CONFLICT: Blu-ray (Warner Bros. 1945) Warner Archive

An oddly concocted, and understandably overlooked part of Humphrey Bogart’s film canon, director, Curtis Bernhardt’s Conflict (1945) tries to straddle an impossible chasm between the traditional melodrama, detective yarn and spook story. Cinematographer, Merritt B. Gerstad – primarily known for his glory days in the silent era – gets a lot of atmospheric mileage out of the noir cycle. But the screenplay from Arthur T. Horman and Dwight Taylor (based on Robert Siodmak and Alfred Neumann’s The Pentacle) is never able to bring it home in any meaningful way. Bogart, as the embittered Richard Mason, is, of course, perfection. And Warner Bros. has jam packed this tale with familiar faces – Rose Hobart (as Richard’s brittle wife, Kathryn), Alexis Smith (her pure-hearted sister, Evelyn - the gal Richard is actually after) and Sydney Greenstreet (as the plotting psychiatrist, Mark Hamilton). As basic fodder, Conflict works – mostly because the cast is just ‘that’ good at spinning even such abysmal contrivances into fine art. Even so, this isn’t top-tier Bogart fare.

Perhaps, it’s the part. After all, how much empathy can one muster for a wife-killer, even if it is Bogie in his prime? Bogart disliked Conflict so much he appealed to his boss, Jack Warner in 1943 to be released from his commitment to shoot it. Under the yoke of an iron-clad studio contract, and also under threat he might not appear in Passage to Marseille – the picture he actually wanted to make, Bogart seceded his objections and Conflict went before the cameras. However, upon completion a ‘rights issue’ prevented Warner from releasing the picture. It would remain under lock and key inside the studio vaults for almost two years thereafter while Jack regrouped, plunging Bogart into the similarly themed, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, ironically, a picture completed in 1945, but also delayed in its theatrical debut by two years.

Plot wise: we are introduced to the unhappy couple - Richard and Kathryn Mason. It’s their fifth wedding anniversary and, as they used to say, the gig is up. Kate’s onto Richard’s lusting for her sister, Evelyn Turner.  Though Richard does not deny the accusation, he elects to remain ‘loyal’…to a point, as divorce is not in the cards.  Begrudgingly, the couple attend a party given in their honor by family friend/psychologist, Dr. Mark Hamilton, at which Evelyn is introduced to Hamilton’s colleague, the dashing Prof. Norman Holsworth (Charles Drake). To foil Evelyn’s future happiness, Kathryn suggests their mother is ailing, knowing this will arouse Evelyn’s concern and desire to return home at once.  Disgusted by his wife’s scheming, Richard wrecks their car and breaks his leg. Now, Richard concocts a more sinister revenge. He feigns needing a wheelchair to get around, despite his leg having healed. His doctor, Grant (Grant Mitchell) believes Richard’s ailment is psychosomatic. So, Richard and Kathryn make plans for a weekend retreat to a mountain resort.

However, at the last possible moment, Richard invents a reason, seemingly to remain behind to finish ‘some work. After encouraging Hamilton to check in on her husband, Kathryn drives into the hills alone and is startled when she encounters an abandoned car blocking the narrow road. As a dense fog descends, Kathryn is startled by Richard. Murdering Kate, Richard then places her lifeless remains in the car and pushes it over the cliffside. In home just in time to establish his alibi, Richard then telephones the resort to feign his concern over Kathryn not yet having checked in. Next, he telephones the police to report her disappearance. So far, Conflict has evolved into a standard ‘crime must pay’ noir thriller. But now, the spook story takes over. Together with Evelyn, Richard identifies a cameo ring the police have confiscated from a pickpocket who claims to have stolen it from a woman matching Kate’s description. Problem: the theft occurred after Kate’s body was already at the bottom of the ravine. Now, Richard begins to smell Kate’s perfume in his bedroom and later, discovers her wedding band locked in the family’s safe.

Mark plans a holiday for Richard and Evelyn, bringing Norman along for the company. Norman proposes to Evelyn. Her initial resistance, confuses Richard, who assumes she has fallen in love with him instead. Now, Richard makes his blunder, confessing his feelings for Evelyn, who shuns him. Ashamed, Richard encourages Norman to make a second attempt at wooing his sister-in-law. A pawn ticket arrives, addressed to Richard in writing remarkably similar to Kathryn’s hand. Richard goes to the pawn shop where he finds his wife’s locket and her signature tucked inside the register.  However, when Richard returns with the police, he finds the register changed and no locket. Now, Richard is disturbed by the sight of a woman who appears to be Kathryn. He tails her to an apartment, only to discover she has vanished into thin air. Unsettled by these events, Richard returns to the scene of his crime to prove to himself Kathryn is dead. Too bad for Richard, Hamilton and the police are awaiting his arrival. It seems Hamilton, having long since deduced Richard’s guilt, has been working with the police to stage all of the aforementioned supernatural sightings to force Richard’s hand. 

This highly unethical conclusion is contrived in the extreme. Nor would any of it hold up in a court of law. Nevertheless, Conflict resolves itself on the traditional ‘crime must pay’ whimsy in just a little under eight-six minutes. There is not a lot of time here for any sort of meaningful character development. The built-in Bogie persona endures, to be sure, and it carries the lead. Greenstreet’s girth of talent, exercised elsewhere with formidable menace, herein gets tempered to a whimper of its former glory. The flimsy second-string romance between Alexis Smith and Charles Drake is as cardboard as they get. At least, Bernhardt and his scribes have given the audience a legitimate tip-off that assures Richard will be caught by his own deceptions in the end. And the spook story – that of the dead coming back to taught the living – clicks for a very long time, mostly because of atmospheric touches in the cinematography. Bernhardt keeps the narrative moving at its breakneck pace. The set pieces – including the wreck that breaks Richard’s leg, and, Kathryn’s murder – are given a dark and looming visual ballast. But it’s the melodrama that lags – severely, at times. Alexis Smith and Bogart have zero chemistry, even as relations. So, Richard’s blind-eyed belief Evelyn loves him is wafer-thin and silly.

Despite being the more prominently billed – and featured - Alexis Smith has the thankless part here. Rose Hobart’s briefer appearance is infinitely more memorable because Kathryn’s bitterness is tipped with a certain modicum of compassion for the loveless situation into which she finds herself. Smith’s purpose here is decorative – mostly – also, to delay the denouement with a sidelined romance as two men vie for Evelyn’s heart. Conflict remains a weird departure for Bogart. It’s not a terribly engaging thriller, but at least it looks the part and has a few good things to suggest it might have been better than it actually is.

The Warner Archive (WAC) debuts Conflict on Blu-ray in a spiffy remastering. There are several shots in this stunningly handsome B&W transfer that still look a little rough around the edges, or slightly out of focus. However, this is likely built-in to the surviving elements. Rest assured, WAC has done everything to create a quality release. Contrast is uniformly excellent. Film grain has been accurately reproduced. And age-related artifacts are gone. Grayscale tonality could scarcely be improved and fine details abound in a very crisp presentation. The 2.0 DTS mono bears the hallmarks of typical Warner fare from this vintage, with Frederick Hollander’s atmospheric score sounding robust, and, dialogue and SFX nicely balanced. Extras include a radio broadcast, a trailer and several short subjects.  Bottom line: Conflict is pulpy. It has A-list production values, a solid performance from Bogart, and, a quality video presentation from WAC to recommend it. I just wish the story wasn’t such a gumbo of cliché.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

3

VIDEO/AUDIO

4.5

EXTRAS

2