Beat the Devil

Beat the Devil is a cult film with an incredible pedigree. Directed by John Huston from a screenplay written by Truman Capote, it stars Huston's buddy Humphrey Bogart, along with Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, and Peter Lorre. Beat the Devil is something of an anti-The Maltese Falcon, with Bogart as a down-on-his-luck businessman fronting a group of swindlers who are attempting to take control of a uranium mine in Africa. Heavy with irony and black humor, the shaggy dog tale was a flop with moviegoing audiences but it found admirers years later for the dry wit of Capote's script and the wry attitude of Huston's direction. With the benefit of hindsight, this has a much more modern quality than most films of its era (Roger Ebert included it in his Great Movies series). Independently produced, Beat the Devil fell into the public domain decades ago, which means that it does not belong to a major studio, and—unfortunately—film elements were not preserved or protected. Most home video editions are poorly-mastered transfers from inferior prints. Film Detective, a new company following the example set by Kino Classics with its high-quality editions of public domain films, has mastered this release from a good quality 35mm print. Although the image is a little soft, the transfer is clean, detailed, and presented in the proper aspect ratio. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)