High Sierra

film by Walsh [1941]

Written by

Lee Pfeiffer

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

History

High Sierra, American crime film, released in 1941, that is noted for Humphrey Bogart’s sympathetic portrayal of an aging criminal.

Bogart played Roy (“Mad Dog”) Earle, who is paroled from prison as part of a scheme to rob a hotel in California. He travels to a cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where an eclectic group of confederates—including Marie (played by Ida Lupino), one of the criminals’ girlfriends—are waiting. The heist goes awry, and several robbers are killed. Pursued by the police, Earle orders Marie away, hoping to protect her. He returns to the Sierras, where he meets his tragic end.

While not generally regarded among the top tier of Warner Brothers’ crime films, High Sierra is in many ways more important than some of the better-remembered movies in the genre. The film cemented Bogart’s status as a bona fide leading man, building on the fame he had gained in The Petrified Forest (1936). As “Mad Dog” Earle, he brings a sense of pathos and dignity to what could have been a formularized gangster role. More a character study than a traditional crime drama, High Sierra also marked the first time Bogart worked with John Huston, who cowrote the screenplay. They would later collaborate on some of the most acclaimed films in Hollywood.