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So much average

Nice effects though.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

This is an intriguing psychological drama with apparent supernatural elements which however prove perfectly natural. The spider in the web is Sydney Greenstreet, Humphrey Bogart being entirely at his mercy without even being aware of it. The tangle gets constantly further messed up, until finally everything is settled because of an innocent rose. Alexis Smith is here in one of her early roles, always stylish and making an absolutely convincing character, although her character here is not very interesting. Humphrey is the greatest actor here and steals the show entirely, while the audience, like himself, gets constantly more confused. We never see the murder being committed, no dead body is ever shown, so it's only natural to assume that the victim somehow got away. Well, if that really was the case, the target certainly got away with a vengeance. Least suspicious of all you must be of the kind old doctor Sydney Greenstreet, while he actually is the one who Humphrey should suspicious of.A great intelligent crime plot, actually originated by Robert Siodmak.

There are two items which reveal Warner Brothers' cheap-skate stagecraft and lack of continuity among their "pulp" film productions like "Conflict": First, Bogart's wife in pic is wearing the actual same sparkling brooch that Ingrid Bergman wore in her first scene of "Casablanca" - this jewelry is so unique and distinctive (and would be a near-priceless auction item nowadays) that it is as iconic as the film "Casablanca" itself; and Second, - believe it or not - the actual "Maltese Falcon" statuette from the eponymous film is perched on top of a filing cabinet in a scene at police headquarters. Was some wardrobe mistress or grip playing a tasteless joke? Or was WB so stingy that they couldn't afford separate jewelry or props for different films? Did they think we wouldn't notice such visual gaffes? Unpardonable.The Premise of pic is that Bogart's character is a man who sees his temporary incapacity from a broken leg as an alibi in his plan to rub out his shrewish wife and then hook up with her dazzling younger sister. Picture Bogart as a closet Walter Mitty character with pathetic delusions of romantic grandeur. Seriously?Bogart is miscast as the villain, visibly uncomfortable without the armor of his usual dour anti-hero persona. Bogie tricks his wife into going on a trip without him, but later confronts her suddenly on a dangerous mountain road (what a coincidence!), killing her and pushing her car with her body in it over a cliff. Sidney Greenstreet is also miscast as a perspicacious yet compassionate psychiatrist (picture Jabba the Hut from "Star Wars" with a heart-of-gold) who sniffs out Bogart's mendacity about his wife's disappearance, and then goes on to orchestrate an elaborate "Gaslight" plan with the police to trip up Bogart's character and have him tip his hand. Guess who wins?In real life, the younger sister (and I do mean younger - the dazzling Alexis Smith at twenty-four was in her prime and 22 years younger than the aging, sickly-looking Bogart) wouldn't give a second glance to a humorless, gloomy old geezer like Bogart. Bogie finally confesses his love to her during the search for her sister, and then mercilessly cross-examines her about why she should love him when she rejects him. Even the most perverse, masochistic woman wouldn't tolerate Bogie's nasty hectoring. It was like he was trying to verbally beat a confession out of a criminal rather than win the affections of a woman who looked young enough still be in college. Bogart was always miscast as any kind of a ladies' man. This film really shows Bogie's inability to charm anyone, much less either of the two principal leading ladies. Add to this the glistening, disgusting drool he always has in the corners of his mouth, like that of a die-hard chewing tobacco addict. Bogart always comes off as a man totally who is uncomfortable with women - i.e., a real man's man. Bogart doesn't play the villain well either. Besides his heartless demeanor with Alexis Smith as the woman for whom he invented the entire murder plot of his wife, he actually made a woman playing a bit-part scream for help, he was so intimidating. His tough-guy persona informs every facet of all of his performances, however inappropriately, as here.Bogie's man's man image does work wonderfully in guy-flicks like "The Caine Mutiny," "Sahara," his first big movie role, "The Petrified Forest," and Bogie's best performance ever, that of the psychotic gold prospector Fred C. Dobbs in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre." To bad Bogie didn't stick to the roles that suited him, not ridiculous melodramas like "Conflict" where his character needed to be able to charm a woman.

Conflict is definitely a disturbing and horrifying psychological thriller. With it's maliciously unnerving mood and heavy, dismal cinematography, the film aspires to achieve an all-new level of anxiety.It's about a guilt-ridden man - Humphrey Bogart's arguably most sinister role ever - who gradually plunges deeper and deeper into state of a devastating mental illness. Hinting at a thorough psychological evaluation in the beginning, Conflict analyzes how a fearless and brutal man - convinced that he's just killed his innocent wife - is trapped in a vortex of clues, which might lead to a mightily shocking revelation. The more observant viewers might already be able to uncover the whole mystery in the first act, but for those who are in desperate need of a satisfying and suspenseful intrigue Conflict brings a genuinely captivating mystery.Sydney Greenstreet - with his usual charm, sophisticated mannerism, and most-cheerful laughter - plays the psychoanalyst and a friend to Mr. Bogart. The manner in which he exhibits his impeccable intelligence is the film's most-promising quality. And Bogart, with all his devilish attitude and increasing fear is as convincing (and as stylish and graceful) as he was in Casablanca or The Maltese Falcon.Conflict is a lesser-known film noir, but it's crucial to note that its mightily clever and disquieting premise - along with a bunch of twisted and deranged sequences - delivers a seriously thrilling melodrama that's not to be argued with.

This is not "How to Murder Your Wife". In fact, it could be called "How NOT TO....". First, if you have a mutual friend that is a psychology genius who had their training in Vienna (where all great movie shrinks get their training...), forget about it! Second, make sure that the woman you want to kill your wife to be with actually feels the same way about you! Those are two things that Humphrey Bogart forgot to check out before covering his wife's car with over-sized Lincoln Logs. The poor unfortunate wife is Rose Hobart, a rather shrewish woman aware that her husband has fallen in love with her younger sister (Alexis Smith), and unwilling to give her husband a divorce. Bogart and Hobart feign affection for their friends, who have thrown them a fifth wedding anniversary party. Psychiatrist friend Sydney Greenstreet praises them for their seemingly flawless marriage, but this shrewd bachelor must see beyond the act the two put on. There seems to be no reason given as to why Hobart and Bogart got married in the first place, let alone stayed together for five years. And why Hobart is so condescending to her husband beyond the knowledge of his love for her sister (and still won't let him go!) is also not explained.What makes the film enjoyable (and includes it in the category of film noir) is watching the pieces fall together that bring Bogart down. This was his first bad guy since becoming a leading man, so it is obvious as to what attracted him to the part. Poor Alexis Smith was wasted for much of her time at Warner Brothers, playing a variety of one dimensional good or bad characters that didn't propel her out of the string of second leads. She had proved to be very adept at comedy in "The Doughgirls" the year before this, but unfortunately was saddled with mostly dull parts. It wouldn't be until Broadway beckoned her for "Follies" that she got the acclaim she truly deserved, and her part on "Dallas" in the 80's proved she had been worthy of better stuff! Hobart, a forgotten leading lady of the early 30's, is sadly given a truly horrible character to play; It takes a viewer of incredible conscience to not want her to get the fate she does. Bogart's character is not the egomaniac that Greenstreet's shrink makes him out to be, and actually deserves sympathy. It makes you wonder how the story would continue past the obvious conclusion. Greenstreet's overly wise psychiatrist gets a little annoying with his preachy psychological mumbo-jumbo. His own ego makes me wonder if the inmate is really running the asylum....