I'm somewhat bemused by the amount of praise lavished on this movie by previous posters. Maybe in 1955 it came off better than it does in 2006. There's not much actually WRONG with it but when you see a name like Wyler on the credits you expect a little something extra. For me Freddie March has always been mannered, a graduate of the Paul Muni School Of Mannered Acting so I didn't expect too much from him and he didn't let me down. Bogie was excellent but then when wasn't he but even so he's just reprising his Duke Mantee, Mad Dog Earle, etc and offering nothing new and/or original to his portrayal of a hardened criminal with nothing to lose. There's a nice roster of Hollywood character actors embracing Ray Teal, Ray Collins, Whit Bissell, etc who turn up, say their lines and don't bump into the furniture. Despite a few 'outdoor' scenes this is very much an adaptation of a stage play where the intention - I didn't see the play so I can only speculate - would have been to highlight the claustrophobia and the 'opening out' has the adverse effect of diluting and neutralising the 'tension' of a family trapped in their own home by three ruthless convicts. Watchable, sure, but not more than once.
Review of The Desperate Hours
