ivor Barnard (Major Ross), Marco Tulli (Ravello), Bernard Lee (C.I.D. Inspector).
BW-90m.
by Bret Wood
