They Drive by Night (1940)

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

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

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eddie Acuff	...	Driver in cafe (uncredited)
William Bendix	...	Buddy of Roscoe Karns (uncredited)
Marie Blake	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler	...	Driver (uncredited)
Richard Clayton	...	Young man (uncredited)
Joyce Compton	...	Sue Carter (uncredited)
Alan Davis	...	Driver (uncredited)
Joe Devlin	...	Fatso (a 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 (Carlsen's butler) (uncredited)
Mack Gray	...	Mike (a 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)
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 (a 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		(screenplay) and
Richard Macaulay		(screenplay)
A.I. Bezzerides		(novel "Long Haul")

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

Original Music by
Adolph Deutsch

Cinematography by
Arthur Edeson

Film Editing by
Thomas Richards

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)

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. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Warner Bros. (1947) (France) (theatrical)
• Key Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

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:

Sue Carter: Oh, this leaves me speechless.
'Irish' McGurn: Good. Stay that way.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano

Fantastic film noir

The film noir 'genre' has delivered a lot of great films, but few top this one; and that's really saying something considering just how many great noirs there are. The film is something of an odd one with regards to the way the plot moves; it's really a movie of three sections, and the way it jumps from the first section to the second section is wholly unexpected. I suppose the way that the film moves may be the reason why this isn't universally accepted as one of the best films of its type; but if you ask me the strange plot is one of the film's strongest points - nobody wants to sit through a predictable movie, and They Drive by Night is anything but predictable. The plot focuses on two brothers - Joe and Paul Fabrini. The pair drive a truck delivering things to the market and not making a lot of money. They finally get a break when Joe takes a risk and decides to buy his own consignment; but their luck takes a turn for the worse when Paul crashes the truck and becomes unable to work. Joe then takes a job working for his old friend Ed's company, which brings about problems of its own...

One of the trademarks of the noir style of film-making is a thick foreboding atmosphere; this film features that and then some. They Drive by Night takes it further than most, and the film almost has an affinity with the horror genre for its dark atmosphere, plot and characters. Once the film moves into the second stage, the horror elements are rampant. The acting in the film is excellent; George Raft and Humphrey Bogart are entirely convincing as the rag-tag pair of brothers, while excellent support is given from two ladies; Ann Sheridan and Ida Lupino. It's Ida Lupino that really makes this film what it is for me; her icy cold persona is breathtaking, and she holds the screen excellently. The murder scene in this film is extremely effective also; and while not as spectacular as some of the death scenes in the gory horror flicks that I often watch, its subtleness makes it memorable. The final third of the film is a courtroom drama and it's the worst part of it for me, but that isn't enough to ruin what is a brilliant film and I certainly would not hesitate to recommend They Drive by Night to noir fans and everyone else.