The Desperate Hours Overview:

The Desperate Hours (1955) was a Film Noir - Drama Film directed by William Wyler and produced by William Wyler and Robert Wyler.

SYNOPSIS

Escaped convicts hold a family hostage in this classic nail-biter adapted from the novel and Broadway play by Joseph Hayes, which were inspired by an actual case. The intruders' brutish behavior brings out Dad's courageous side. Remade in 1990.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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BlogHub Articles:

The Desperate Hours (1955) Bogart Vs. March

By 4 Star Film Fan on Sep 3, 2019 From 4 Star Films

As the credits roll, the camera zooms its way?down a residential street but doesn’t feel natural. It’s like a peering gaze casing the scene as music hammers away in the background. What makes?the imagery?more disconcerting is that this tranquil picture-perfect suburbia could be plucked r... Read full article


Glenn Griffin: The Desperate Hours’ Villain

By Virginie Pronovost on May 17, 2016 From The Wonderful World of Cinema

In the world of movies, we can find many types of characters: good, bad, anti-heroes, people who “don’t give a damn” and so on. To celebrate the world of movie villains, Kristina from Speakeasy, Ruth from Silver Screening and Shadow and Satin are once again back with the Great Vill... Read full article


The Desperate Hours – 1955

By Bogart Fan on Jul 13, 2014 From The Bogie Film Blog

My Review —A Gangster Icon Returns One Last Time— Your Bogie Film Fix: Director: William Wyler The Lowdown Three men (Bogart, Dewey Martin, and Robert Middleton) escape prison and take an Indianapolis family hostage as they hijack their home. What I Thought This was the last available... Read full article


The Desperate Hours (1955)

By Beatrice on Jul 5, 2014 From Flickers in Time

The Desperate Hours Directed by William Wyler Written by Joseph Hayes from his novel and play 1955/USA Paramount Pictures First viewing/Warner Bros. Home Video DVD Bogie comes full circle from a?career-making performance as hostage-taker Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest (1936) ?to?a similar rol... Read full article


The Desperate Hours (1955)

By Lindsey on Jun 20, 2013 From The Motion Pictures

(Image: Listal) Glenn Griffin (Humphrey Bogart), Hal Griffin (Dewey Martin) and Sam Kobish (Robert Middleton) have managed to escape from prison. Knowing that the law will be on to them soon, they decide to hide out in a randomly selected house in the suburban Indianapolis area. The home they select... Read full article


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Quotes from

[last lines]
Ralphie Hilliard: Dad?
Dan Hilliard: Yes, Ralph?
[Ralph whispers something in his father's ear, and the two embrace]


Glenn Griffin: You don't have it in ya, Pop.
Dan Hilliard: Yes I do. You put it there.


[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.


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Facts about

The exterior of the house used in the film is the same set used as the Cleaver home in the TV series Leave It to Beaver.
Hugh O'Brian played the Fredric March role on the stage of the Arlington Park Theater in Arlington Heights, IL, in the early 1970s.
Fredric March's part was intended for Spencer Tracy, a good friend of Humphrey Bogart's, but neither Tracy nor Bogart was willing to concede top billing to the other.
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Also directed by William Wyler




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Also produced by William Wyler




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Also released in 1955




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