The Bogart Collection-One

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    It seems rather strange that we have had to wait this long for a collection of Humphrey Bogart films on Region 4 DVD. Indeed it is a bit strange that despite the earlier release of The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon and Key Largo, Warner Home Video have not returned to the vast vault of films starring one of the greatest stars of the silver screen. However, I suppose I should not be churlish since they are now returning to that vault with another five new releases to add to those three earlier release, with the result being two box sets - The Bogart Collection One and The Bogart Collection Two.

    I for one offer warm applause for the initiative.

    On the face of it, the films of The Bogart Collection One offer an eclectic mix (well, as eclectic as any such collection from Humphrey Bogart can be) of disconnected films. But that really is not the case, for each of the films included in this first box set represents an important, if not pivotal, part of the man's career.

    The box set opens chronologically with They Drive By Night from 1940, important for two reasons. Firstly, it was perhaps the last time that Humphrey Bogart was truly a supporting actor as opposed to the lead. Secondly, it featured Ida Lupino and was directed by Raoul Walsh, both of whom were to feature in the next important film in his career. Interestingly, it is also perhaps the one film in this box set that still has relevance today - the setting in the trucking industry with independent truck drivers battling to make ends meet is a theme that many a modern-day independent owner-operator can still attest to. Whilst a little dated in some respects, it opens the set in fine style.

    That fine style continues with the second film in the chronology - High Sierra from 1941. This was arguably the second most pivotal film of the man's career, after his debut in The Petrified Forest, as it was the first film where he was truly the male star. Okay, he might not have top billing - that going to Ida Lupino - but in that respect this was also a pivotal film: it was the last time that he was anything other than the top billing. It is perhaps difficult nowadays to understand the domination of the gangster film during the 1930's and that also makes this film noteworthy: it is arguably the last of the great gangster films. A little clichéd at times, it still remains one of the high points of Humphrey Bogart's career.

    Third up is The Maltese Falcon, previously released as a standalone DVD and so the presentation of menus and extras is not consistent with the other three DVDs making up the box set. A pity that Warner Home Video did not take the opportunity to remaster the DVD to eliminate those inconsistencies - and to restore the film properly. Still, this was a pivotal film simply because it could be considered the birth of a whole new genre in Hollywood - the film noir. It is also important as it is too one of the high points of Humphrey Bogart's career, as well as introducing Sydney Greenstreet to the world. He would of course go on to make quite a number of films with Bogart.

    Finally we get to To Have And Have Not, arguably the most pivotal film of the four in this box set. Why? Ever heard of Betty Perske? Well, you probably know her as Lauren Bacall and this was the film that started arguably the greatest screen coupling of all time: Bogey and Bacall. It was also a personal high point for Humphrey Bogart, as he was to marry the sultry Lauren Bacall not long after the film was finished and they would be together until he died in 1957. On and off screen, it does not get much better than this.

    So, four very different films but all very important films. At the asking price, which will be very reasonable at the discounted department store prices, the value for money is obvious. There is simply no way of understating the desirability of this box set not just to fans of the man, but to those with any sort of interest in film.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

They Drive by Night (1940)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio Featurette-Making Of-Divided Highway: The Story Of They Drive By Night (10:37) Short Film-Swingtime In The Movies (19:10) Theatrical Trailer-1.33:1, not 16x9 enhanced, Dolby Digital 2.0 (1:52)
Rating
Year Of Production	1940
Running Time	91:10
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (50:44)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Raoul Walsh
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	George Raft Ann Sheridan Ida Lupino Humphrey Bogart Gale Page Alan Hale Roscoe Karns
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	Adolph Deutsch

    I guess it was only a matter of time before we finally got some sort of collection of DVDs for one of the true legends of the silver screen - Humphrey Bogart. Aside from some of the genuinely iconic films that he made, most notably of course the immortal Casablanca, there was of course the near legendary partnership of Bogey and Bacall that would just about have sealed him legend status alone. However, returning to his films, it is of course now difficult to remember that the 1930's still saw the great man as little more than a good bit player who could always fill a role in a gangster flick. He of course had burning ambitions to be so much more and it was finally in the 1940's that he rose to great prominence in his craft. So it seems quite fitting that what we have offered to us in The Bogart Collection One and The Bogart Collection Two are eight of his films from that era, presented in chronological sequence.

    The collection thankfully does not include Casablanca - it simply would not seem right to include that film in any collection as it would seriously overshadow almost everything else - but it does still include some truly great films. We start with a film that saw Bogey in little more than a supporting role - but it was the film that finally saw him throw off those supporting roles and hit the big time: They Drive By Night.

    Basically a remake of the Bette Davis vehicle Bordertown, in the finest traditions of the era where Warner's recycling of scripts was renowned, They Drive By Night was a vehicle for George Raft to finally throw off his dashing leading man image for something a bit earthier. Add in Ann Sheridan as the feisty female interest and Ida Lupino in her breakout role and it is hardly surprising that the fourth-billed Humphrey Bogart was nearly overshadowed completely.

    Joe Fabrini (George Raft) and his brother Paul (Humphrey Bogart) are struggling truckers, driving long hours whilst constantly avoiding the debt collector. Truth be told, Paul only stays in the game so as to not let his brother down, although his wife Pearl (Gale Page) certainly would love him to settle down in a nice, steady, boring, consistently paid job. Joe has a dream, though, of beating the game that keeps knocking them down - a dream of owning his own truck and making some real money for himself, maybe enough to buy a couple more trucks and really start making the big bucks. As it is, they currently haul loads for shonky businessmen who may or may not pay up for the work done. With nothing in the way of a family life owing to the long hours on the road, the dream may just be far too way out there to be realised - at least until Joe manages to catch the attention of an old trucker friend in Ed Carlsen (Alan Hale). Ed beat the game and now owns a very successful trucking company so gives Joe a tip on a load he could catch. He does and the result is a very handsome profit - so much so that when the debt collector comes a-calling, the readies are available to pay off the truck. All good things don't happen together though - no sooner are they out of the mire financially than those long hours, as well as an accident that killed a fellow trucker, catch up with Paul and the resultant accident ends the dream, as well as costing Paul his arm.

    With little option open to him, thanks to Paul's medical bills and inability to work, Joe goes to work for Ed Carlsen. He is a great success, but life is complicated by dames. On the one hand there is Cassie Hartley (Ann Sheridan), a feisty red-head waitress who worked at one of the roadside diners they used to frequent but who left abruptly thanks to the octopus antics of the boss' arms. Joe takes a real shine to her, but also finds himself the subject of the ardent wishes of his boss' wife Lana (Ida Lupino). Lana of course does not make things real easy for the likeable and hard working Joe, but no one expects the twist that is to come, following a party at which Ed gets very very drunk.

    Very much a product of its time, the story is nothing overly special and the acting at times is a little over the top (check out the antics of Irish McGurn as played by Roscoe Karns). That, however, is really nothing that will disturb those familiar with the era, for this also showcases some very fine talent. Star of the film in every way was Ida Lupino with her performance as the conniving wife. The final act of the film really is her tour de force and it is easy to see why this was a breakout film for her. George Raft was more than capable in the lead role, even though overshadowed by his female co-star. His performance certainly has an engaging believability to it, in a rather natural kind of way. Ann Sheridan also adds a very capable performance in what really was a modest role all things considered - although the first act sees her at her best. Humphrey Bogart's contribution to the cause was not exactly expansive and as many have noted his role tends to go walkabout in the second half of the film. Still, when he is on screen that laconic nature comes through like a beacon and it is very easy to see why he was on the cusp of his big breakout after years of supporting roles. Raoul Walsh adds a fairly decent guiding (directorial) hand to the film that keeps the story moving even when the lulls are found.

    They Drive By Night was a pivotal role in the career of Humphrey Bogart. It was perhaps the last time he was genuinely cast in a supporting role, but more than that it produced the opportunity to make his next film - which was directly and indirectly influenced by his cast and crew mates here. The film was offered to George Raft, who turned it down, and was to star Ida Lupino and was to be directed by Raoul Walsh. Humphrey Bogart was eventually cast as the male lead and the role boosted him to the top of the star league. That film? High Sierra of course. After that it was a succession of high profile films: The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Sahara, To Have And Have Not, The Big Sleep, Dead Reckoning, Dark Passage, The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, Key Largo, In A Lonely Place, The African Queen, The Caine Mutiny, Sabrina and The Desperate Hours being just some of the films that he went on to make. A fairly impressive list indeed!

    In its own right however, They Drive By Night is not a bad film at all and well worthwhile checking out, even if the third act sort of rushes to the conclusion a little too fast. Whilst it might have aged just a little, there is still a lot of common ground, and thus relevance, with the trucking industry today. I actually had not seen the film for a very long time (but don't ask me to tell you where and when I saw it as I cannot remember), but found it quite an enjoyable film. It starts the The Bogart Collection One off on a good note in broad terms.

Video

    The film had its theatrical release in about June, 1940 if I remember my readings correctly. Nearly sixty four years - that is a fair old age by anyone's book. So you sort of expect to make some allowances for what the transfer is about to give you. Like heck you do - I watched the opening credits of the film and could see that this was not going to require any allowances whatsoever.

    The transfer is presented in a Full Frame format that accords with the theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 pretty well. It is of course not 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is generally pretty good throughout and the source material used was in pretty good condition. Sharpness is good, with just some odd lapses here and there (excluding the intended soft focus in close-ups of the female stars). Detail is pretty good, although to be fair the production design did not provide any truly difficult tests in this regard. Shadow detail was generally very good, although just once or twice a little bit better again would have helped things enormously. Whilst there is some grain to be seen, it is nearly always of the minor variety and never presents any restriction to the image. Contrast was actually a lot better than expected.

    The black and white tones are a little more variable than I would have liked. At times the grey scales do get blurred a bit, but thankfully these times are rare and for the bulk of the film the grey scales are very good, with excellent definition. Blacks are generally a little underdone but not disappointingly so. Whilst not the best I have ever seen, this certainly is a very solid effort that rarely gives any cause for complaint (is this a good time to mention that during the review session there were no instances of any specific problems that I felt necessary to record - that is how solid an effort the video transfer is).

    There were no apparent MPEG artefacts in the transfer. There were also few, if any, indications of any significant film-to-video artefacts. At worst, all you would be able to complain about is some very minor aliasing in some of the sharper and more detailed scenes. Whilst there are certainly film artefacts floating around the transfer, they are less of an issue than I was expecting and rarely caused any concern.

    This is an RSDL formatted disc, with the layer change occurring at 50:44. Since this was only discovered whilst checking and confirming the DVD specifications on my computer, you can be assured that it does not present any interruption to the playback of the film.

    There are ten subtitle options on the DVD. The English subtitles are very good efforts, not too big either so that they don't intrude upon the film all that much - and yet still remain very legible. There are a few minor lapses here and there in the dialogue but nothing really that bad.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are two soundtracks on the DVD, being an English Dolby Digital 1.0 soundtrack and an Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 soundtrack. They might be mono but they certainly have held up pretty well despite the passage of the years.

    The dialogue comes up well in the transfer and is generally easy to understand. The only issue you might have is in some of the dialogue spoken by Ida Lupino in the latter part of the film - and that is the way it was supposed to be. There were no problems with audio sync in the transfer.

    The original score comes from Adolph Deutsch. I did not really notice the music all that much so that must be a positive - good film scores don't need to be overt.

    With any mono soundtrack of this age you are inevitably talking about something that lacks anything in the way of dynamics. Yet despite that, this is anything but a tiring soundtrack to listen to. There is a small amount of background hiss to be heard here and there but thankfully there is little else in the way of blemishes to worry about. Overall, probably better than I was expecting in all respects. Just don't expect an audio demonstration and you will get along fine with this effort.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Surprisingly, Warner Home Video have managed to put together at least something in the way of an extras package - and certainly an interesting package too. It should be pointed out that with the packaging being rather different for the collection, there is a booklet included in the box that provides minimal details (basically a back cover slick and inside cover slick listing chapters) for all four DVDs in the box.

Menu

    Actually rather good looking with some decent audio enhancement.

Featurette - Divided Highway: The Story Of They Drive By Night (10:37)

    A retrospective look at the film with contributions by several historians and authors, including Leonard Maltin. It looks as if this sort of effort will be a consistent part of the extras package on most of the other DVDs in the two collections. If they are as interesting as this effort, then we shall be well pleased indeed. The presentation is a mixture of recent interview material and excerpts from the film (with the odd behind the scenes image too). It comes in a Full Frame format that is not 16x9 enhanced, with the audio being Dolby Digital 2.0. Aside from being fifty minutes too short, there is nothing wrong with this at all. There are selectable English, Italian, French and Dutch subtitles.

Short Film - Swingtime In The Movies (19:10)

    At first glance you will wonder what this has to do with the main feature - and the answer is pretty much nothing until you note the cameo of Humphrey Bogart amongst a raft of cameos from studio headliners of the late 1930's (sorry about the pun). Written and directed by Crane Wilbur, this western musical comedy short is actually quite amusing, centred around the search by director Nitvitch to find the right female lead for his film. It mercilessly pokes fun at the unionised film industry, as well as the aspirations of every waitress in LA to be a movie star. The sequence where the director and his assistant demonstrate how the male lead should kiss the female lead is a hoot. It might not have much to do with the feature but it is a very nice inclusion nonetheless. The colour is surprisingly better than expected and overall the technical quality is not too bad at all. One short section is noticeably poorer than the rest of the film in terms of sharpness and colour, but nothing worse than I have seen in one or two features from the era. The short is in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, it is not 16x9 enhanced and has Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. There are selectable English, Italian, French and Dutch subtitles.

Theatrical Trailer (1:52)

    Actually the re-release trailer from 1951, the quality is a little ropey at times - indicating how much worse the feature could actually have been. The main problem is film artefacts, of which there are plenty including a reel change marking at the end of the presentation that is hard to ignore. Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, it is not 16x9 enhanced and features reasonably strident voice-over in Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. No subtitles for this one.

    The DVD is available as a standalone release in Region 1 that seems to be identical in content to this disc - barring the obligatory variations in soundtracks and subtitles. It does however come in a snapper case. By the reviews located, it would seem the overall quality is very much on a par with this Region 4 release. In Region 2, the DVD is also only available as a part of their version of The Bogart Collection Volume 2 - their two volumes feature different packaging as well as a different mix of films. The actual DVD itself is the same as the Region 4. So if you want the film alone, your choice is Region 1. Otherwise, there is nothing better than the Region 4 release as far as I can find out.

    They Drive By Night might not feature Humphrey Bogart in the lead role, but that is a minor issue. What is the issue is that the film is a pretty good one in all respects, the transfers on the DVD are better than expected and there is an interesting (and funny) extras package to complement the feature. A very nice way to lead off The Bogart Collection One indeed - recommended wholeheartedly.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

High Sierra (1941)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio Featurette-Making Of-Curtains For Roy Earle: The Story Of High Sierra (15:07) Theatrical Trailer-1.33:1, not 16x9 enhanced, Dolby Digital 2.0 (2:39)
Rating
Year Of Production	1941
Running Time	95:41
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (33:13)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Raoul Walsh
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Ida Lupino Humphrey Bogart Alan Curtis Arthur Kennedy Joan Leslie Henry Hull Henry Travers
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	Adolph Deutsch

    By the time They Drive By Night was hitting the cinemas, production had already begun on the film that was to prove the breakthrough film for Humphrey Bogart. Yet it was a film that he almost did not get a chance to make. Warner Bros. still looked upon Humphrey Bogart as barely more than a bit player despite a critically acclaimed performance in the 1936 film The Petrified Forest that first brought Bogey to the attention of the film-going public. So it was that the first choice for the lead role in High Sierra was Paul Muni, a big star at the time. Despite the screenplay being written by John Huston, with the original author W.R. Burnett to help, he turned the film down as he had issues with the story. Next up for consideration was George Raft, a man that always seemed to be between Bogey and the really good roles. As it was, Bogey passed a few comments and George Raft categorically turned the film down. So it fell to Humphrey Bogart, who had been desperate to play the role of Roy Earle from the first time he read the story.

    The rest is basically history. High Sierra was a critical and box office success, Bogey produced one of his finest performances on film to that date and henceforth he would be the top billing star in every film he made. He made some absolute classics and some would argue that High Sierra is amongst those. As arguably the last of the gangster films that had been the staple of Hollywood, and especially Warner Bros., throughout the 1930's, the film represented quite a pivotal place in film in a general sense. Bogey's next but one film would introduce an entirely new genre and become one of the genuine classics of American film - The Maltese Falcon.

    With quite a few of the cast and crew of They Drive By Night reassembled for High Sierra, it hardly comes as a surprise that the film was shot in 44 days and that it was a seemingly easy shoot - barring the time off Humphrey Bogart had in order to answer some ridiculous charges of being a communist that were levelled against him.

    Roy Earle (Humphrey Bogart) has unexpectedly been granted a pardon from jail, courtesy it seems of someone who wants him for a job. So he finds himself heading across the country to California and the high Sierras in preparation for a job at a nearby resort town. Along the way, he manages to avoid being killed by Pa (Henry Travers) who rather stupidly avoids a jackrabbit whilst Roy is overtaking him on the interstate. Pa is heading to LA with his granddaughter Velma (Joan Leslie) as he has lost his farm in Ohio and is seeking a new life out west. The two form a rather unusual friendship - the hard gangster and the gentle, naive farmer. Roy of course also takes a shine to Velma, who happens to be clubfooted - a condition that Roy happily assists in having rectified. The paths of Pa and Roy cross a number of times during the film. Back at the mountain camp in the Sierras, Roy meets the young guys with whom he is to conduct the job - Babe (Alan Curtis) and Red (Arthur Kennedy), with whom Roy is not exactly happy. He is even less happy with finding out that they have dragged along a dame in the form of Marie Garson (Ida Lupino). He wants her out of there but she does not want to go...

    Of course, hard nosed con Roy now has to juggle his softer side with the realities of doing a job - which is dutifully carried out but with poor consequences which has their insider singing like a jay bird as soon as the police descend. Roy and Marie must dodge the law in order to cash in on the big job. Unfortunately, all roads seem to lead to the high Sierras, where this story will be finalised.

    You can tell this is a gangster film - some of the dialogue really is mired in the clichés of the genre, most notably the immortal line "you'll never take me alive, copper!". I wonder how often that line has been spoken in film? But when it is all done as well as this, who really cares about the clichés? Very well directed by Raoul Walsh, it features a great performance by Humphrey Bogart and another fine effort from Ida Lupino. Whilst some of the rest of the cast is perhaps firmly mired in B-grade film school, the other stand out is the wonderful Henry Travers in another small role, but one that he makes truly memorable.

    There really is not much more to say about High Sierra. Featuring two great performances, a very well constructed story with two opposing aspects to be handled in the one character and some rather nice scenery, it is easy to see why this was the film that burst Humphrey Bogart onto a higher plateau as a star. For all the great films he made, this is still one of the best. Highly recommended.

Video

    Not much younger than They Drive By Night, in many respects the transfer is of very similar quality. About the only place where it is noticeably poorer is in the grain that is present throughout the transfer.

    The transfer is presented in a Full Frame format that accords with the theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 pretty well. It is of course not 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is generally pretty good throughout and the source material used was in pretty good condition. Sharpness is good, with just some odd lapses here and there (hint: female star...). Detail is generally pretty good overall although once or twice the whole thing just seems to get a little flat looking. This might of course be inherent in the source material. Shadow detail is generally good, although it never really comes into play that much. There is a fair degree of light grain present throughout the transfer and whilst it really does not get distracting, it certainly is noted with ease. Once again the contrast was quite decent, never getting too dark but once or twice early on definitely a bit over bright.

    The black and white tones were just a little flat and at times were not as good as I would have hoped. Certainly blacks are at times not as deep as I would have liked but overall the grey scales are fairly reasonable and quite believable. I guess the slight tendency to grey and grey rather than black and white is the biggest concern here - and that is hardly enough to worry about at all. It might not be the best I have ever seen but it is a long way from being the worst.

    There were no apparent MPEG artefacts in the transfer. There were also few significant film-to-video artefacts in the transfer. About all that was noted was some very minor aliasing in some of the sharper and more detailed scenes, with perhaps the most obvious example being at 7:05 in the base of the windscreen of the car and again in the car radiator at 71:43. There is a bit of wobble to be found on a couple of occasions but nowhere near enough to induce motion sickness. This is another clean transfer in most respects with comparatively little in the way of specks floating around. What is present is not all that noticeable.

    This is an RSDL formatted disc, with the layer change occurring relatively early at 33:13. Once again, this was not noted during the review session itself and was only noted when checking and confirming the DVD specifications on my computer. So basically it does not interfere with the flow of the film at all.

    There are ten subtitle options on the DVD - and in an unusual degree of consistency they are the same options as available on They Drive By Night. The English and English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles are good efforts, once again presented in a nice sized font that does not intrude upon the film all that much. There are a few more lapses here and there in the dialogue, so these are not quite as good as those on the earlier DVD.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are two soundtracks on the DVD, being an English Dolby Digital 1.0 soundtrack and an Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 soundtrack. Once again they hold up pretty well despite the passage of the years.

    There is just a little inconsistency in the volume level of the transfer at times, so whilst the dialogue usually comes up well in the transfer there are a couple of places where a bit of concentration is required. The dialogue is usually easy to understand. There were no problems with audio sync in the transfer.

    The original score once again comes from Adolph Deutsch. This time it was a little more distinctive in its own right and certainly good enough to draw just a modicum of attention to itself. It still does a good job in the overall film even though it is more obvious than the score in They Drive By Night.

    Once again we are talking about a rather non-dynamic mono soundtrack that is very near retirement age - so we simply do not expect nor get anything especially wonderful. There is just some background hiss that occasionally draws attention to itself but other than that there is nothing in the way of distortions or other blemishes. Once again it is probably better than I was expecting. The sound effects are pretty crappy (tyres squealing on a dirt road...) but nothing entirely unexpected.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Whilst not as good a package as that afforded They Drive By Night, at least Warner Home Video have tried and done so in such a manner as to present a package that is very consistent with that on the earlier DVD.

Menu

    Actually rather good looking with some decent audio enhancement.

Featurette - Curtains For Roy Earle: The Story Of High Sierra (15:07)

    In a very similar vein to the earlier DVD in the set, this is a retrospective look at the film with contributions by Eric Lax (Bogey's biographer), Leonard Maltin, Robert Osbourne (film historian) and Joan Leslie. Mixed in amongst the interview material is footage from the film, as well as photos. This is actually a rather interesting effort, not the least because of some of the information that is presented. There is for instance a good coverage of the circumstances by which the role of Roy Earle fell to Humphrey Bogart - having been passed on by both Paul Muni and George Raft. The presentation is in a Full Frame format that is not 16x9 enhanced, with the audio being Dolby Digital 2.0. Apart from the odd instance of aliasing in some of the photos there is nothing wrong with this at all - well at least nothing that would not have been fixed by another thirty or forty minutes of material anyway. There are selectable English, Italian, French and Dutch subtitles.

Theatrical Trailer (2:39)

    Just when you might start to quibble about the quality here and there in the feature, along comes the trailer and you realise how much worse the feature could have so easily been! Don't get me wrong - this still pretty decent stuff all things considered. It is just that it has a darker, slightly harsher look to it that does not bear comparison with the feature too well. The sound is also just a bit strident. It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, it is not 16x9 enhanced and features Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. There are no subtitles.

    The DVD is available as a standalone release in Region 1 that seems to be identical in content to this disc - barring the obligatory variations in soundtracks and subtitles. It does however come in a snapper case. By the reviews located, it would seem the overall quality is very much on a par with this Region 4 release. In Region 2, the DVD is only available as a part of their version of The Bogart Collection Volume 1 - partnered with Casablanca and Dark Passage (to be reviewed shortly as part of our The Bogart Collection Two). The actual DVD itself is the same as the Region 4. So if you want the film alone, your choice is Region 1. Otherwise, there is nothing better than the Region 4 release as far as I can find out.

    High Sierra is generally considered to be the break out film for Humphrey Bogart, the film that finally catapulted him to the highest echelons of his profession. Warners might not have agreed with it but at least they had the good sense to promote him as well as the film - for which they would reap the rewards over the next decade and more. Whilst he still did not get top billing - he did not really argue the point it seems - it was certainly the last time he was not at the top of the billing. Whilst not as memorable film as say Casablanca, it remains an essential film for several reasons. Aside from the effect it had on Humphrey Bogart's stature as a star, it probably represented the end of the gangster genre that had been the staple of Warner Bros. for nearly a decade. The next Humphrey Bogart film started a whole new genre - film noir. High Sierra saw a different style of gangster too, with the thuggish side tempered by a softer side - and Bogey carried it off beautifully. Perhaps the transfer is not quite as good as the film deserves, and the extras package is perhaps a little lacking (no special edition here), but the film is as good as ever. Terrific stuff.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	Theatrical Trailer Featurette-Becoming Attractions-Trailers Of Humphrey Bogart Main Menu Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	1941
Running Time	96:25
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (27:38)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	John Huston
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Humphrey Bogart Mary Astor Gladys George Peter Lorre Barton MacLane Lee Patrick Sydney Greenstreet
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$29.95	Music	Adolph Deutsch

    Based upon the novel by Dashiell Hammett, you can toss as many superlatives at this one as you can muster. I will not bother to add too many more as plenty of highly qualified people before me have added more than I can possibly add about this film. Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) is a private detective given the task of following a person known as Thursby by Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor). This little job has dire consequences for Sam's partner Miles Archer and it starts to become obvious that all is not as it seems here. Slowly Sam ekes the story about a fabled treasure called The Maltese Falcon out of a conniving Brigid, which becomes the focal point of the story. It seems that this fabled treasure is much in demand and so Sam receives a visit from the slightly mysterious Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) who just so happens to work for a collector known as Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) who has spent a long time trying to get his hands on the treasure. Sam, though, has his own problems as he is the prime suspect in the murder of his partner, as well as that of Thursby. So whilst trying to keep the police at bay, Sam engages in something of a tightrope walk in order to gain possession of the treasure and sell it to Gutman for a fair price.

    At just about every level, The Maltese Falcon offers up something memorable. One of Bogey's first really big roles, he is of course the focus of the entire film. And why not? In his own way, Humphrey Bogart was one of the most charismatic actors to ever grace the screen and there is no doubt as to why, when you see the way he carries this picture. But it is by no means all Bogey and the wonderful Peter Lorre makes yet another of his seemingly endless appearances in films of the 1930s and 1940s. This was the acting debut for Sydney Greenstreet who went on to make many films with Bogey, and he is quite memorable as the English collector determined to get The Maltese Falcon. The only real disappointment here to me is Mary Astor, as there simply did not seem to be any real chemistry between she and Bogey. But, perhaps my judgement is being clouded by memories of the truly great pairing that was yet to come. The cast must have satisfied the studio as they were all reassembled the following year for Across The Pacific, which was promoted as a sort of follow-up to The Maltese Falcon, even though it had nothing to do with the film. It really is quite amazing that this was the directorial debut for John Huston, who also wrote the screenplay, as a more memorable film first up would be hard to imagine. It was the first of a number of collaborations between he and Bogey, the most famous of which would be The African Queen from 1951 for which Bogey finally gained an Oscar.

    One of the truly great classic films of all time, this commands inclusion in any reasonably comprehensive film collection. Perhaps not quite in the league of Casablanca but certainly as worthy an inclusion as that film in any Top 100.

Video

    The transfer is presented in its original Full Frame format, and is of course not 16x9 enhanced.

    Part of the mild disappointment with the transfer, no doubt due to the lack of a full restoration, is the fact that there are some short sequences of the film which are rather damaged and this effects the overall sharpness and appearance of the transfer. A few sequences really are a little too diffuse to ignore. Of course, this is not a transfer problem but rather a source material problem. Detail is quite decent throughout, although obviously not in the league of a more modern film. Shadow detail at times is a little ordinary, but overall I was reasonably happy with this aspect of the transfer, especially considering that so much of the film takes place at night. Clarity at times leaves something to be desired and there are certainly a number of sequences that give the distinct air of having been shot through dirty lenses. There was something of a problem too with grain throughout the transfer, with the odd hint of low level noise thrown in for good measure. The overall transfer is good, but I really feel that it could have been done a whole lot better if some real restoration work had been done on the film. I really feel that this is an opportunity lost by Warners.

    This is not the most stunning black and white film that you are ever going to see, and really the overall lack of any real depth to the black and white tones is just a little tiring for the film. It never really descends in anything like murky grey tones, but the constant feel of the film is very grey. The lack of depth to the black and white tones is at least very consistent and we are thankfully spared the variability of "pulsating" black and white that can be an issue of films of this age. Whilst I would have perhaps expected a little better here, this is less of a disappointment than the lack of a full restoration.

    There did not appear to be any significant MPEG artefacts in the transfer, although there were some slightly noticeable instances of telecine wobble here and there. Nothing too extreme though, just the sort of minor issue that I do expect from films of the era. There did not appear to be any serious problems with film-to-video artefacts in the transfer, although there were a couple of instances where aliasing was just a little noticeable: the usual suspects of sharp edges are the culprits. The film is however riddled with film artefacts, comprising all sorts of dirt marks, scratches, blemishes and so on. Some are rather too noticeable to ignore, but perhaps no worse than we should rightfully expect for an unrestored film of this age.

    This is an RSDL formatted DVD with the layer change coming very early at 27:38. This is a very well-handled layer change, coming in a scene change and therefore completely non-disruptive to the film.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Dialogue is generally clear and easy to understand throughout and there did not appear to be any problems with audio sync in the transfer.

    The musical score comes from Adolph Deutsch, and whilst it is not the greatest thing ever written, it is nonetheless a reasonably complementary soundtrack that evokes all the right responses in a generally clichéd way.

    This is quite a decent monaural soundtrack and does a fine job. There is little to really worry about here as far as problems are concerned. There are no major flaws as far as distortion or congestion are concerned, and this is a quite clean sounding mono sound that is not in any way raw. Obviously we are not talking any sort of surround channel use or bass channel use at all. The soundtrack has been transferred at a decent level without any false boosting of aspects of the sound for emphasis' sake, with the result that this is a very natural-sounding mono soundtrack that conveys the feeling of the film pretty well indeed. It is pleasing to note that there has been no major remastering here so that the feeling of the film remains very much as I suspect it did on initial release all those years ago.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

Featurette - Becoming Attractions: The Trailers Of Humphrey Bogart (44:46)

• The Petrified Forest (1936)
• Bullets Or Ballots (1936)
• Return Of Doctor X (1939)
• High Sierra (1941)
• The Maltese Falcon (1941)
• All Through The Night (1942)
• Across The Pacific (1942)
• Casablanca (1943)
• Passage To Marseilles (1944)
• To Have And Have Not (1945)
• Dark Passage (1947)
• The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948)

Theatrical Trailer (2:39)

    A good video transfer.

    A good audio transfer.

    A good extras package.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

To Have and Have Not (1944)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	Main Menu Audio Featurette-Making Of-A Love Story: The Story Of To Have And Have Not (11:17) Short Film-Merrie Melodies - Bacall To Arms (6:13) Theatrical Trailer-1.33:1, not 16x9 enhanced, Dolby Digital 2.0 (2:42)
Rating
Year Of Production	1944
Running Time	95:58
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (33:49)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Howard Hawks
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Humphrey Bogart Walter Brennan Lauren Bacall Dolores Moran Hoagy Carmichael
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	Hoagy Carmichael William Lava Franz Waxman

    After the brief dip in the consistency of the presentation of the DVDs making up The Bogart Collection One - thanks to using the existing master for The Maltese Falcon - we return to new releases in the form of the fabulous To Have And Have Not.

    The film is the screen adaptation of the novel by none other than Ernest Hemingway, arguably the pre-eminent American novelist of the twentieth century. The film was directed by one of the true greats of American filmmaking in Howard Hawks. You know what? Who cares! Why? Because this film is simply about one thing and one thing only - arguably the greatest screen pairing of all time: Bogey and Bacall.

    Humphrey Bogart was by now a firmly established screen star and near icon thanks to a string of major films, some genuine classics including Casablanca and High Sierra. He was 44 when this film went into production. Betty Perske was a fresh faced model out of New York, who was just 19 when she finally convinced Warner Bros. executives that she was right for their latest film, and they went into promotion overdrive to sell their latest star - and changed her name in the process. The rest is cinematic history as Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall steamed up the screen, as well as off-screen, in one of the best films of his career - even though it rarely seems to rate a mention when his great films are named. He had only thirteen more years to live when the film was released and Lauren Bacall, his fourth wife, shared the rest of his life. They appeared in four films together.

    Aside from the immortal pairing in their first film together, there are other stories that abound about the film. The story is oft told that Howard Hawks once told Ernest Hemingway that he was going to make a film from the worst book he had written. When asked what book that would be, Howard Hawks replied "that piece of junk, To Have And Have Not" or something similar. The bottom line is that whilst it might be billed as Ernest Hemingway's To Have And Have Not, it bears not a whole lot of resemblance to the original novel. Unfortunately, the land of the free is oftentimes not exactly the land of the free, and in this case the setting was switched from Cuba to Martinique as the administration of the day did not want to upset a friendly neighbour. How times change, given that within twenty years Cuba and the United States would basically be neighbours constantly spatting over the side fence!

    Harry "Steve" Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) operates out of Martinique, offering his boat out for charter, mainly for fishing expeditions. His mate is Eddie (Walter Brennan), best known for his soft spot for the booze. Their latest customer has hired them for chasing marlin but Johnson (Walter Sande) is not the world's best fisherman and has managed to completely fail to land several of the best marlin you could ever wish to find. He also manages to lose some rather expensive fishing gear. He calls time out on the unsuccessful expeditions and owes Harry $825.00. Arrangements are made to collect the money the next day. Unfortunately, they still have today to get through. Into the picture comes sultry Marie "Slim" Browning (Lauren Bacall), who naturally enough catches the eye of just about every male at the Marquis Hotel. She makes the acquaintance of Johnson. Meantime the hotel manager Frenchy (Marcel Dalio) makes Harry aware of some people who want to hire his boat. Harry has a safety policy though - look after number one - and is not interested in the deal, despite the pleadings of the involved persons. This is French territory during the war and so you have Vichy against Free French - and Harry is not wanting into the politics.

    He has no choice though when the Free French leave the hotel and are ambushed by the local Vichy. Not only does this impact upon the money he is owed by Johnson but it seems he is the local authority's favourite pick for some problems. With the authorities ensuring that his means to get away are diminished, his options as to how to proceed are limited. He does, however, want to ensure that Slim is out of harm's way - even though she does not really want to go. How is this tale to end?

    For all the carping on about the direction of Howard Hawks, and let's face it he does do a good job here, such was the on and off screen chemistry of the two leads that basically even Michael Bay could have made a good film out of the ingredients. Whilst it was another day in the office for Humphrey Bogart, who by now had this sort of role down pat, there is no doubt that few if any could do it as well as he. Even he though takes a backseat to the young Lauren Bacall here. It takes no imagination to see why she so captivated the older Bogart, and few actors have had such a memorable debut on screen. With that renowned chin down, eyes down sultry look (the story of how it came about is told in the extras), you just knew that first scene was just a mere hint of the presence that she was to exert on this film. Indeed, so much so that the script was re-written as the film was being made to boost her role and diminish that of Dolores Moran (at the time apparently the lover of Howard Hawks). Whilst Walter Brennan is also very noteworthy as the drunken mate, everybody just plays second fiddle to that relationship between Bogey and Bacall.

    It might bear little relationship to the novel that spawned it. Its very name might be very difficult to reconcile with the content. It might well be rarely talked about as a classic film in its own right. But To Have And Have Not will always be remembered because this is where one of the greatest - if not the greatest - screen couples was born. In some respects it is a shame that the film is probably more remembered for that rather than the fact that this is a very good film. It might bear too many similarities to a raft of films made by Bogey - not the least being Casablanca with which it does have some obvious superficial elements and similarities - but this one is better than most of them. The sheer chemical overload between the leads just adds that additional level of "stuff" that makes the film very memorable indeed. Highly recommended.

Video

    With the first two of the new releases in The Bogart Collection One being better than expected as far as the video transfers go, it is a little disappointing that the third of the new releases is the poorest of the three. This is even more surprising since it is the youngest of the three (although youngest being a relative term when it is still sixty years old). It is still slightly better than the previously released The Maltese Falcon, but really it is very disappointing that care has not been lavished upon this film.

    The transfer is presented in a Full Frame format that accords with the theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 pretty well. It is of course not 16x9 enhanced.

    The problems here revolve around the occasionally jumpy nature of the source material, the more obvious film-to-video artefacts and the somewhat grainier nature of the transfer. The transfer is not as sharp as expected, with a few obvious places where there is a noticeable softness to the image - and these are not related to the presence of the female stars. At times detail is not much better than average as the transfer has a slightly flat look to it. In general though, this is still quite a decently detailed transfer. Shadow detail rarely comes into play and in general is quite decent. Unfortunately, clarity is let down by the increased presence of grain throughout the transfer - mainly quite light but in some of the processed images it is fairly heavy. Contrast is quite good overall. Thankfully there is no low level noise to compound the grain.

    The black and white tones again are a little flat and at times were not as good as I would have hoped. There is a noticeable inconsistency in the tones at times, with little width to the grey tones and a noticeable dearth of solid blacks. At others, all is forgiven and everything is pretty fine. I certainly would have liked a better quality in the grey scales and a better depth to the black tones throughout.

    There were no obvious MPEG artefacts in the transfer. There were, however, significantly more problems with film-to-video artefacts in the transfer. Aside from aliasing, which is occasionally present but rarely of any significant nature, there is some obvious moiré artefacting in window shutters for instance (at 2:27 and 44:11) and some cross colouration that is very hard to ignore (between 39:50 and 41:40, mostly in the fine lined dressing gown being worn by Slim). Aside from the jumping around of the image (especially in the opening credits and around the 43 minute mark) there is also some rather obvious telecine wobble at 84:55. All in all, this was most disappointing in comparison to the first two DVDs out of the box set. There are of course film artefacts to be found, but these are mainly just of the speck variety with little in the way of obvious film damage to be found.

    This is an RSDL formatted disc, with the layer change occurring at 33:49. The layer change was not noted during playback and was only found during the checking and confirming of the DVD specifications on my computer.

    There are ten subtitle options on the DVD, the same as on the first two DVDs from the box set. The English and English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles are good efforts, with only the odd lapse here and there in the dialogue.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are the same two soundtracks on the DVD as we have found on the previous three DVDs from the box set: an English Dolby Digital 1.0 soundtrack and an Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 soundtrack.

    There is a section of the film from about 67:00 on that runs for about two minutes or so where the dialogue is quite soft in volume and rather difficult to hear at normal listening levels. I was glad I have to check the subtitles too, otherwise I would have had little idea of what was being said at this point. Aside from that segment of the film, the dialogue comes up well in the transfer and is easy enough to understand. There were no problems with audio sync in the transfer.

    The original score is actually uncredited for the film. The songs came from Hoagy Carmichael, who also appeared in the film. The music was actually provided by William Lava and the renowned Franz Waxman. In truth the music is barely noticed in the film - but then again, what is when Bogey and Bacall are on screen? It does a fair job of supporting the film though.

    With this being a slightly younger soundtrack than those listened to earlier, we would expect the sound to be a little better - and it is. It seems to be free of even the background hiss at normal listening levels (at high levels you will still hear some), and there is little indication of any other sort of blemish. It is perhaps a little more strident than the earlier DVDs but that is not altogether disappointing as it seems to be overall a little fuller sound. The overall soundtrack is thus a very slightly better effort.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Whilst maintaining a consistency with the previous new releases from the box set, there is something somewhat different here - an animated short that is based upon the film.

Menu

    In a similar style as the first two DVDs, it is good looking with some decent audio enhancement.

Featurette - A Love Story: The Story Of To Have And Have Not (11:17)

    In a very similar vein to the first two DVDs in the set, this is a retrospective look at the film with contributions by Eric Lax (Bogey's biographer), Leonard Maltin and Robert Osbourne. Not entirely unexpectedly, the romance between the two leads dominates the rest of the material about the film, which mixes film footage and behind the scenes photos in amongst the interview material. Perhaps not quite as interesting as the earlier efforts, but still worthwhile checking out. From a technical point of view, it is quite decent although aliasing and moiré artefacting are still noted. The presentation is in a Full Frame format that is not 16x9 enhanced, with the audio being Dolby Digital 2.0. The film excerpts are quite hissy, indicating how much work must have been done on the soundtrack as the feature is nowhere near this bad. There are selectable English, Italian, French and Dutch subtitles.

Short Film - Bacall To Arms (6:13)

    Dating from 1946, this is really a hoot. Not so much from a laugh out loud point of view but rather from the way they portrayed the scenes from To Have And Have Not in the animated film. The Bogey character is rather too banally done, lacking distinction, but they captured the essence of Bacall so well. The animated short starts with the arrival of an audience member who proceeds to make a pass at the usherette (looking a lot like Bacall) before settling down to watch the feature presentation. Much of the action thereafter is a switch between the screen and the viewer, as steamy scenes are followed by the progressively more hormonally charged responses of the viewer. All well done. Technically it leaves a bit to be desired - clearly not restored and indicating that such would have been very much appreciated by all - with inconsistency in the colour and film artefacts, including some film damage. The presentation is Full Frame of course, it is not 16x9 enhanced and comes with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. There are selectable English, Italian, French and Dutch subtitles.

Theatrical Trailer (2:42)

    Want to take a guess how they promoted this film? Well, that would be rather obvious! So yes, you are right - it heavily features Bogey and Bacall. And why not since they make the film and the audiences came to love them so much? Of the trailers seen thus far in the box set, this is perhaps the most interesting simply because of the way they promoted the film. There are plenty of film artefacts floating around but not enough to become annoying. It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, it is not 16x9 enhanced and features Dolby Digital 2.0 sound that is somewhat strident. There are no subtitles.

    The DVD is available as a standalone release in Region 1 that seems to have the content on this disc, plus one other extra: the Lux Radio Theatre presentation of the production dating from 14th October, 1946. There are also the obligatory variations in soundtracks and subtitles. It does however come in a snapper case. By the reviews located, it would seem the overall quality is very much on a par with this Region 4 release, so that extra extra would certainly make the Region 1 version the version of choice. In Region 2, the DVD is only available as a part of their version of The Bogart Collection Volume 2 - partnered with They Drive By Night and Treasures Of The Sierra Madre (the latter to be reviewed shortly as part of our The Bogart Collection Two). The actual DVD itself is the same as the Region 4.

    To Have And Have Not is a generally underappreciated film from the Humphrey Bogart filmography, simply because everything was overshadowed by the start of the famed Bogey and Bacall partnership. That underappreciation seems to have extended to Warner Bros. itself since the video transfer is somewhat poorer than that given the first two films in the box set. Certainly the cross colouration indicates a distinct lack of care in the mastering process that is most disappointing indeed. The audio on the other hand is no worse than the earlier DVDs and is probably slightly better, complemented by an enjoyable extras package. Overall, this is a very good film that is well worthwhile checking out.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall