They Drive by Night (1940)

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Jerry Wald (screenplay) and
Richard Macaulay (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 August 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

Thrills . . . from coast to coast . . . !

Plot:

Two brothers struggle as wildcat truck drivers; one comes to harm, the other is accused of his friend's murder.

Plot Keywords:

Truck | Murder | Trial | Truck Accident | Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Cast

George Raft	...	Joe Fabrini
Ann Sheridan	...	Cassie Hartley
Ida Lupino	...	Lana Carlsen
Humphrey Bogart	...	Paul Fabrini
Gale Page	...	Pearl Fabrini
Alan Hale	...	Ed Carlsen
Roscoe Karns	...	Irish McGurn
John Litel	...	Harry McNamara
George Tobias	...	George Rondolos

Also Known As:

The Road to Frisco (UK)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6278)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The wife of producer Mark Hellinger, Gladys Glad, a former showgirl for Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., was responsible for getting this film made. Hellinger had brought home a large stack of scripts that he was to read for filming consideration. Hellinger had leafed through the script and read the summary, but felt that "nobody would pay money to see a bunch of truck drivers". His wife read this script, liked it, and pressured Hellinger to read it. Reluctantly, he did, the film eventually got made and became the sleeper hit of the year for Warners. It was made for an estimated $400,000 and grossed more than $4,000,000. (Source: Book "The Mark Hellinger Story" by Jim Bishop, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1952)

Goofs:

Continuity: In one of the final scenes, Irish's work hat clearly bears the company name "Carlson". The company name is spelled "Carlsen" on the sides of the trucks.

Quotes:

Joe Fabrini: [Spraying himself with a hose] This is the nearest thing I've had to a bath in two weeks.
Pete Haig: Yeah, I noticed.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock? (2006)

Soundtrack:

Devil May Care

Good cast & story, but how melodramatic!

When I first saw this, it was called "The Road to Frisco", and I often wondered why it was never shown on TV, until I saw it recently under its correct title. A very good cast (George Raft excepted) with Humphrey Bogart being forced into a secondary role, while Ann Sheridan does her usual good job as the diner waitress, and an old favourite of mine Gale Page getting a decent role at last! The story was good, but the highlight was the over-the-top scene with Ida Lupino in Court - by today's standards it was overacting, but at the time it was a brilliant performance. The supporting cast headed by Warner stalwart Alan Hale added a lot, and would have been a lot better with a capable actor in the Raft role.