I loved the movie.
But, when I bought it at the 99 cents store, it was in a boxed set with That Uncertain Feeling and advertised as Comedy Noir.
Was there a different view of comedy in the 40's and 50's? It is different than our current comedies.
ghostydoll
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I think it's a comedy , satire mostly. Satirising the small time cook and perhaps Huston's the Maltese Falcon. I've never heard the term comedy noir and know of no film historian who uses the term.
I don't know if it's a comedy, but I know that it's awfully funny.
fnord
Yes. I saw only the first half, but the dialog was very comedic,
I liked it a lot, especially psychotic imaginist Jennifer Jones.
I laughed myself sick, so yes, I would say it was a comedy.
Yes...Jennifer Jones makes it a comedy, I laughed so hard at some of the things she just made up and spoke as it was fact. The look on Bogart's face as she told her tales of fantasy.
shareThen it got even funnier after Bogart figured her out,
and realized to take everything she says as probably fantasy,
but another guy didn't yet realize her character and actually
believed what she said, went to Bogart, and he explained
with a quote I can't remember right now but something equivalent to
"she stretches the truth" but his line was much much better.
I wish I could remember it to cite here.
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I eventually saw the second half when KQED showed the whole movie,
about a year ago, or maybe early this year.
I believe the line to which you refer is
Petersen: You mean Mrs. Chelm is an unqualified liar?
Billy Dannreuther: Well, let's say she uses her imagination rather than her memory.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ... send it back; it's still a trifle rare
Yes, that's the quote I half-remembered, thanks!
shareThe conversations between Bogart and the Ahmed, the Arab captor, were very funny!
shareI wish it were funny....it really isn't.
shareWhat a pleasant surprise! I avoid knowing too much about a movie prior to watching it. In this case all I knew was the title, Beat the devil, and the names of the two lead actors, Humphrey Bogart and Jennifer Jones. Based on that information, the last thing I was expecting was a comedy but early on I found myself laughing and I kept laughing throughout the movie. I even loved the ending.
Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]