Beat the Devil

Beat the Devil was based on a novel by Claud Cockburn, famed commie journalist, father of Alexander, Andrew, and Patrick, cousin of Evelyn Waugh, and grandfather of Olivia Wilde (who was on the OC, a show I've never watched). It's crazy just how connected the guy was, although they're all crazy in some ways. He had to publish Beat the Devil under a pseudonym, due to his ties to the Communists, and his fighting for the right side in the Spanish Civil War. The movie really seems to be something of a spoof of The Maltese Falcon, with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, along with film noir basics. It's quite an interesting film, and Bernard Lee also has a small role. Which is nice, since he never gets noticed for anything other than being M. The script was written by Truman Capote, which probably has some linkage to the camp factor of the film. The film is in the public domain, and subsequently the DVD is craptacular. Maybe one of the many other DVDs isn't quite as crappy. Public domain films don't work nearly as well as public domain books.