Although it was a resounding flop in its day, John Huston’s 1954 comedy, “Beat the Devil,” has the daffy charm of a movie that feels as it was made up as it was being shot. Preview audiences were baffled by the wisecracking tone of a screenplay credited to Huston and Truman Capote; it’s been interpreted sometimes as an absurdist spoof of “The Maltese Falcon,” which Huston had also directed.

Hastily re-edited before its release, it was given a narration by Humphrey Bogart that turned its story about a band of lowlifes and thieves on the high seas into flashback. Now the original movie can be seen in a restored version at Film Forum starting on Friday, Feb. 17. Besides Bogart, the flashy cast includes Gina Lollobrigida, a blond Jennifer Jones, Robert Morley and Peter Lorre. (Through Feb. 23; filmforum.org.)