The Desperate Hours (1955)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Joseph Hayes (novel)
Joseph Hayes (play)

Release Date:

13 February 1956 (Sweden)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A reign of violence sweeps the screen

Plot:

Glen, Hal and Sam are three escaped convicts who move in on and terrorize a suburban household.

Plot Keywords:

Shootout | Middle Class | Courage | Car Accident | Neighbor

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Glenn Griffin
Fredric March	...	Dan C. Hilliard
Arthur Kennedy	...	Deputy Sheriff Jesse Bard
Martha Scott	...	Eleanor 'Ellie' Hilliard
Dewey Martin	...	Hal Griffin
Gig Young	...	Chuck Wright
Mary Murphy	...	Cindy Hilliard
Richard Eyer	...	Ralphie Hilliard
Robert Middleton	...	Sam Kobish
Alan Reed	...	Detective
Bert Freed	...	Tom Winston (deputy with Bard)
Ray Collins	...	Sheriff Masters (Bard's absent superior)
Whit Bissell	...	FBI Agent Carson
Ray Teal	...	State Police Lt. Fredericks

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 (1964) | Norway:(Banned) (1956 - 1964) | West Germany:16 (f) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Chuck's car was a Nash Healy.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Glenn is having breakfast, he takes the cup from his left hand side and puts it on his right. It then hops back and forth between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[the morning newspaper hits the front door]
Eleanor Hilliard: I'll get it, darling.
Dan Hilliard: Some morning I'm gonna catch up with that kid.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Partners: Desperate Ours (#1.14)" (1971)

home invasion 1955 style

The randomness of the home invasion portrayed in THE DESPERATE HOURS must have been a chilling experience for cinema goers in the mid fifties. This is a solid movie that unfolds well with each roll of the arbitrary dice. Bogart acquits himself nicely as the head heavy although he looks weary and shows signs of the illness that killed him a couple of years later. Fredric March is a shade too long in the tooth to be the father of that obnoxious little boy but he gives a sterling portrayal of a man protecting his home. Always amusing are the jurisdictional disputes that arise amongst competing police agencies. Stay away from the Mickey Rourke clone.