Plot: Glen, Hal and Sam are three escaped convicts who move in on and terrorize a suburban household.
Stars: Bogart, Frederic March, Arthur Kennedy
Based on the Tony Award winning best play. Bogart had been outbid for the film rights by William Wyler and wanted March's role but was willing to settle for the supporting role of "Glenn" - the elderly leader of the 3 convicts. Much less impressive on 2nd viewing, "Desperate Hours" flaws become evident when seen twice. Take out the suspense, and there's not much to the story. The 3 crooks are rather standard archetypes, as are the "typical American" suburban family. The acting is excellent, although everyone is repeating parts they've done before (especially Bogart). The whole story suffers from being copied ad nauseam on TV/movies for the last 55 years. Wyler does an excellent job of disguising the movie's play origins, but its still a talky 112 minutes.
Summary: Not really a Bogie movie, March is the star. Too predictable to be other than a well done movie of its type. Rating **1/2
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