The Desperate Hours: Amazon.ca: Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March, Arthur Kennedy, Martha Scott, Dewey Martin, Gig Young, Mary Murphy, Richard Eyer, Robert Middleton, Alan Reed, Bert Freed, Ray Collins, Lee Garmes, William Wyler, Robert Swink, Robert Wyler, Joseph Hayes: DVD

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Humphrey Bogart is at his villainous best in William Wyler's taut home-invasion thriller, The Desperate Hours. Sharply adapted by John Hayes from his own fact-based novel and Broadway play, this marked a slight departure for Wyler, whose celebrated versatility is on ready display as Bogart--leading a panicky trio of escaped convicts--seizes control of a suburban family in the (dis)comfort of their own home. The domestic terror (similarly dramatized in the 1954 potboiler Suddenly) escalates as cautious patriarch Frederic March waits for an opportunity to retaliate, while the police (led by Arthur Kennedy) close in for an ambush. Viewers may recognize the home's exterior from TV's Leave It to Beaver, while its interior gives Wyler a sealed chamber for nail-biting advances and setbacks--and Bogey was rarely better at portraying ruthless, unpredictable menace. Poorly remade in 1990, The Desperate Hours remains a potent precursor to the many similar films (like Panic Room) that followed its enduring example. --Jeff Shannon

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Amazing, May 3 2004

By

lakshmipathy (India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Desperate Hours (DVD)

With all the thrillers, i've watched till date, The Desperate Hour is truely the king of them all. Humprey Bogart rocks in this movie and while March plans to protect his family with the unloaded gun, the tension grips high times. This is a classic that need to be in every movie collectors shelves.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Bogie, Nov 20 2003

By

Keith Garlington (Fordyce, Arkansas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Desperate Hours (DVD)

Consistent with so many Bogie roles, Humphrey Bogart plays a prison escapee, who along with his brother and a strongarm (small brain) take a suburban family hostage in their home. While this may sound very similiar to many of Bogart's earlier roles, there is alot to say for this film. Bogart is surrounded by a very good cast and was handed an excellent script (although there are a few questions that pop in your head as you watch the movie). Bogart does well portraying a man whose over-confidence and absolute reluctance towards going back to prison muddles his descisions and clouds his judgement.

The DVD is simple. Good quality picture and adequate sound. The extras are..well....not much extra at all. But the movie collector and Bogart fan must grab this DVD for your collection. Good quality DVD, great story, and a very reasonable price

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4.0 out of 5 stars Top-drawer thriller from Hollywood's 'golden age', Sep 4 2003

By

Libretio - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Desperate Hours (DVD)

THE DESPERATE HOURS (USA 1955): The patriarch of a middle-class suburban family (Fredric March) is forced to take action when they're held hostage in their own home by three escaped convicts, one of whom (Humphrey Bogart) is an experienced lifer with nothing to lose...

The first and only pairing of superstars Bogart and March is a tightly-wound thriller, written by Joseph Hayes (based on his novel and stageplay, inspired by actual events), and directed by Hollywood veteran William Wyler, distancing himself from the 'women's pictures' he had helped to popularize during the 1940's (THE LITTLE FOXES, MRS. MINIVER, THE HEIRESS etc.). Photographed in gleaming deep-focus VistaVision by Lee Garmes (SCARFACE, THE PARADINE CASE), the movie wrings incredible tension from the claustrophobic settings and frequent stand-offs between staunch family man March and embittered con Bogart. The movie's themes are fairly conservative and the outcome is never really in doubt, but this is a top-drawer thriller from Hollywood's 'golden age'. Also starring Arthur Kennedy, Martha Scott, Dewey Martin and Gig Young in crucial supporting roles. Unmissable.

The movie runs 112m 25s on Paramount's region 1 DVD, and the image is letterboxed at approx. 1.85:1 (anamorphically enhanced), the recommended aspect ratio of most VistaVision movies. The beautiful black and white photography is supported by a strong Dolby 2.0 mono soundtrack, and the disc contains English captions and subtitles. There are no extras, not even a trailer.

NB. Though nowhere near as dreadful as most critics would have you believe, Michael Cimino's remake DESPERATE HOURS (1990) isn't a patch on the original.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Only a 50's paranoia
I am such a fan of Bogie and Wyler, but although the production is impeccable, the screenplay is so boring, and the typical "happy 50's family" is so square, that I was... Read more

Published on April 18 2004

2.0 out of 5 stars Filmed In DesperationVision
Boring, boring, boring ...

That's really all that can be said for this William Wyler "thriller. Read more