Drive a Crooked Road

19541954
PassedPassed
1h 23m

Mickey Rooney, Kevin McCarthy, Dianne Foster, and Jack Kelly in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Official Trailer

Play trailer1:58

Crime Drama Film-Noir

An upright car mechanic falls in love with the girlfriend of a gangster. This forces him to participate in the criminal underworld.An upright car mechanic falls in love with the girlfriend of a gangster. This forces him to participate in the criminal underworld.An upright car mechanic falls in love with the girlfriend of a gangster. This forces him to participate in the criminal underworld.

Director
- Richard Quine
Writers
- Blake Edwards(screen play)
- Richard Quine(adaptation)
- James Benson Nablo(from a story by)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Videos1

Drive a Crooked Road

Drive a Crooked Road

Kevin McCarthy and Dianne Foster in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Mickey Rooney, Kevin McCarthy, and Jack Kelly in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Mickey Rooney and Dianne Foster in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Mickey Rooney in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Mickey Rooney and Dianne Foster in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Mickey Rooney and Dianne Foster in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Mickey Rooney in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Mickey Rooney and Dianne Foster in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Mickey Rooney and Dianne Foster in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Mickey Rooney and Dianne Foster in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Mickey Rooney and Dianne Foster in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Eddie Shannonas Eddie Shannon

Barbara Mathewsas Barbara Mathews

Steve Norrisas Steve Norris

Harold Bakeras Harold Baker

Ralphas Ralph

Philas Phil

Carlas Carl

Donas Don

Pretty Girlas Pretty Girl
(uncredited)

Police Officeras Police Officer
(uncredited)

Richard H. Cutting

Bit Roleas Bit Role
(uncredited)

Police Officeras Police Officer
(uncredited)

Pretty Girlas Pretty Girl
(uncredited)

Pretty Girlas Pretty Girl
(uncredited)

Bit Roleas Bit Role
(uncredited)

Police Officeras Police Officer
(uncredited)

Margeas Marge
(uncredited)

Telleras Teller
(uncredited)

Director
- Richard Quine
Writers
- Blake Edwards(screen play)
- Richard Quine(adaptation)
- James Benson Nablo(from a story by)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

Eddie Shannon is an undersized, sports-car mechanic who dreams of racing an expensive car in a European meet. He meets and falls in love with Barbara Mathews, and thinks she loves him. She introduces him to Steve Norris and Harold Baker, who ask him to drive the getaway car in a bank robbery they are planning. He refuses, but changes his mind after some gentle persuasion from Barbara. The job is pulled off and, following a wild getaway, Eddie learns that Barbara was just using him and that Steve and Harold have plans to kill him. Gritty retribution is just around the corner. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

revolver attempted murder honey pot femme fatale facial scar 31 more

Taglines
- A Lonely Little Guy - A Wrong Dame
Genres
Certificate
- Passed
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
This movie has a similar story line to the Ernest Hemingway movie The Killers (1946), starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner, which was remade (The Killers (1964)) with Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes, Angie Dickinson, and Ronald Reagan.

Goofs
(at around 10 mins) Eddie pulls up at Barbara's apartment and parks behind a gray Ford. When Barbara drives off a few minutes later, Eddie's MG is missing, but the Ford is still there.

Quotes
Marge: Could I peel this onion? I can't stand to see a grown man cry.
Steve Norris: Take it with you, beautiful; drop it into a large martini.

Soundtracks
From Here to Eternity
by Fred Karger and Robert Wells
played instrumentally as source music

Top review

8/10

A nice change of pace for Mickey Rooney

"Drive a Crooked Road" is an excellent picture--written by Blake Edwards and starring Mickey Rooney. Most would probably consider it an example of film noir, though its camera-work and dialog aren't exactly typical for noir.

When the story begins, you learn that Eddie (Rooney) is a small-time race car driver and mechanic. He also is rather quiet and is treated rather poorly at times due to his being so small. Because of that, he's vulnerable when a pretty lady (Dianne Foster) begins showing him a lot of attention. But she is not such a nice lady and halt ulterior motives. It seems her boyfriend (Kevn McCarthy) is a mobster and they are actually setting him up to become part of their robbery scheme! What's next? See the film.

Most Mickey Rooney films, particularly those earlier in his career, are similar because Mickey plays nice guys or guys who become nice guys. Here, however, he agrees to become entangled with gangsters...gangsters who really are scum. Overall, well acted and interesting throughout...and well worth seeing. If you are interested, it's currently posted on YouTube.

helpful•10

0

MartinHafer
May 29, 2017

Release date
- April 26, 1954 (Canada)
Country of origin
- United States
Language
- English
Also known as
- Le destin est au tournant
Filming locations
- 1769 N. Orange Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA
Production company
- Columbia Pictures
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Runtime
1 hour 23 minutes
Color
- Black and White

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Mickey Rooney, Kevin McCarthy, Dianne Foster, and Jack Kelly in Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Top Gap

By what name was Drive a Crooked Road (1954) officially released in Canada in English?

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