High Sierra, starring Humphrey Bogart, is one of the great classic gangster films, continuing the traditions of the 30s (when the gangster film was at its peak) but dabbling with romanticism and stylized cinematography more characteristic of the film noir genre, which wasn’t quite formed by 1941 but soon would be. The script, in fact, was co-written by John Huston, who also wrote and directed another formative noir film, The Maltese Falcon, in the same year. — Samuel Stoddard

Many films noir and their descendants are relentlessly dark, or cynical, but what makes High Sierra so much better than most of them is that there is the potential for redemption and decency underneath. It’s the dashing of that hope that makes this movie a tragedy as opposed to just another crime story. — Jay Seaver

— Times have sure changed.
— Yeah, ain’t they? You know, sometimes I feel like I don’t know what it’s all about anymore.
— Yeah, times have sure changed.