'Beat The Devil' is a wacky comedy that's played as straight as any film noir and is even funnier as a result. Five men (Bogart, Lorre, Morley, Barnard, and Tulli) are out to garner control over East African land which they believe contains a rich uranium ore lode. Billy Dannreuther (Bogart) is married to Maria (Gina Lollobrigida), the other four are their "business associates", and Jones and Underdown are added to the mix for some interesting diversification. As the boat leaves from Italy to Africa a hodge-podge of amusingly silly adventures begins.


There isn't a moment when the picture doesn't take a left turn when you expect it to turn right. Director Huston manages to parody a number of his earlier films, including The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierrra Madre, and Key Largo. Bogart, who, of course, was in all those films, seems to be having a marvelous time skewering them and gives them a memorable performance.