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Beat the Devil (1953)

Director(s) John Huston
Producer(s) Humphrey Bogart (uncredited), John Huston, John Woolf (uncredited), Jack Clayton, Angelo Rizzoli (uncredited)
Top Genres Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Film Adaptation, Romance
Top Topics Book-Based
More Films Directed by John Huston More Films Produced by Jack Clayton More Films from 1953 More Films from the 1950s Top Classic Movies of the 1950s Top Book-Based Films

Beat the Devil Overview:

Beat the Devil (1953) was a Crime - Comedy Film directed by John Huston and produced by Humphrey Bogart, John Huston, John Woolf, Jack Clayton and Angelo Rizzoli.

SYNOPSIS

John Huston and Truman Capote co-wrote the screenplay while working on location. A biting parody of The Maltese Falcon and other '40s detective movies in which Bogart often starred (and Huston often directed). The story follows a group of travelers on a steamboat who all hope to beat the others to the uranium fields of Northern Africa. While not a commercial success upon its release, the film has come to define the genre of spy movie spoofs.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Beat the Devil BlogHub Articles:

O Diabo Riu por Último / Beat the Devil (1953)

By Lê on Dec 22, 2016 From Critica Retro

O Diabo Riu por Último / Beat the Devil (1953) Alguns encontros são obra do destino. Foi obra do destino o primeiro encontro de Humphrey Bogart e John Huston. E é com um encontro que é uma verdadeira obra do destino que o último filme que eles fizeram juntos, “O Diabo Riu por Últi... Read full article

Sympathetic Liars: The Book of Mormon & Beat the Devil

By Judy on Jun 26, 2016 From Cary Grant Won't Eat You

Kooky. Bizarre. Silly. Odd. Original. It’s difficult to sum up the strange charm of Beat the Devil (1953), that Truman Capote-penned film* that fits no genre and makes no sense. You have the feeling as you watch that Capote must have been tripping, but his quirky personality, not to mention th... Read full article

Sympathetic Liars: The Book of Mormon & Beat the Devil

By Judy on Jun 26, 2016 From Cary Grant Won't Eat You

Kooky. Bizarre. Silly. Odd. Original. It’s difficult to sum up the strange charm of Beat the Devil (1953), that Truman Capote-penned film* that fits no genre and makes no sense. You have the feeling as you watch that Capote must have been tripping, but his quirky personality, not to mention th... Read full article

The Bogart Film Affair Ep 3 – Beat the Devil

By Bogart Fan on Nov 30, 2014 From The Bogie Film Blog

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Not too much to write this week since I’m still sleeping off my tryptophan overdose, but enjoy this week’s installment of ‘The Bogart Film Affair’ podcast as we dive into Beat the Devil! It’s a cult classic for sure, and if you enjoyed our ... Read full article

Beat the Devil (1953)

By Beatrice on Jun 29, 2013 From Flickers in Time

Beat the Devil Directed by John Huston 1953/UK/USA/Italy Rizzoli/Haggiag; Romulus Films; Santana Pictures Corporation First viewing #268 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die A group of scoundrels plans to smuggle uranium out of British East Africa in this noirish farce.  The plot is scant a... Read full article

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Beat the Devil Quotes:

Billy Dannreuther: The only thing standing between you and a watery grave is your wits, and that's not my idea of adequate protection.
Billy Dannreuther: Trouble with England, it's all pomp and no circumstance. You're very wise to get out of it, escape, while you can.
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Beat the Devil Facts
William Styron's second novel, "Set This House on Fire", describes a film crew on location - obviously based on director John Huston and gang during the shooting of this film. The town in the novel is Ravello on Italy's Amalfi Drive, where most of the film was shot.
Either the writer or the director was playing an inside joke by naming two of the characters 'Chelm'. Chelm, in Yiddish folklore, refers to a village in eastern Europe that is ruled by the insane.
At one point in the film, Ivor Barnard's character is referred as the "galloping major". This is the title of a film from 1951, also made by Romulus Productions, and starring Basil Radford. The Galloping Major in this other film is a racehorse.
This was the fifth and last movie that Humphrey Bogart would make with Peter Lorre. The other four were, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, All Through the Night, and Passage to Marseille.
Claud Cockburn (aka James Helvick) wrote the screenplay based on his novel. Truman Capote was purportedly brought to complete the script late in the piece when Cockburn left or was fired.
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