The Desperate Hours

The Desperate Hours (1955) starring Humphrey Bogart, Frederic March, Arthur Kennedy
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The Desperate Hours (1955) starring Humphrey Bogart, Frederic March, Arthur Kennedy

Director William Wyler’s suspense classic marks the only time cinema giants Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March worked together. And the result is everything you’d expect: taut, terrifying and terrific. Bogart plays an escaped con who has nothing to lose. March is a suburban Everyman who has everything to lose, as his family is held hostage by Bogart. As the desperate hours tick by, the two men square off in a battle of wills and cunning that tightens into an unforgettable, fear-drenched finale.

Glenn Griffin: [when Hilliard threatens him with a gun] You haven’t got it in you, Pop.
Daniel Hilliard: I’ve got it in me, all right. You put it there.

Editorial review of The Desperate Hours courtesy of Amazon.com

Buy from Amazon Humphrey Bogart is at his villainous best in William Wyler’s taut home-invasion thriller, The Desperate Hours. Sharply adapted by John Hayes from his own fact-based novel and Broadway play, this marked a slight departure for Wyler, whose celebrated versatility is on ready display as Bogart–leading a panicky trio of escaped convicts–seizes control of a suburban family in the (dis)comfort of their own home. The domestic terror (similarly dramatized in the 1954 potboiler Suddenly) escalates as cautious patriarch Frederic March waits for an opportunity to retaliate, while the police (led by Arthur Kennedy) close in for an ambush.

Viewers may recognize the home’s exterior from TV’s Leave It to Beaver, while its interior gives Wyler a sealed chamber for nail-biting advances and setbacks–and Bogey was rarely better at portraying ruthless, unpredictable menace. Poorly remade in 1990, The Desperate Hours remains a potent precursor to the many similar films (like Panic Room) that followed its enduring example. –Jeff Shannon

Cast of characters

Additional cast

  • Walter Baldwin (Christmas in Connecticut) … George Patterson (uncredited)
  • John Benson (The Blob) … Bellboy (uncredited)
  • Paul E. Burns (Son of Paleface) … Chef at Al’s Dining Room (uncredited)
  • Edmund Cobb (His Girl Friday) … Mr. Walling (uncredited)
  • Ann Doran (The Strange Love of Martha Ivers) … Mrs. Walling (uncredited)
  • Ralph Dumke … Clint (uncredited)
  • Pat Flaherty (My Man Godfrey) … Dutch (uncredited)
  • Joe Flynn (McHale’s Navy Season 1) … Motorist Hijacked by Hal (uncredited)
  • Fred S. Fosler … Sheriff (uncredited)
  • Beverly Garland (Chicago Confidential) … Miss Swift (uncredited)
  • Don Haggerty … Detective (uncredited)
  • Bill Hickman … Sheriff (uncredited)
  • Donald Kerr (Cat People) … Barkeeper (uncredited)
  • Helen Kleeb … Miss Wells (uncredited)
  • Louis Lettieri … Bucky Walling (uncredited)
  • Mike Mahoney (Sailor Beware) … State Trooper (uncredited)
  • Michael Moore (Stalag 17) … Detective (uncredited)
  • Burt Mustin (The Andy Griffith Show) … Carl (uncredited)
  • James O’Hara … Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)
  • Simon Oakland (Kolchak: The Night Stalker) … State Trooper (uncredited)
  • Ric Roman … Sal (uncredited)
  • Paul Salata … Sheriff (uncredited)
  • Joel D. Smith … State Trooper (uncredited)

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