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High Sierra

High Sierra

Crime · Drama · Action · 1941

Given a pardon from jail, Roy Earle gets back into the swing of things as he robs a swanky resort.

Movie details

High Sierra

“HE KILLED... and there on the crest of Sierra's highest crag... HE MUST BE KILLED!”

1941 Crime · Drama · Action 1h 40m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.5 / 10

20.9K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

92 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Given a pardon from jail, Roy Earle gets back into the swing of things as he robs a swanky resort.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over High Sierra?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Raoul Walsh

Written by

W.R. Burnett · John Huston

Ida Lupino

Ida Lupino

Marie

Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart

Roy Earle

Alan Curtis

Alan Curtis

Babe

Arthur Kennedy

Arthur Kennedy

Red

Joan Leslie

Joan Leslie

Velma

Henry Travers

Henry Travers

Pa

Henry Hull

Henry Hull

'Doc' Banton

Court is in session

Put High Sierra on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.