The Desperate Hours
It is a background story on the radio news of little consequence to the Hilliard family as they prepare for another day of work and school, father Daniel and daughter Cindy leaving together in the car, she refusing to speak about her growing friendship with lawyer Chuck Wright, while young Ralphy departs with his friends, abandoning his bicycle in the yard, and Ellie goes about her duties as mother, preparing for their return, not expecting her visitors to be three escaped convicts seeking shelter.
Glenn Griffin the brains of the outfit, choosing the house because of the bicycle, knowing a family with children won’t take any chances, skittish younger brother Hal follows his lead while thuggish Samuel Kobish can only be relied upon when instructions are simple and involve hurting people, the family held hostage until a package of cash arrives which will allow them to move on, desperate hours complicated by Cindy’s date and Ralphy’s entrenched disobedience.
Published as a novel in 1954 and then soon adapted as a stage play by author Joseph Hayes with Paul Newman in the lead role, he was passed over for the more experienced cinema hard man Humphrey Bogart for the 1955 film adaptation of The Desperate Hours, directed by Ben-Hur and Funny Girl’s William Wyler, opening with a lengthy tracking shot exploring the neighbourhood before moving to the expansive open-plan set of the Hilliard family home.
Built around the staircase and balcony to the upstairs rooms which provides vantage over all that happens beneath, all windows and exits, Inherit the Wind’s Fredric March is the patriarch who sees the threat facing his family, Martha Scott and Mary Murphy terrified and playing along as Ellie and Cindy, forced to act as though nothing is wrong while keeping Chuck (That Touch of Mink’s Gig Young) from entering the house, move and countermove unfolding, a game of chess where Daniel seeks an opening which places nobody in danger.
Glenn controlling the family with fear, uneducated but smart and cruel, determined not to go back inside and with a grudge against Deputy Sheriff Jesse Bard (Fantastic Voyage‘s Arthur Kennedy) who leads the manhunt, Daniel with no option but to negotiate with an unreasonable man even though he knows it is futile, Wyler frames to capture whole rooms and everyone within, the nervous energy of The Desperate Hours meaning it never plays like a film now in its seventh decade.
Restored from a 6K scan of the original VistaVision negative of Lee Garmes’ crisp monochrome image, Arrow’s new edition of The Desperate Hours is supported by an audio commentary from film historian Daniel Kremer, an appreciation of the film by film professor José Arroyo, a visual essay by Melbourne Cinémathèque curator Eloise Ross and an audio interview with Catherine Wyler, daughter of the director.
The Desperate Hours will be available on Blu-ray from Arrow from Monday 14th September
