The Desperate Hours (1955) Blu-ray Review

Humphrey Bogart is a Hollywood icon. When you see his face or hear his unique voice there is no doubt who he is! It is hard to believe that in his amazing career and through all his amazing performances he only won one Academy Award Oscar for best Actor and that was for The African Queen. 

Bogart played film noirs, action, adventure, war, dramas and even dabbled in comedies. Well, in 1955 Bogart joined forced with the famed director William Wyler (Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Ben-Hur (1959)) to bring the world the films noir The Desperate Hours. Now to my great delight the good folks at Arrow Video have released this 50s film noir on Blu-ray.

Three escaped cons, led by the ruthless Glenn Griffin (Humphrey Bogart), force their way into a suburban home, intending to hide out while they await the arrival of an all-important package. But what should have been an overnight stay extends into a protracted hostage situation, pitting Glenn against the embattled family patriarch, Daniel Hilliard (Fredric March) – a man with everything to lose.

This William Wyler film is a spine-chilling masterpiece. Bogart is at his best as the tough as nails Griffin. The supporting cast of Fredric March (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Arthur Kennedy (Elmer Gantry), Martha Scott (The Ten Commandments), Dewey Martin (Land of the Pharaohs) and Gig Young (Captains of the Clouds) are simply tremendous.

This home invasion story reminds me a lot of the Frank Sinatra films from 1954 entitled Suddenly. And is amazing to realize that The Desperate Hours inspired Wes Craven's 1972 horror film The Last house on the Left.

This Bogart classic has been restored by Arrow Films from a 6K scan of the original VistaVision negative. It is been transferred to Blu-ray in 1080p in widescreen format. The audio is an original restored lossless mono audio. There is also the option for English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.

This new restoration is simply stunning! I was literally blown away at how clean this film looks on Blu-ray. I saw no signs of damage to this print whatsoever. The picture is crisp as a new 100-dollar bill and the cause is as clear as a bell! 

Now as we know Arrow Video never skimps on their releases, and The Desperate Hours is no different! Take a look at the awesome bonus features included with this release.

* Brand new audio commentary by film historian Daniel Kremer

* Trouble in Suburbia – brand new appreciation of the film by José Arroyo, Associate Professor in Film and Television Studies at the University of Warwick

* The Lonely Man – brand new visual essay by Eloise Ross, co-curator of the Melbourne Cinémathèque

* Scaled Down and Ratcheted Up – brand new audio interview with Catherine Wyler, daughter of director William Wyler

* Lobby cards gallery

* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jennifer Dionisio

* Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Philip Kemp and Neil Sinyard

For me to see The Desperate Hours looking and sounds so amazing! That is enough to call this a must own. But to hear the awesome audio commentary, interviews and all the people showing so much love for this film. It does my heart good!

If you are half as much a Humphrey Bogart fans as I am, your Bogart collection needs this Blu-ray release of The Desperate Hours. Head over to Amazon and order your copy of The Desperate Hours. You won't be disappointed.


Out of 4 Film Reels (4 Being the Best) Arrow Video's Blu-ray of The Desperate Hours receives....