Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1950s
    Movies - 1950s Movies - B 2 Mins Read

    Beat The Devil (1953)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Easily one of the most irreverent, tongue-in-cheek movies made under Hollywood auspices, Beat The Devil stands out for many reasons.

    First, the amount and level of talent involved here is truly extraordinary. John Huston directs from a witty, bitter script on which he collaborated with none other than Truman Capote.

    Cinematographer Oswald Morris was assisted by future cinematographic giant Freddie Francis, and even a young Stephen Sondheim made his way onto the set as the clapper boy!

    Then there’s the cast. Humphrey Bogart served as one of the producers, and it was his clout that enabled the film to be made in the first place. Onscreen he’s joined by Gina Lollobrigida and Jennifer Jones, along with two of the all-time great character actors, Peter Lorre and Robert Morley.

    This is a production where you can sense the actors had a tremendous amount of fun on the set.

    The story has something to do with uranium rights in British East Africa, but it’s not really that important. The movie was essentially made up on the spot. Huston tore up the original screenplay on the first day of filming, flew the young Truman Capote to Italy to crank out new scenes against a daily deadline and allowed his supporting stars, especially Morley and Lorre, to create dialogue for their own characters.

    Traditional rules of cause and effect are loosened here, thanks partly to the fact that the film was an independent, international coproduction. This led to increased creative freedom and financial autonomy, and the talents behind Beat The Devil plainly took advantage here.

    A one-of-a-kind movie that slipped through the cracks.

    TRIVIA
    Truman Capote spoke daily by telephone with his pet raven, and one day when the raven refused to answer he flew to Rome to console it, further delaying the production.

    Billy Dannreuther
    Humphrey Bogart
    Mrs Gwendolen Chelm
    Jennifer Jones
    Maria Dannreuther
    Gina Lollobrigida
    Peterson
    Robert Morley
    Julius O’Hara
    Peter Lorre
    Harry Chelm
    Edward Underdown
    Maor Jack Ross
    Ivor Barnard
    Ravello
    Marco Tulli
    Inspector Jack Clayton
    Bernard Lee
    Purser 
    Mario Perrone
    Administrator
    Giulio Donnini
    Captain of SS Nyanga
    Saro Urzì
    Charles 
    Aldo Silvani
    Hispano-Suiza Driver
    Juan de Landa

    Director
    John Huston

    Related Posts

    • Dunkirk (1958)
      Dunkirk (1958)
      The most ambitious Ealing film during the MGM period was Dunkirk, directed by Leslie Norman, with a script which fused a…
    • Love Me Tender (1956)
      Love Me Tender (1956)
      Early in his career, Elvis Presley realised that if he wanted to promote all his records, it would be impossible…
    • Big Sky, The (1952)
      Big Sky, The (1952)
      In Howard Hawks's The Big Sky, Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin are fur traders in the 1830s, journeying up the Missouri…
    • Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961)
      Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961)
      The most famous scene in Breakfast at Tiffany’s is the opening one - the one from which the film (and the…
    • Colditz Story, The (1954)
      Colditz Story, The (1954)
      One of seemingly dozens of PoW dramas made in the early to mid-1950s (The Wooden Horse, Stalag 17, Albert RN), this…
    • Rocket Man, The (1954)
      Rocket Man, The (1954)
      In the days before zero-tolerance policies and school shootings, kids were allowed to bring truth-telling alien rayguns to school anytime…
    • Beat Girl (1960)
      Beat Girl (1960)
      Exploitive censor-baiting beatnik drama that attempts to mix the beat generation of the late Fifties with a juvenile-delinquency storyline. Stars…
    • African Queen, The (1951)
      African Queen, The (1951)
      Set in German East Africa at the beginning of World War I this magnificent comedy tells the tale of an…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleBecause of the Cats (1973)
    Next Article Beat Girl (1960)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Saturday Night Out (1964)
      Saturday Night Out follows the misadventures of a group of […]
    • Riverside
      1 9 8 2 – 1 9 8 3 (UK) This 30-minute Arts Review […]
    • Sterile Cuckoo, The (1969) (Pookie)
      Liza Minnelli gives a striking performance as Pookie Adams […]
    • Man From Atlantis
      1 9 7 7 – 1 9 8 3 (USA) 1 x 75 minute episode 13 x 60 […]
    • Tickled Pink
      1 9 7 8 (Australia) 6 x 25 minute episodes 1 9 8 1 (Australia) 6 […]
    • Shadows, The
      Everything in British pop was American before The Shadows hit […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.