By Lee Pfeiffer
Warner Brothers continues to mine its seemingly exhaustive catalog of Humphrey Bogart titles with the release of The Wagons Roll at Night through the Warner Archive. The 1941 melodrama is compelling throughout and has an unusual setting for the story: a traveling circus. Bogart is cast as Nick Coster, the owner of the circus. He's a tough man of dubious morals who will do just about anything to increase audiences, as the show's box-office receipts dwindle. Through a bizarre happenstance, an escaped lion from the circus enters a small town store where grocery clerk Matt Varney (Eddie Albert) manages to keep it at bay. He becomes a local hero and the ever-opportunistic Nick hires him to take over as lion tamer from the show's drunken and unreliable current star. Matt proves to be a quick learner and soon becomes the star attraction of the circus. However, troubles arises when Matt falls for Nick's younger sister Mary (Joan Leslie), a girl Nick has been almost obsessive in keeping in a perpetual state of virginity. He opposes the relationship and this sets the climax of the story that finds him knowingly sending Matt into a cage with a particularly dangerous lion in the hope he will be killed. Adding to the complications is the presence of the circus fortune teller Flo (Sylvia Sidney), who has an unrequited crush on both Nick and Matt.
The film exemplifies the Warner product of this era. Virtually every frame was shot on the studio lot, thus giving the movie a somewhat claustrophobic feel. However, the cast is first-rate with Eddie Albert particularly good as the country boy whose naivety puts his life at risk. Bogart is in standard tough guy mode. There's nothing here to stretch his acting talents, but basic Bogie is always a joy to behold. Sylvia Sidney, whose career was so long and distinguished that it seems shocking she was ever this young, gives another fine performance as the rejected would-be girlfriend to both Matt and Nick. Director Ray Enright keeps the action moving briskly, though the romantic scenes between Matt and Mary are so corny and sugary it makes the comic book relationship between Archie and Veronica look like George and Martha from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Heinz Roemheld's score is often too omnipresent and in certain scenes, he provides whimsical melodies when the suspense should be accentuated. Still, the film is a consistently pleasure to watch.
The movie's title may seem a bit bizarre at first, as the story has little to do with the actual movement of the circus. The trailer that is included on the DVD puts it into a bit more perspective, as it plays up the recent release of They Drive By Night, a major hit for Bogart that was clearly being channeled through the title The Wagons Roll at Night.
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