The Road to Frisco (1940)
"They Drive by Night" (original title)

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

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Jerry Wald (screen play), Richard Macaulay (screen play),

Stars:

George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Brothers Paul and Joe Fabrini run a trucking business in California mainly shipping fruit from farms to the markets in Los Angeles. They struggle to make ends meet in the face of corrupt businessmen and intense competition. They are forced into driving long hours and one night pick-up waitress Cassie Hartley who's just quit her job at a truck stop. The three of them witness the death of a mutual acquaintance when he falls asleep at the wheel. This has a profound effect on Paul and Joe and they become determined to find a way to make the business pay so they can quit.

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Plot Keywords:

truck | murder | truck driver | waitress | trial | 

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Taglines:

NO PICTURE IN 1940 WILL HAVE BIGGER THRILLS (original one-sheet poster)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

De färdas om natten

Filming Locations:

Stage 19, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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)

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Goofs

As Paul and Pearl are talking in their living room and he says, "We'll have so many kids we'll run out of names", a stagehand can be seen walking past the living room window.

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Quotes

Joe Fabrini: l ain't danced in a long time.
Cassie Hartley: Me neither, and l used to love it. lt's the most fun you can have without laughing.

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Connections

Referenced in Der Stand der Dinge (1982)

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Soundtracks

"Devil May Care"
(1940) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played when Joe is leaving the party

User Reviews

"I Committed Murder To Get You."

George Raft and Humphrey Bogart are the truck driving Fabrini Brothers, a pair of owner/operators who when their truck is totaled in a bad wreck go to work for goodhearted Alan Hale who owns a trucking company. Hale's a decent sort, but kind of crude and that grates on his pretty wife Ida Lupino. She's got an eye on Raft. But Raft likes earthy, sexy Ann Sheridan.

They Drive By Night from the working class studio of Warner Brothers is one of the earliest examples of sexual harassment shown on screen. Ida will do anything to possess Raft even kill for it.

The film really belongs to the women here. Ann Sheridan and Ida really do dominate this film, especially Ida with an over the top performance of a woman driven mad by her obsession.

Back in the day it was the habit of studios to make sure they had lots of backup in their roster. Bette Davis was legendarily feuding with Jack Warner for better roles and she had staged a well publicized walk out on her contract. I have no doubt that this film was to build up Ida Lupino as a Davis alternative. The part Lupino does play has Davis written all over it.

My guess is that Davis would not have wanted to appear opposite George Raft any more than opposite Errol Flynn. So the part went to Lupino who recognized a good role and ran away with it.

Humphrey Bogart is totally wasted in the brother part. He loses an arm in the wreck and has little to do, but be supportive to his brother and resist taking charity. He and Lupino would both boost their careers in their next film High Sierra.

For those who like to see people crack up on screen, They Drive By Night is the film for you.