Evening star., 1941-03-01

and yelling for girl named Marie.
His obituary is at the Earle (no re-
lation) now, disguised as motion
picture called High Sierra in
which Mr.. Earle is disguised as
Humphrey Bogart, or vice versa.
The intent seems to have been to
produce a psychological study of this
particular gangster, motion pic
ture commentary on his tempera-
ment and the reasons which drove
him to the career he chose. But
High Sierra" turns out to be just
another of those Warner melo-
dramas about gangster, and a
rather dull melodrama at that,
until finally it resorts to that Oldest
of the movie cliches, the chase.
When the sirens are bowling and
Mr.. Earle is fleeing to the noun
tains, the film is noisy, at least.
But it takes High Sierra" an
amazingly long time to reach the
point where it has movement enough
to be called a movie. 1t meets this
Earle thug as he is being paroled
from the State prison, follows him
West, where he is going to pull a
job for the big shot who has sprung
him and examines in minute detail
his polite relations with the several
people he encounters on the way.
One of these is pretty and inno-
cent young milkmaid from Ohio, Of
whom he becomes so enamored that
he finances an operation which
enables her to dance all night long
if she wants to, and she does want
to, it turns out, with an insurance
salesman. Two more of these are
girl from a taxi dance hall, who
has fed a father who used to beat
her when in his cups, and dog, who
seems to have put the evil eye on
all previous and now suddenly de-
ceased masters, both of whom
(girl and dog, that Isl become even
more enamored of the ace gangster
than he is of the crippled farm lass.
This further addition to the
cinematic library of proof that
crime too often pays off in coin
that is lead rather than gold may
be Just one more song to the same
old tune, but it is enlivened by the
portraits of the three central
characters. Mr.. Bogart, in that
part which Paul MUM turned down,
has role which drapes as COM
fortably about him as the prison
garb the Warner tailors have been
making for him for 10, these many
years. His head shaven, his teeth
worn from biting off snarls, he is
as tough gangster as he ever was
and, in fact, the same one as far
as the various facets of the char
acter are concerned.
The fugitive from taxi-dancehall
and a drunken father, who adds to
the sorrow of her life by falling in
love with a desperado doomed to
die, is Ida Lupino. She does not, as
she did to win considerable acclaim
in a recent film. go mad, but she
does have some moments of loving
hysteria that are not only acceptable
but moving. The third central char
acter is the dog named Pard, who
strikes up quite friendship with
this Observation-Disclosures relic OF
the Dillinger mob. Pard is played
by a pooch called Zero, an actor OF
charm, grace and considerable skill
enough personality and talent, in
fact, to just about steal any scene
in which he appears.
4
The Earle's stage show this week
is in a frivolous mood, a becoming
mood, certainly, for providing an
antidote to the violent climax OF
High Sierra" It's headliner is
Cass Daley, known sometimes as
the poor mans Cass Daley" q
comedienne without compare, prin-
cipally because she is the only one
of whatever she is. And whatever
she is, she is wonderful, especially