Watch They Drive by Night For Free

I love this movie so much

Fresh and Exciting

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The riveting courtroom testimony recounted above in my summary for the 1940 film noir classic, THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, was echoed by several witnesses this month in the latest "trial of the century" in Sanford, FL. These lines are delivered in this movie by Joyce Compton, who does a wonderful job of portraying pinball-wizard trucker Irish's floozy girlfriend, Sue Carter, who hits the acme of clueless obliviousness with her testimony on the witness stand late in the film, as she struggles to recall what was going on in an interchange between George Raft's character Joe Fabrini and GILLIGAN ISLAND skipper Alan Hale, playing Joe's boss, Ed Carlson, the night Ed died. This is the final Humphrey Bogart feature in which Captain Queeg did not receive top billing; FDR was still President of the United States in real life, and gas was selling for 15 cents a gallon. Though it is tempting to say America's experience has been all downhill ever since, you cannot blame that on THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, which has some of the elements of a WPA Depression-era make-work project, skillfully blended with many Hitchcock-like touches (especially Ida Lupino's breakdown on the witness stand at the very end in the character of black widow Lana Carlsen, which Hitchcock echoes in MARNIE).

Four of Warner's best toughies from the studio's golden period are on display here. The first half is one heckuva gem of snappy dialogue and blue-collar atmosphere. The Fabrini brothers (Raft and Bogart) are trying to make it as independent truckers just one step ahead of the loan shark and drowsing off at the wheel. It's a rough go, especially for Paul (Bogart) who's got a wife at home (Page) but no money for kids. Meanwhile, Joe (Raft) manages to work in time as a ladies man, especially when he meets up with seen-it-all drifter (Sheridan). Trouble is big shot trucking operator Ed's (Hale) fancy wife (Lupino) has taken a shine to Joe and won't take no for an answer. It gets complicated but director Walsh shows why he was one of the best.Bogie's definitely second fiddle to Raft here, still the often deadpan Raft loosens up enough for a good performance. Of course, Hale spreads on his jovial manner for some amusing comedy relief. Note also how cleverly the script plays footsie with Cassie's morals as a penniless drifter. The second half, however, is turned over to Lupino's jealous wife and the atmosphere abruptly changes, and not for the better. Now, Hollywood had no better actress than the versatile Lupino, yet her hysteria on the witness stand is pretty much over the top for the movie as a whole. The biggest loser in the latter half, however, is the snappy dialogue as the screenplay turns darkly melodramatic. Nonetheless, there's enough carry-over in casting and blue-collar bravado to mark this as one of Warner's best showcases of the period.(In passing—for a noir treatment of highway trucking to fruit market, catch the gritty Thieves Highway {1949}; and for the hazards of staying awake at the wheel, catch Death in Small Doses {1957}.)

Truck-driving brothers George Raft and Humphrey Bogart have nightly adventures hauling produce to local markets until Raft lands himself a position in the office; unfortunately, this means having to mingle with the raucous boss and the boss's wife, a scheming shrew with murder on her mind. Raoul Walsh ably directed this quintessential Warner Bros. drama, hard-bitten and yet humorously disengaged. However, one can easily sense the narrative coming unhinged in the second-half, which leads to a jailhouse-and-courtroom finale that seems to have nothing to do with the promising earlier scenario of working stiffs on the open road. The pungent, pithy dialogue from screenwriters Jerry Wald and Richard Macaulay (working from A.I. Bezzerides' novel "Long Haul") can't camouflage the shift in priorities, and the 'winking' tag seems like a put-on. Still entertaining, with Raft a smoldering (if somewhat stationary) screen presence. **1/2 from ****

They Drive By Night shows the tough and tight world of truckers, circa 1940. George Raft and Humphrey Bogart play the Fabrini brothers, Joe and Paul, who live in a world of long distance driving across the country's winding roads, cozy diners, smart-talking waitresses, and the camaraderie of their fellow truckers. George Raft gives a solid performance as Joe Fabrini, who's driven by his dream of owning his own truck one day, and answering to no one. Humphrey Bogart as Paul Fabrini, is more comfortable with his lot, yet would literally give his right arm in service to his brother's dreams. Always one step ahead of frustrated bill collectors and the wrath of their bosses, the scrappy and wise-cracking Fabrini brothers are a popular duo on the road. Along the way, Joe meets a waitress, Cassie, (a lovely Ann Sheridan) who sparkles through his gritty world, slinging snappy backtalk and steak with the best of them. Gale Page delivers as Pearl Fabrini, the devoted wife of Paul, who is weary of seeing her husband drive off into the sunrise after a few scant hours of domestic bliss. Alan Hale, Roscoe Karns, and George Tobias round out the cast. Yet all eyes are riveted on Ida Lupino, who steals the show with her tour-de-force performance as bitter and ill-tempered Lana, who stops at nothing to get her man – in this case our boy, Joe. Whether carping about Joe's clothes and lack of attention or sniping at her working class husband, Ed, Lupino hammers the point home that hell than no fury like a woman in heat who is ignored. The unforgettable moment comes during the climatic courtroom scene, which is strictly vintage Lupino all the way. This black-and-white classic, skillfully directed by veteran Raoul Walsh (White Heat, The Strawberry Blonde, Sadie Thompson, What Price Glory), has many film noir elements, but is too optimistic in this reviewer's opinion to be assigned a place within the noir library. The screenplay by Jerry Wald and Richard Macaulay, moves along at a steady pace, full of good humor, drama, and thrills. And you'll never look at an automatic garage door the same way again!