On Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 5:43:07 PM UTC-7, Endymion9 wrote:

Just watched this for the first time. I give it *** out of five stars.
I had seen bits and pieces of it, but never from start to finish.
What I liked about it:
Edward G. Robinson. Definitely a scenery chewer. When that man gets wound up, its hard to keep up just listening. Can't imagine having to play of him on screen. I loved his first show down scene with Bogey, daring him to have a shoot out. Also, his fear of the hurricane scenes were outstanding.
Bogey. Perfect, low key wiseguy to play off of Eddie. There were some
scenes that came off a little weaker (to me). Like when he was explaining his life philosophy after the first show down. Loved his scene where he got Gaye the drink and took the slaps from Eddie.
Lionel Barrymore. Kept picturing Mr. Potter (It's A Wonderful Life) telling off Johnny Rocco.
Claire Trevor. Deserved her Oscar nomination.

Supporting cast of gangsters and cops. Thought all did well in their roles. What I didn't like about it:
Lauren Bacall. Not that she gave a bad performance. And she made me like
her character, Nora. Guess my expectations were just up there. She didn't seem to have many lines and seemed to be trying to act in almost every scene with just her expression. But unlike Bogey who seems to be a master of expression, she always gave the same blank glare. It never came off as the right emotion for me. Either when it was supposed to be sultry towards
Frank McCloud or when it was supposed to be anger/disgust at Eddie.

The Seminole group. Seemed to be a distraction and not add much. I can see how they were needed as a plot device to get the cops and gangsters together, but didn't think they added much after that initial premise. The cop chasing the brothers and shooting them, then expressing remorse all seemed a little contrived/forced to me.
Summary: Another great Bogey and Robinson performance. Enjoyable film to watch. Drug in a few spots, but always quickly got back to the interesting parts of the story.

--
Dennis/Endy9
~Some will sink, but we will float. Grab your coat. Let's get out of here. You're my witness, I'm your Mutineer.~ Warren Zevon
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My favorite scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITs-YX1yQ7o

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