StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

JohnHowardReid It is hard to believe that Lewis Seiler directed all of this film, remembering the very routine handling of his other Bogart vehicles: Crime School, King of the Underworld, You Can't Get Away With Murder and It All Came True. Most likely he took over the direction from some more inventive director and made a game attempt to follow to some degree the film's original remarkably visual style - e.g. the opening scenes of the flashback, a low angle camera tracking with Bogart through the seedy streets, the mood of depression and desperation set by the narration re-inforced by the moody lighting photography with its shadows and great blocks of black. There are odd snips of the original director's conception throughout: Bogart's face framed by doorways and curtains, a spotlight picking out the dancer on the stage, devices which are used both atmospherically and symbolically (Bogart is "framed" and the dancer is killed in a spotlight). Then there's the obvious one of the cigarette being stamped out before the end title. And there is a remarkable, brief-but-nightmarish montage routine with Bogie sent to prison a four-time loser, the judges rapping out the sentence and the high gates closing. There's also an effective use of mirrors in a couple of key scenes, and the action spots are excitingly staged and edited. But mostly the film is directed in Seiler's usual routine and unremarkable style - but it does have some great performances. The script has a couple of flaws. The dialogue tends to be cliched (in fact some of it could be transposed without change into one of those joke books on How To Write Dialogue For the Movies) but in the lips of such wonderful players as Bogie, Irene Manning (looking very attractive here in lighting and costumes), Stanley Ridges (perfect as the criminal mastermind attorney double-dealer), Chick Chandler (giving the performance of his career as the charming, talented but ruthless dancer), Joseph Downing (a ruthless thug to end all ruthless thugs) and others we love every word of it. The support cast is first-rate with Howard da Silva effective in a small role as Downing's running-mate, Murray Alper ditto as an unwilling stoolie, John Ridgely in a two-line bit as an eager but blind cop, Joseph King as the biding-his-time prosecutor, William Edmunds as the "No trouble in here please, Duke" sleazy cafe proprietor, Virginia Sale as a screamer and Ralph Dunn as the always-standing-around prison guard. Richard Travis is okay as the eager-beaver George though he has some sooky lines to say which he does not manage over well; and while Susan Peters has only a small part as his lady-love, she makes her court-room breakdown fairly convincing. The plot is improbable, but we don't mind that so much as the fact that with the film three-quarters over, the scriptwriters try to insert a little cosy domesticity and comic relief, which they do very badly and ineptly and quite jarring the mood of the rest of the film. A little deft re-editing could completely eliminate these objectionable scenes and improve the film enormously.

Michael_Elliott Big Shot, The (1942) ** 1/2 (out of 4) B-grade gangster film from Warner features Humphrey Bogart as a three-time hood who gets out of prison and tries to go straight because one more mess up will get him life in prison. After not being able to make a straight living he sets up a heist for a crooked attorney but gets double crossed. Once back in prison Bogart must find a way to escape and get revenge. This really isn't anything we haven't seen in countless other prison/gangster films from Warner but as usual Bogart makes it worth watching. He plays the tough guy perfectly and his image as a tough guy can never be questioned. He even gets a few funny moments including one segment where he's on the hideout in the deep woods and can't get use to cutting wood for a fire. The supporting cast includes Richard Travis, Susan Peters and Irene Manning as Bogie's love interest. Manning isn't too good in her role and it probably would have been better with a stronger actress here but either way, if you're a fan of Bogart then this is worth checking out. It's also worth noting that there's a scene in the prison where Bogart is pitching a baseball, which is filmed pretty much shot for shot like a scene in The Shawshank Redemption.

tlswan2 This movie is very similar to Bogie's first movie "Up the River." Having seen all but three of his movies I was not expecting very much and chose to watch it only because it was one I had never seen before. I was pleasantly surprised by the acting. But, the location shoots and especially the stunt work was extremely well done for the time. The first car crash was very different than those of most movies that are over 65 years old, showing a car crashing through other cars and then flying off of a ramp and rotating through the air before it exploded into flames. The location shots taken in the snow covered high mountain country provide glimpses of vintage life in rural America of 1940. And the ending car chase and motorcycle stunts were very impressive for stunt men without the safety equipment that is now used. Even the dance scenes that "Dancer" was in were also enjoyable and revealed some of the dancing style of vaudeville. All in all the movie was entertaining and worth seeing, especially if you are a fan of Bogart and early stunt work.

bkoganbing The Big Shot was completed just as the USA was getting into World War II and it would be many years before Humphrey Bogart once again played a gangster role. He ended his career as Warner Brothers gangster however with a good role that more than faintly resembled his High Sierra and George Raft's part in Each Dawn I Die.The story of The Big Shot is told in flashback as Bogart lies in a prison hospital. As he relates it, Bogey's a three time loser who if he gets another conviction it's permanent accommodations for him at the state's expense. Like Roy Earle in High Sierra, it's really too late for him to go straight.But what a surprise he gets when he finds his former girl friend, Irene Manning, now married to big shot criminal attorney and criminal mastermind Stanley Ridges. When they start taking up where they left off, it's the beginning of the end for Bogey.Like Roy Earle and Hood Stacey in Each Dawn I Die, there is an air of doom about Bogey's Duke Berne in The Big Shot. No matter what he does it will end bad for him as it does for those other characters. But the audience gets quite a ride. Best bit of action is that police chase with Bogart and Manning being pursued by upstate cops.Best supporting performance in the film is that of Chick Chandler who plays another convict Dancer with whom Bogey makes a prison break. Chandler did work in vaudeville and was a song and dance man and got to use those skills in the role. Also Stanley Ridges is one mean and nasty villain.This was the time that Bogart was between classics The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. Though The Big Shot is not up there with those two, it's a lot better than other stuff he was doing at the time like All Through the Night and Across the Pacific. This is a good film for a Bogart fan to introduce someone else to the charisma and persona of Humphrey Bogart without using a classic.