High Sierra (1941)

Mister, what does it mean… when a man “crashes out”? … It means he’s free.

A seasoned bank robber named Earle, Bogart, is sprung out of jail so that he can help out on a big job. He silently yearns for a quiet life, but struggles to stray from what he knows. Along the way he finds his paths are marked by two women. Velma, name, represents the “nice” traditional life he yearns for, while Marie, name, reminds him of the hustle. Conflicted, Earle desperately tries to keep his feet in both paths.

Writing

The story was penned by W.R. Burnett and John Huston. Burnett got his start with Little Caesar, both the book and the screenplay for the film by the same name in 1931. High Sierra is also an adaptation of one of Burnett’s novel’s, High Sierra. His other works include dozens of novels and short stories as well as other famous screenplays, like: Scarface, The Asphalt Jungle, The Great Escape, The Beast of the City, and many others.

His co-author, John Huston, was also an acclaimed filmmaker, both off screen and on. As a screenwriter, he wrote, Jezebel, The Maltese Falcon, Sergeant York, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, to name a few. He also had an illustrious directing and film career.

These two crafted an unusually compelling story of a gangster that is ready to put the life of crime behind him. However, it is all he knows. An idea that seems cliche today, but the 30’s and 40’s were full of gangster films. Sometimes glorifying them, typically to a tragic demise. In this case, the protagonist is not a hard headed gangster. Instead, Earle is making a conscious effort to make it his last job.

One of the interesting aspects is that he is not desperately trying to get out and haphazardly forcing it. He is introduced to someone that appears to be an escape for him, Velma, a taste of the life he never had. He makes it his mission to finish the last job so that he can woo the naive woman. His vision in his head is clear and his steps methodical. So methodical, that he overlooks the real escape, Marie.

Joan Leslie (left) as Velma and Ida Lupino (right) as Marie.

He has a stubbornness that you would expect from a gangster, yet has moments of malleability. He seems firm in his positions, but is swayed by reason once he gives it a chance. As he allows himself to accept the simpler path to freedom, he is still vigilant in his duty and stays sharp.

You would expect a film like this to come to a tragic end. Although, you would expect that tragic end to come due to the protagonist changing in a way that compromises the skills that made him a great gangster. You would expect the girl to the get in the way or for him to forget something that was a natural habit at the beginning of the story. Something that shows that he is getting soft and that softness is the cause of his demise. In High Sierra the downfall comes because of his duty to the job. His stubbornness to walk away without collecting his cut. It was his unwillingness to release the final tether of his gangster life and try to life free somewhere earning a honest living.

Ida Lupino & Humphrey Bogart – *High Sierra*

Early Bogart

Humphrey Bogart started on Broadway in the early 1920’s. He transitioned to film after the industry shift from silent to sound pictures and the great depression. He was in a slough of films in the 1930’s, including his breakout in Petrified Forest. However, it would not be until the 1940’s that he would reach a status of stardom. High Sierra was another stepping stone on the way to stardom.

Roy Earle was a more complex character than a traditional gangster film. He is a farmer turned gangster, that pines for the days of peace and tranquility on the farm. He is good at what he does and has killed many in the process, yet he is offended when the papers label him as “Mad Dog Earle”. A more traditional gangster character may relish, or be proud of, the title. Bogart plays into these nuanced character points flawlessly.

Bogart’s ability to simultaneously play a hard nosed and confident character as well as a sympathetic, and at times gentle, character, are what make his performances stand out.