High Sierra, Raoul Walsh’s trailblazing noir thriller is now 75 years old. The film was released on the 25 January, 1941.
Today, in most contemporary crime films we are subject to high concept plot devices and explosive special effects sequences. Such is the preponderance of these common techniques that we often left underwhelmed in the face of fire storms and bullets. Ultimately in storytelling the only bait that an audience will reach out for is empathetic characters. The success of High Sierra lies in its craftily written screenplay which John Huston had a hand in composing. Many setups seen in his later works such as The Maltese Falcon (1941) and The Asphalt Jungle (1950) played out in Walsh’s earlier film.
The story begins in prison where ‘Mad Dog’ Roy Earle (Humphrey Bogart) is given a pardon after serving eight years. Hearing that his former associate is newly released, bed-ridden heist magnet, Big Mac (Donald McBride) recruits Roy for a job on a popular California hotel. There are novices aboard including Arthur Kennedy and a tight-lipped dame named Marie, played by Ida Lupino. Roy travels to their hideout in the Sierra Mountains. Along the way he happens by a young girl named Velma (Joan Leslie) who suffers with a club foot. Roy befriends her grandfather, Pa and becomes endeared to the young girl. He wants to rescue her from the poverty of her family and restore her to full health. Their budding romance could not be better expounded under the night sky. “When you look at the stars you can almost feel the motion of the earth like a little ball with us hanging onto it”, Roy tells her.
Back at the camp Roy is briefed on the job by Mendoza, who works at the hotel. He is uncomfortable about the connection and in a terrific noir scene he informs the crew of an old job he was once in, the story of the gun that went knock, knock, knock. Earle has been here before, he is a veteran criminal and he is not going to be messed around. Also, the notion of a girl being in on the job is absurd to him and insists that Marie return to Los Angeles, but she refuses to leave. After concocting the plan the job goes ahead but not without a foil in the presence of a cop who gets shot in the process. The gang makes their escape and a thrilling chase ensues. Eventually Roy and Marie get away but not before Mendoza is captured by the cops.
Pirate patch Walsh, the director, was somewhat of a maverick in Hollywood at the time. He had already been in the business since the silent era working odd jobs before graduating to the director’s chair. Walsh was adept at handling various kinds of pictures and he was able to showcase his skills, particularly in the chase scenes through the mountain tops. He would go on to director other classic noir dramas such as Pursued (1947) and White Heat (1949).
The characters are richly played in the manner in which they are psychologically written. They have feelings, and react depending on their moods. When Roy is rejected by Velma after paying for her operation he is distraught and quietly enraged. Bogart is magnificent and was already the ultimate professional even in this early part of his career. He emanates toughness through more than just his dialogue. He wasn’t even a big guy but instead was more like a ruthless terrier with sharp teeth who wouldn’t let go. Loneliness was not in Earle’s plans for retirement and he must placate his ego and start anew. The characters in the movie are puppets to their emotions, enslaved by their own ideals and aspirations. Isn’t that the way of life, after all.
When Big Mac dies, Roy is left with the goods of the robbery, but Mendoza tips off the cops. Marie becomes Roy’s new lover and together with their wily dog, Pard (Bogart’s own dog, Zero) they set off to become fugitives. With new plans Roy resorts back to his old ways of meanness and intimidation. He couldn’t temper his overblown ego and was sure to feel the motion of the earth under his feet from atop the Sierra Mountains. How long can you cling on to this spinning ball of dust?
A Film History Magazine 