L'Amour et la bête

A variation of Kid Galahad but without the Bogart character and the boxing. Humphrey Bogart plays the owner of a circus and Sylvia Sidney is his girl. The circus isn't very big and their lion tamer is always drunk. When a lion escapes and goes into a town, Eddie Albert winds up holding the lion back until Bogart shows up to get it. Bogart hires Albert as an assistant to the lion tamer but when the lion tamer gets really drunk, Albert has to go on by himself. He's a success and the other lion tamer is fired. The lion that escapes is very vicious and winds up killing a guy and when Albert goes to stay with Bogart's family after he is injured, Bogart gets an idea in his dead. The first part of the movie is pretty good but the ending is pretty obvious and also pretty bad.

This is a pretty good film, with decent acting all around. In fact, I always enjoy watching Eddie Albert in films just because, to me, it's like seeing "Oliver Wendell Douglas" perform in movies (you know, his character from GREEN ACRES). The problem with the film, though, is that it is a VERY CLOSE remake of Kid Galahad--which was only made a few years earlier. Hollywood had a habit of remaking films repeatedly in the 30s and 40s--often only years after the original film. So, if the original film is better, why watch the remake? I guess for this one, the only reasons would be to see Eddie Albert or Humphrey Bogart or because the plot is so unusual, with the theme being Lion Taming and not Boxing! Yes, I did say Lion Taming!

Wagons Roll at Night, The (1941)

** (out of 4)

Circus promoter Nick Coaster (Humphrey Bogart) finds himself in trouble when a dangerous lion escapes his act but a grocery clerk (Eddie Albert) ends up saving the day. Nick, seeing the possibility for money, hires the kid on as a lion trainer but soon jealously gets involved as Nick's girlfriend (Sylvia Sidney) starts to fall for the kid but even worse is when his sister (Joan Leslie) falls for him. This film really comes off as a watered down version of Kid Galahad, which also featured Bogart in a supporting role. If you've seen that earlier film with Edward G. Robinson and Bette Davis (or the later Elvis remake) then you're going to know all the twists and turns that this film offers. The one thing this film has going for it is seeing the pre-fame Bogart playing this type of role so fans of the actor might get a kick out of this thing. I've read that Bogart really hated this film but he's actually not too bad in it. He certainly isn't giving a classic performance but he does a good job showing off his tough side and again, it's always fun seeing him in this type of role. Sidney ends up stealing the film as his troubled girlfriend who wants a better life outside the circus. She comes off very charming in her role and add a lovely realism to her character. Albert is also very good in his role and really comes across well as that bright eyed kid who is about to learn a lesson in life. There are some nice touches of humor thrown in including a great sequence when the lion escapes and wonders into Albert's grocery store. A woman is sniffing limburger cheese when she first sees the beast and Albert's reaction to what happens is great. It's also worth noting that this is the first film in which Bogart received top-billing so that's one historic reason, which might draw people to watch this.

The film was nothing more than a remake of "Kid Galahad," with the hero (Eddie Albert) as a lion tamer instead of a boxer… Bogart walked indifferently through his role as the owner of a traveling carnival whose plot was borrowed from Howard Hawks' "Tiger Shark."

Sylvia Sidney appeared in the Bette Davis as Bogart's troubled girlfriend, a fortuneteller with the carnival… The film was a very disappointing follow-up to Bogart's triumph in "High Sierra," but better things lay immediately ahead as Bogart was now ready for a new image, an image which was to dominate the screen for the next years, an image which found its basic construction in John Huston's "The Maltese Falcon."

I liked this film. While a little predictable and such, it did offer Bogart and Sylvia Sidney, both of whom I admire a great deal. The scenes with the tigers were interesting. The film, while mostly melodramatic, was humourous in some portions. As a die hard Bogie fan, I can't say as to whether or not others would like this though. I am a tainted Bogie fan, and so my opinion is always slanted...