Beat the Devil (1954)

Editor's Note John Huston and Truman Capote co-wrote the screenplay while working on location. A whimsical parody of The Maltese Falcon and other 1940's detective movies in which Bogart so often starred (and Huston directed).Tells of the exploits of a group of travelers on a steamboat who each hopes to carry off a huge swindle in 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.

	Marco Tulli
	Gina Lollobrigida
	Bernard Lee
	Edward Underdown
	Humphrey Bogart
	Peter Lorre
	Jennifer Jones
	Ivor Barnard
	Robert Morley
	James Helvick - Source Writer
	John Huston - Screenwriter
	Oswald Morris - Cinematographer
	Wilfred Shingleton - Production Designer
	Lambert Williamson - Music Director
	Ralph Kemplen - Editor
	Truman Capote - Screenwriter
	Franco Mannino - Composer
	John Huston - Director

"Harry, we must beware of these men. They're desperate characters. Not one of them looked at my legs." ---- Gwendolen Chelm (Jennifer Jones)

"Trouble with England, it's all pomp and no circumstance. You're very wise to get out of it, escape while you can." ---- Billy Dannreuther (Humphrey Bogart)

"Time! Time! What is time? The Swiss manufacture it. The French hoard it. Italians want it. Americans say it is money. Hindus say it does not exist. Do you know what I say? I say time is a crook." ---- O'Hara (Peter Lorre)

"Only the phonies liked it. It's a mess!" ---- Humphrey Bogart on the film

"The formula of 'Beat the Devil' is that everyone is slightly absurd." ---- John Huston on the film

Chicago Sun-Times
"...The movie has above all effortless charm....We can relax and share the amusement of the actors, who are essentially being asked to share their playfulness..." 11/26/2000 p.3

Sight and Sound
"Capote's dialogue is often witty...and the actors seem to be enjoying themselves." 11/01/2004