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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"High Sierra" is the story
of paroled convict, Roy 'Mad Dog' Earle (Humphrey
Bogart). Determined to stay out of trouble, Roy is
thrown back into the hopper of organized crime
when Jack Kranmer (Barton MacLane) comes up with a
robbery that just can't miss. Roy is bad, tough as
nails and raw as meat in a butcher's window. But
he's also got a soft side for two women, the
crippled nice girl, Velma Baughman (Joan Leslie)
and Marie Garson (Ida Lupino) the femme fatale
who's not nearly as wicked as she pretends to be.
Garson and two small-time operators, Red Hattery
(Arthur Kennedy) and Babe Kozak (Alan Curtis) are
planning the hotel robbery in the Sierra Mountains
with Roy as their front man. But Roy's usually
commitment to the plan gets sidetracked by his
desire to pay for an operation that will rest the
use of Velma's legs. Although the operation proves
a success, it corrupts Velma, turning her into a
party girl. Roy, realizing that he has once again
corrupted the thing he loves, goes through with
the robbery and becomes a fugitive on the run
forever more.
Great action and suspense! This Bogart classic is
an absolute must for anyone who appreciates great
performances and wonderful story telling. Ah yes,
I remember why it is that I fell in love with the
movies!
Warner's usual sterling quality is at work here.
The credit sequence is a bit rough and there is a
bit of instability in the original camera negative
but over all this is one fine looking transfer.
The gray scale is impeccably rendered. Blacks are
black. Contrast and shadows are well balanced.
There appears to be very little in the way of age
related artifacts. There are NO signs of digital
compression. The audio is MONO but nicely
rendered. Extras include a featurette that manages
to cover a lot of ground in a very short time. |
