Noah (played by director Huston) and his Ark are also given first-class treatment, as is the story of Abraham (George C. Scott) and his wife Sarah (Ava Gardner), who try for decades to have a son before God finally blesses them with Isaac (played as a child by Alberto Lucantoni).
This joint Italian / American production also features, albeit briefly, the Tower of Babel and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, in which three angels (all played by Peter O’Toole) warn Lot (Gabriele Ferzetti) and his family to flee before God unleashes his wrath upon the cities (the image of Lot’s wife, played by Eleanora Rossi Drago, transforming into a pillar of salt is profoundly disturbing).
Though not a perfect film, The Bible: In the Beginning... has its strengths. The opening creation sequence (narrated by director Huston) boasts some stunning photography; it almost feels as if this footage, shot in Dimension-150 (similar to Todd-AO 70mm), was lifted from one of those excellent BBC Nature documentaries. In addition, George C. Scott and Ava Gardner do a fine job as Abraham and Sarah, whose exploits take up the entire second half of this nearly 3-hour movie.
The film’s best sequences, however, are those with Noah and his ark. Director Huston seems to be having a wonderful time portraying Noah, who develops a rapport with the animals he brings along (there are even a few comedic moments thrown in), and the set pieces used to recreate the ark are extraordinary.
Where the film falters more often than not is in its pacing. The opening scenes with Adam and Even drag occasionally, as does the subsequent segment with Cain and Abel. Even more bloated is the last half of the movie, featuring Abraham (there are a few exciting sequences thrown in to break up the monotony, but not enough to salvage it entirely).
Still, The Bible: In the Beginning... is a grand piece of entertainment, a big-budgeted religious epic with an all-star cast and a rousing score by Toshiro Mayuzumi (nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe) all doing their part to bring these biblical tales to life.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Released almost 50 years prior, John Huston’s Moulin Rouge is also quite stylish, and gets our adrenaline pumping in its very first scene. It's nighttime at the Moulin Rouge, and male patrons watch as courtesans strut their stuff, dancing boisterously to the Can-Can and other period tunes. Two performers in particular, La Goulue (Katherine Kath) and Aicha (Muriel Smith), have taken center stage. La Goulue inadvertently bumps into Aicha on the dance floor, and a fight breaks out between the two. The Moulin Rouge’s proprietor, Zidler (Harold Kasket), tries to intercede, and complains to anyone who will listen that these two ladies are impossible to control.
As Luhrmann did with his Moulin Rouge, Huston infuses these opening moments with vibrancy, excitement, and even a little bawdiness, all in an effort to show his audience how intoxicating an experience it was to visit the Moulin Rouge at the zenith of its popularity. But despite its title, Huston’s 1952 film is not about the historic cabaret. This award-winning motion picture is actually a biopic of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the infamous artist whose risqué paintings and lithographs shined a light on the city’s dingier areas, bringing the street life of 19th century Paris as well as the exhilaration of the Moulin Rouge to a global audience.
Crippled by a childhood accident that prevented his legs from growing, artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Jose Ferrer) spends his evenings downing one glass of cognac after another as he sketches the dancers and patrons of the Moulin Rouge. Mocked throughout his adult life because of his diminutive stature (the real Lautrec stood no taller than 5 feet, or 1.52 meters), Henri immersed himself in art and culture, accepting the hard fact that his condition would likely prevent him from ever finding true love.
His luck seems to change, however, when he has a chance encounter with street walker Marie Charlet (Colette Marchand). Smitten, Lautrec allows Marie to move in with him, and showers her with gifts. Alas, the romance is short lived, sending Lautrec into a depression that doesn’t break until his beloved mother (Claude Nollier) pays him a visit.
Commissioned by Zidler to create a poster advertising the Moulin Rouge, Lautrec paints what would become his most memorable work, that of the dancer La Goulue entertaining the crowd. Now more popular than ever, Lautrec befriends Myriamme Hyam (Suzanne Flon), a good friend of the Moulin Rouge’s biggest star, singer Jane Avril (Zsa Zsa Gabor). But will their friendship blossom into something more, or is Lautrec destined to live out his days alone?
Director Huston and his team, including Production / Set Designer Vertes and costume designer Julia Squire, do a marvelous job bringing late 19th century Paris to life, from the jubilant dance floor of the Moulin Rouge to the back alleys of the city’s seedier neighborhoods.
The supporting cast is also strong. Colette Marchand is quite good as the shifty Marie, whose true feelings for Lautrec are always in question. Also effective are Gabor as the flighty but talented Jane Avril (she even sings a few songs) and Suzanne Flon as Myriamme, Lautrec’s most trusted friend and the only person able to see past his deformities.
It is Jose Ferrer, however, who commands our attention as Lautrec. Using everything from knee pads to specialized camera angles, Huston and Ferrer managed to recreate Lautrec’s unique physical condition in a perfectly convincing manner. And because we are witnesses to the torment and pain caused by his underdeveloped legs, we understand it is the source of his sharp wit, his often-standoffish nature, and his occasionally short temper, all of which are matched only by his talent as an artist (even when depressed, he continues to work, turning out one masterpiece after another). From the opening scene, when Lautrec is sitting at the Moulin Rouge, sketching on a tablecloth, Ferrer conveys his character’s complexities and, eventually, his failings (Lautrec was an alcoholic, a condition that grew worse as the years progressed).
Nominated by the Academy for Best Actor (an award he had won two years earlier, for the title role in 1950’s Cyrano de Bergerac), Ferrer (who also plays Lautrec’s father in flashbacks and a few later scenes) is stellar from start to finish, doing his part to make this early version of Moulin Rouge every bit as enjoyable as Luhrmann’s 2001 masterwork.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Directed By: John Huston
Starring: Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer
Tag line: "Long live adventure... and adventurers!"
Trivia: Thus far, this is the only feature film to co-star Michael Caine and wife Shakira Caine
“We’re not little men, and there’s nothing we’re afraid of”.
The above line is spoken by Peachy Carnahan (Michael Caine), a former Sergeant in Queen Victoria’s colonial army. He says it just before he and his closest friend, fellow soldier Danny Dravot (Sean Connery), set out on a journey that will take them to Northern Afghanistan, which no white man has visited since the days of Alexander the Great.
Based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling (who is himself a character in the movie, played by Christopher Plummer), John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King is a grand adventure, featuring two actors at the absolute top of their game.
Having resigned their post in India, Peachy and Danny, always looking for a get-rich-quick scheme, stumble upon an idea that, if successful, will make them wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. As they tell their new friend (and fellow Freemason) Rudyard Kipling, the two intend to travel hundreds of miles north to Kafiristan, where a number of warring factions are vying for control. Bringing rifles and ammunition along, they plan to train an army capable of conquering the territory, at which point they will set themselves up as kings.
After a long and dangerous journey, they reach Kafiristan, and for a while everything goes according to plan. But when, during a battle, Danny is shot with an arrow and seemingly uninjured by it (the point struck a leather strap under his uniform, never penetrating the skin), the locals declare him the son of Alexander the Great, and worship him as a God.
To Peachy’s dismay, Danny himself starts to believe he is the second coming of Alexander. So, instead of packing up their new-found riches and heading home, Danny decides to stay and rule over his “kingdom”.
The Man Who Would Be King is, first and foremost, an adventure film, following its lead characters on a quest for glory and treasure. The journey to Kafiristan is a perilous one; the two nearly freeze to death while traveling through the snowy Khyber Pass (they are saved by, of all things, an avalanche). The excitement continues when they finally reach their destination, where they meet Gurkha soldier Billy Fish (Saeed Jaffrey), who once assisted the British Army and speaks perfect English. Serving as translator, Billy helps the two convince Ootah (Doghmi Larbi), the leader of an oft-invaded village, to accept their help. After training Ootah’s men, Peachy and Danny lead their new “army” into battle against a neighboring town, and it’s during this melee that Danny is struck by the arrow, stunning those on both sides when he simply pulls it out of his shoulder and tosses it away. All at once, their scheme to take control of the area got a whole lot easier.
Along with the adventure, The Man Who Would Be King is a story of friendship, of two men who have been through hell together in Her Majesty’s Army and, having grown tired of taking orders, are going into business for themselves. Caine and Connery are outstanding, deftly handling both the film’s humor (especially early on, in their scenes with Kipling) and high drama (when Danny becomes King) while, at the same time, giving their characters a larger-than-life quality, convincing us these two “ordinary” soldiers could conquer an entire country. As Peachy said, he and Danny are not little men.
And The Man Who Would Be King is not a little film.
Directed By: John Huston
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt
Tag line: "Storming to a New High in High Adventure"
Trivia: Director John Huston has a small role in the film, and a young Robert Blake makes an uncredited appearance
Studio Chief Jack Warner was against it, but John Huston insisted on shopoting the bulk of his 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre on-location in Mexico, a country the director once called home (Huston spent two years riding with the Mexican Cavalry). Moving the production south of the border proved a stroke of genius, the first of many that would help make The Treasure of the Sierra Madre a full-fledged Hollywood classic.
Times are tough for Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) and Bob Curtin (Tim Holt), a pair of Americans trying to make a go of things in Mexico. Howard (Walter Huston), a grizzled old prospector, tells the two about his experiences searching for gold, at which point Dobbs and Curtin buy as much equipment as they can afford and head into the mountains, hoping to strike it rich.
With Howard as their guide, Dobbs and Curtin do, indeed, find gold, but will greed and petty jealousies get the better of them before they can cash out?
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre has it all. First and foremost, it’s a rousing adventure, with the three main characters encountering a number of dangers during their search for riches, not the least of which are Mexican bandits. Facing off against one particular group, the gang’s leader, played by Alfonso Bedoya, tries to fool Dobbs and the others by claiming he and his men are members of the Mexican Mounted Police. Dobbs asks to see their badges, resulting in the film’s most famous line: “Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges!”
Huston’s direction is top-notch, with the noted filmmaker stirring up plenty of tension late in the film, when Dobbs, convinced that his partners are out to steal his share of the gold, slowly loses his mind. The picturesque, occasionally treacherous Mexican landscape adds a dose of gritty realism, while the cast is also in top form. Huston's father, Walter, is excellent as the aging prospector Howard, his boisterous performance earning him his one and only Academy Award (for Best Supporting Actor). As for Bogart, he is damn near flawless as Dobbs, taking what was a somewhat likable vagrant at the outset and transforming him into a potential killer.
Part adventure story and part morality tale (warning about the corrosive effects of greed), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre ranks as one of the best Hollywood films of the 1940s, and one of the greatest ever made.
Directed By: John Huston
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley
Tag line: "The greatest adventure a man ever lived...with a woman!"
Trivia: Walt Disney used this film as the basis for the Disneyland's "Jungle Cruise" attraction
One of the greatest adventure movies of all time, The African Queen also features a romantic pairing that is among the most unusual ever committed to film.
The year is 1914. The setting: Africa. Ignoring the war that has broken out in Europe, a pair of British missionaries, Samuel Sayer (Robert Morse) and his sister Rose (Katherine Hepburn), continue to deliver God's message in German-controlled East Africa. But when the German Army destroys their mission, critically wounding Samuel in the process, Rose turns to hard-drinking American riverboat captain Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart) for help.
Samuel eventually dies, at which point Rose climbs aboard Capt. Allnut’s ship, The African Queen, and the two set sail, hoping to avoid the many patrol boats roaming the river.
Rose eventually suggests they take the initiative and attack Germany’s most prized gunship, the Queen Louisa, but Capt. Allnut is more than a little reluctant to follow her advice. He eventually has a change of heart, however, when he and Rose fall for each other, a love that is tested time and again by the treacherous African river.
Off-screen, Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn were as different as their characters. Legend has it Hepburn even chastised both Bogart and the movie’s director, John Huston, for their non-stop drinking. Still, the two stars developed a mutual respect for one another that would develop into a lifelong friendship, feelings that carried over into the film as well.
And it’s a good thing, too, because for much of its running time, The African Queen is a two-person picture, focusing on the pair’s adventures (including an exciting scene where their boat floats helplessly down violent rapids) as well as their blossoming love affair.
Bogart and Hepburn are at the top of their games. For her turn as the puritanical Rose, Hepburn received her 5th Academy Award nomination, though it was Bogart who walked away with the Oscar for his performance as Charlie Allnut, marking the only time in his career he would win the coveted award.
It was Hepburn and Bogie who made this unlikely adventure/romance spring so convincingly to life, and the reason the film is still, over 60 years later, a classic of the silver screen.
Directed By: John Huston
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall
Tag line: "A cast as explosive as its story!"
Trivia: In honor of its connection to Humphrey Bogart with this film, Key Largo, FL hosts a Humphrey Bogart film festival every year
The first time I saw John Huston’s Key Largo was in 1984, on a day I was home sick from school. As I sat watching the film, I found myself so caught up in its energy and feisty dialogue that I completely forget how bad I was feeling. Clearly, Key Largo was the perfect remedy for whatever it was that was ailing me that day.
Former Army Major Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart), a veteran of World War II, travels to Key Largo, Florida, to visit the relatives of a buddy who was killed in battle.
James Temple (Lionel Barrymore), his friend’s wheelchair-bound father, operates a first-class hotel on the Keys, and his widowed daughter-in-law, Nora (Lauren Bacall), helps him run it. Mr. Temple invites Frank to stay for the night. But unbeknownst to them, some shifty strangers have also checked into the hotel, a gang of thugs whose leader is none other than the notorious mobster, Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson).
A lifelong crook, Rocco had been exiled by the government and banned from ever returning to the mainland. So, Rocco plans to rejuvenate his criminal enterprise south of the border in Cuba, just outside of U.S. jurisdiction but close enough for him to run things in the States as well
Rocco's plans are put on hold, however, when a violent hurricane paralyzes the Keys, trapping he and his men, as well as McCloud and the others, in the hotel.
Aside from being the fourth and final pairing of Bogie and Bacall (after To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep and Dark Passage), Key Largo also marked the fifth film in which Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson appeared together, which might explain why the banter between them is so sharp. At one point, McCloud is filling the Temples in on Rocco’s criminal history, telling them how big Rocco was in the rackets back in the days of prohibition. McCloud then looks at Rocco and says he knows exactly what the gangster wants out of life: "More".
Upon hearing this, Rocco’s eyes light up. He does indeed want more, and realizes that "more" is all he ever wanted. Taken aback by McCloud’s accurate description of both his past and his ambitions, Rocco responds, “OK, smart guy, what is it you want out of life?” to which McCloud replies, “To live in a world where there’s no room for Johnny Rocco”.
Key Largo is chock full of spirited gives-and-takes such as this, and thanks to the superior work of its veteran cast, the dialogue never misses its mark.
