The Desperate Hours

The Desperate Hours
by William Wyler

The Desperate Hours
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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Arthur Kennedy, Dewey Martin, Fredric March, Humphrey Bogart, Martha Scott
Director: William Wyler
Brand: Paramount
Cinematographer: Lee Garmes
Producer: William Wyler
Editor: Robert Swink
Producer: Robert Wyler
Writer: Joseph Hayes
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-06-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Paramount

Movie Reviews of The Desperate Hours

Movie Review: Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March
Summary: 5 Stars

In THE DESPERATE HOURS, Humphrey Bogart, returned to his signature bad guy roles after years of playing the world weary hero. Fredric March co-starred in this classic thriller, directed by William Wyler and based on a true story, which, in turn, was adapted into a hit stage play by Joseph Hayes.

March plays the head of a happy suburban family whose household is invaded by by three vicious escaped convicts, led by Bogart.

True, this kind of hostage drama is familiar television fare these days, but this 1955 film is still the best of them all. The movie holds up remarkably well, and the cast, which includes Arthur Kennedy, Martha Scott, Dewey Martin, Robert Middleton and Gig Young, is superb.

? Michael B. Druxman

Summary of The Desperate Hours

Bogart plays an escaped con who has nothing to lose. March is a suburban everyman who has everything to lose - his family is held hostage by bogart. As time ticks by the two men sqare off in a battle of wills & cunning that tightens into an unforgettable fear-drenched finale. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 12/30/2003 Starring: Humphrey Bogart Gig Young Run time: 112 minutes Rating: Nr Director: William Wyler
Humphrey Bogart is at his villainous best in William Wyler's taut home-invasion thriller, The Desperate Hours. Sharply adapted by John Hayes from his own fact-based novel and Broadway play, this marked a slight departure for Wyler, whose celebrated versatility is on ready display as Bogart--leading a panicky trio of escaped convicts--seizes control of a suburban family in the (dis)comfort of their own home. The domestic terror (similarly dramatized in the 1954 potboiler Suddenly) escalates as cautious patriarch Frederic March waits for an opportunity to retaliate, while the police (led by Arthur Kennedy) close in for an ambush. Viewers may recognize the home's exterior from TV's Leave It to Beaver, while its interior gives Wyler a sealed chamber for nail-biting advances and setbacks--and Bogey was rarely better at portraying ruthless, unpredictable menace. Poorly remade in 1990, The Desperate Hours remains a potent precursor to the many similar films (like Panic Room) that followed its enduring example. --Jeff Shannon

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