The Desperate Hours

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The Desperate Hours

1955,

1h 52m,

Crime/

Drama

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88%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Three escaped felons (Humphrey Bogart, Dewey Martin, Robert Middleton) randomly target a suburban house to hide out in until midnight, when an accomplice plans to deliver them money. They take the entire family hostage -- but midnight comes and goes without a delivery. As their stay extends from hours into days, homeowner Dan Hilliard (Fredric March) complies with the felons' no-police demands to protect his wife and two children, while trying to plot an escape from the desperate situation.

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Brigid Murnaghan

Village Voice

May 10, 2022

Desperate Hours is a surprisingly spine-chilling film, first class in every department from camera (Lee Garmes) to cast.

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Kathy Fennessy

Video Librarian Magazine

Apr 14, 2025

4/5

Though Bogart, March, and Wyler had a string of hits behind them, the film proved more popular with critics than audiences, possibly because the leads were considered past their prime, though Wyler and March had plenty of gas left in the tank.

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Oct 24, 2019

William Wyler's masterly filming of the Joseph Hayes thriller makes most of the earlier versions look like minor-league efforts. Fredric March, as the beleaguered father, gives one of the year's finest acting performances.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Feb 2, 2013

B

William Wyler's taut direction elevates this thriller, which stars Bogart in his last screen role and Fredric March; far superior to the 1991 remake.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Jun 29, 2008

C+

An aged fiftysomething Humphrey Bogart is in his element as the snarling desperate fugitive, a role played on Broadway by the much younger Paul Newman.

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Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Apr 28, 2005

3/5

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William Wyler

Director

Humphrey Bogart

Glenn Griffin

Fredric March

Dan C. Hilliard

Martha Scott

Eleanor "Ellie" Hilliard

Arthur Kennedy

Deputy Sheriff Jesse Bard

Dewey Martin

Hal Griffin

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Synopsis

Three escaped felons (Humphrey Bogart, Dewey Martin, Robert Middleton) randomly target a suburban house to hide out in until midnight, when an accomplice plans to deliver them money. They take the entire family hostage -- but midnight comes and goes without a delivery. As their stay extends from hours into days, homeowner Dan Hilliard (Fredric March) complies with the felons' no-police demands to protect his wife and two children, while trying to plot an escape from the desperate situation.

Director: William Wyler
Producer: William Wyler
Screenwriter: Joseph Hayes
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 5, 1955, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2017
Runtime: 1h 52m

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