The biggest surprise happens five seconds into the movie.
The star of the film is Humphrey Bogart. But the first name in the opening credits is … Ida Lupino.
In other words, Warner Brothers concluded that Ida Lupino – who I’ve never heard of, either – was a bigger box office draw than Humphrey Bogart.
“High Sierra” isn’t a masterpiece but it’s an interesting historical document. You can witness a man transitioning from movie actor to screen legend in real time.
Bogart stars as Roy Earle: notorious professional criminal. When we meet him, Roy has just been released from prison. And he already has a job lined up.
Roy and a pair of young thugs are going to knock over a ritzy Palm Springs resort. The simple plan is to bust open the hotel safe and walk away with $100,000 in rich folks’ jewelry.
While he waits around for the night of the caper, Roy finds himself in a challenging love triangle.
The woman who likes him is Marie (Lupino). She has had a sad, loveless life. She says that she was a “dancer,” but I think that’s the family-friendly way of saying that she worked at a Gentleman’s Club. Marie sees decency and inner goodness in Roy and falls for him hard.
But Roy only has eyes for the pretty farmer girl next door – Velma (Joan Leslie). Roy befriends Velma’s family and pays for her to have life-changing surgery.
Roy imagines a happy, peaceful life after criminality, with Velma by his side. But Velma sees Roy as a generous uncle figure, nothing more.
It’s Roy and Velma’s doomed relationship that makes “High Sierra” more than just a heist picture; and Roy more than just another gangster tough guy.
With few words, we see a whirlwind of Roy’s emotions: romanticism, vulnerability, and possessiveness. After a decade of B-movies, Humphrey Bogart finally got a chance to act. And it turned out he was the best.
I like that Velma rejects Roy flat out. An odd trend in classic movies is how the beautiful 20-year-old girl is always mooning over the 40-year-old leading man. And no one ever mentions the age difference.
To be fair, I am a middle-aged man; I do see the appeal. However, it was nice to have a realistic counterpoint: a young woman shuddering at the threat of having to spend the best years of her life with someone her father’s age.
“High Sierra” is a pretty ambitious little crime picture. And it vaulted Humphrey Bogart into the A List. “The Maltese Falcon” was released the same year and “Casablanca” came out in 1942. I think Bogart is the greatest leading man of all time. He certainly never got 2nd billing in the opening credits ever again.