They Drive by Night (1940)

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Jerry Wald (screen play) and
Richard Macaulay (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 August 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | 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 | Truck Driver | Waitress | Trial

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eddie Acuff	...	Driver in Cafe (uncredited)
Marie Blake	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Chet Brandenburg	...	Man Griping at Farnsworth (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler	...	Driver (uncredited)
Richard Clayton	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Joyce Compton	...	Sue Carter (uncredited)
Alan Davis	...	Driver (uncredited)
Joe Devlin	...	Fatso - Driver (uncredited)
Demetris Emanuel	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Frank Faylen	...	Driver in Cafe (uncredited)
Eddie Fetherston	...	Driver in Cafe (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	Driver in Cafe (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Brenda Fowler	...	Prison Matron (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	...	Truck Driver Warning About Farnsworth (uncredited)
Jesse Graves	...	Charles Culpepper (uncredited)
Mack Gray	...	Mike - Driver (uncredited)
William Haade	...	Tough Driver (uncredited)
Charles Halton	...	Farnsworth (uncredited)
John Hamilton	...	Defense Attorney (uncredited)
Phyllis Hamilton	...	Stenographer (uncredited)
Carl Harbaugh	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
George Haywood	...	Policeman at Accident (uncredited)
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian	...	Driver (uncredited)
Howard C. Hickman	...	The Judge (uncredited)
Al Hill	...	Driver in Cafe (uncredited)
J. Anthony Hughes	...	Reporter #3 (uncredited)
Paul Hurst	...	Pete Haig (uncredited)
Claire James	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Michael Jeffers	...	Trucker (uncredited)
Dorothea Kent	...	Sue (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Man Griping at Farnsworth (uncredited)
Vera Lewis	...	Landlady (uncredited)
George Lloyd	...	Barney (uncredited)
Wilfred Lucas	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Frank Mayo	...	Motorist at Accident Scene (uncredited)
Matt McHugh	...	Repairman (uncredited)
Edmund Mortimer	...	Extra in Courtroom (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Deputy with Farnsworth (uncredited)
Henry O'Neill	...	District Attorney (uncredited)
Pedro Regas	...	Harry's Partner (uncredited)
John Ridgely	...	Hank Dawson (uncredited)
Ralph Sanford	...	Driver in Cafe (uncredited)
Cliff Saum	...	Man Outside Barney's (uncredited)
Harry Semels	...	Leo - Cashier (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	Driver in Cafe (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	Driver in Cafe (uncredited)
Don Turner	...	Driver (uncredited)
Dorothy Vaughan	...	Courtroom Matron (uncredited)
Max Wagner	...	Sweeney - Driver (uncredited)
Billy Wayne	...	Repairman (uncredited)
Dick Wessel	...	Driver in Cafe (uncredited)
Frank Wilcox	...	Reporter #1 (uncredited)
Norman Willis	...	Neves - Mike's Assistant (uncredited)
Charles C. Wilson	...	Mike Williams (uncredited)
Tom Wilson	...	Man Outside Barney's (uncredited)
Jack Wise	...	Jake (uncredited)
Lillian Yarbo	...	Chloe - Lana's Maid (uncredited)

Directed by
Raoul Walsh

Writing credits
Jerry Wald		(screen play) and
Richard Macaulay		(screen play)
A.I. Bezzerides		(from a novel by)

Produced by
Mark Hellinger	....	associate producer
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Adolph Deutsch

Cinematography by
Arthur Edeson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Thomas Richards		(film editor)

Art Direction by
John Hughes

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack L. Warner	....	in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Elmer Decker	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Oliver S. Garretson	....	sound

Special Effects by
Byron Haskin	....	special effects
Hans F. Koenekamp	....	special effects (as H.F. Koenekamp)

Stunts
Harvey Parry	....	stunts (uncredited)
Buster Wiles	....	stunt double: George Raft (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
George Hurrell Sr.	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Robert Burks	....	montage (uncredited)
Don Siegel	....	montage (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Arthur Lange	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Jerome Moross	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Hugh MacMullan	....	dialogue director (as Hugh MacMullen)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents) (as Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.) (A Warner Bros.-First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Films (1941) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1947) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1963) (Finland) (TV)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1988) (Finland) (TV)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Key Video (198?) (USA) (VHS) (For CBS Fox Video)

Other Companies

• MGM / UA Home Video  VHS package design
• Turner Entertainment  DVD package design
• Turner Entertainment  VHS package design
• Warner Bros. Entertainment  DVD package design

Also Known As:

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros

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: Paul and Pearl Fabrini are talking as they wait for Joe. She does up the button of his shirt and he moves to the mantel. The button alternates between done up and undone during the remainder of the scene.

Quotes:

Joe Fabrini:If we go over a cliff, wake me up.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Devil May Care

Evil Electric Eye Gets The Skippers Dad

I get more respect for director Raoul Walsh with every film of his I see. In this one for Warner Brothers he does an excellent job with a strong cast telling a story about California Long Haul Truckers in the late 1930's. The realism is there all the way through.

This is one of George Rafts better performances, and Ida Lupino is excellent as the woman he scorns. Ann Sheridan is very good as the woman he loves. Humphrey Bogart in a supporting role is very good as Rafts brother. Alan Hale Sr. does a fine job as Lupinos husband.

The film gives the viewer a very strong flavor for what the early long haul trucking was like before World War 2. With the roads the way they were in that era, Long Haul in this is shorter than today & trucks were really just getting started, the railroads still dominated freight then in the US.

The story while more predictable than Dark Command which Walsh had just finished, still does a good job of pulling in the viewer with Raft & Bogarts characters flying on the edge of failure early in the film. The accident sequences are done crudely but this was in a day when the special effects were still developing. The main action in this film is truck accidents & a couple of fist fights.

This is a very fundamentally sound film as Raol Walsh always seems to deliver. In this case, the truckers deliver a good story.