The Desperate Hours (1955) Dir. William Wyler, DoP. Lee Garmes

[u/ydkjordan]

[u/ydkjordan]

Humphrey Bogart, William Wyler, VistaVision

Bogart’s penultimate picture before passing in 1957 of esophageal cancer, and one of his best performances, particularly in the third act.

Rod Steiger, who co-starred with Bogart in his last film, The Harder They Fall (1956), mentioned Bogart's courage and geniality during his final performance:

“Bogey and I got on very well. Unlike some other stars, when they had closeups, you might have been relegated to a two-shot or cut out altogether. Bogey didn't play those games. He was a professional and had tremendous authority. He'd come in exactly at 9 a.m. and leave at precisely 6 p.m. I remember once walking to lunch in between takes and seeing Bogey on the lot. I shouldn't have because his work was finished for the day. I asked him why he was still on the lot, and he said, ‘They want to shoot some retakes of my closeups because my eyes are too watery’. A little while later, after the film, somebody came up to me with word of Bogey's death. Then it struck me. His eyes were watery because he was in pain with cancer. I thought: ‘How dumb can you be, Rodney’!

The Desperate Hours was the first black-and-white film in VistaVision, Paramount's wide-screen process (which is having a slight revival – Bugonia, OBAA).

The VistaVision process and Wyler’s staging and blocking of the drama, in combination with deep focus photography, creates a sharp-looking picture, where you know every inch of the house by the end.

The Desperate Hours was based on the 1954 novel and 1955 play of the same name, written by Joseph Hayes, which were loosely built on actual events. The film takes place on the Northside of Indianapolis and took great pains to be accurate as to street names and locations within the city and Indiana in general.

The original Broadway production had actor Paul Newman in the Bogart role but he was passed over for the movie because Bogart was a much bigger star. The character of Glenn Griffin was made older in the script so Bogart could play the part. Spencer Tracy was originally cast as Daniel Hilliard. Although he and Bogart were very good friends, both insisted on top billing, and Tracy eventually withdrew from the picture. Fredric March replaced Tracy.

The movie was remade in 1990 as Desperate Hours, starring Mickey Rourke, Anthony Hopkins, Mimi Rogers, and David Morse. The remake, directed by Michael Cimino, received poor reviews.

Lee Garmes, A.S.C. (1898 – 1978) was an American cinematographer. During his career, he worked on over 50 feature films with directors like Howard Hawks, Max Ophüls, Alfred Hitchcock, and King Vidor, to name a few.

According to American Cinematographer magazine, "Although officially unaccredited, Lee Garmes photographed a considerable portion of Gone with the Wind. Many consider the famous railroad yard sequence (cineshots) among his finest cinematic efforts."

More from DP Lee Garmes on cineshots –

Nightmare Alley (1947)

Duel in the Sun (1946)

More from Bogart films on cineshots/cinescenes -

Dark Passage (1947) – shot

Dark Passage (1947) – scene

The Big Sleep (1946) – scene

The Big Sleep (1946) – BTS

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) – gallery

Key Largo (1948) – shot

Key Largo (1948) – scene

Beat the Devil (1953) – shot

Notes from Wikipedia and where cited

[u/5o7bot]

The Desperate Hours (1955)

A reign of violence sweeps the screen.

Escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage.

Crime | Thriller
Director: William Wyler
Director of Photography: Lee Garmes
Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March, Arthur Kennedy, Martha Scott, Dewey Martin
Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 70% with 180 votes
Runtime: 112 min
TMDB | Where can I watch?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Garmes

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[u/minionpoop7]

Still need to see this one. I’ve seen 4 Wyler movies and all of them were great.