La bolgia dei vivi

You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939)

From the peak of classic pre-war Hollywood and "Gone with the Wind," anticipating the equally classic and more slick "Citizen Kane" and "Casablanca" in the next three years. And just before star Humphrey Bogart has his breakout in "The Maltese Falcon" in 1941. Things hang a little undecided here, a classic crime drama a removed from the early 30s Warner Bros. masterpieces, but unpolished for its time, too. Blame a modest budget.

But then again, this is rather good on its own terms, a standard gangster story with a message. And Bogart is strong, a bit more developed than his earlier gangster roles where he's a bit of stereotype. Bits of dry humor and disdain creep in, welcome Bogart touches. The main twist here is a sweet young man, really just a kid, gets involved. And how. Note the title.

The writing isn't always great, sometimes falling into cheap dramatic comments without surprise, or even avoiding basic believability. The action parts are good and well filmed (and they avoid unnecessary dialog). Some of the side characters are just filling roles without depth, or are clichés (the African-American reading the cookbook— charming and fun, or the good-hearted librarian in prison). Even the kid isn't quite right, as if he's playing what he thinks he should instead of inhabiting the role.

Bogart, however, is a whole different class of actor in all of this, and he's the reason to watch. The last twenty minutes click along really nicely. Not an awful film in all, but be prepared for some routine stuff between the highlights.