W. R. Burnett—no idea what the initials stand for—wrote several not bad books that were made into great movies. High Sierra was a natural in which Humphrey Bogart plays Mad Dog Roy Earle, the last surviving member of the Dillinger gang. The years in prison have softened him up and he gets saddled with a girlfriend (Ida Lupino), a crippled girl and a dog, not to mention a pair of young hotheads who are planning a big job and the mob want Earle to keep them in line. All in all, it’s a recipe for disaster which is just the way it goes. Bogart plays a tired man, becoming increasingly cornered, knowing he is doomed and proceeding to that end bravely. In the end, it is the dog who finally betrays him, although only after all this other liabilities have ganged up to ensure he cannot get out alive. The film is average, but it did make Bogie famous. The original billing with Lupino starring and Bogart in support was soon inverted. And the Sierra Mountains scenery did not benefit from the lack of Technicolor.