Simply A Masterpiece

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Good movie, except it's overridden with plot, about two brothers in the trucking industry and the perils they encounter. One of them (played by George Raft) gets a job at a trucking firm, only to find the wife of the boss still playing footsy with him (they had a thing in the past). He's got a dame now! The trucker's boss wife kills the boss and makes the trucker the new boss! Oh, there's still a lot lot more to be told, but as I said, this seems to be a movie with plenty of ideas, and only 90 minutes to tell it in. The MAIN plot (which, yes, is taken from the Bette Davis movie Bordertown) doesn't kick in til the final half hour of the movie. Still entertaining to watch though.

"They Drive By Night" is an entertaining movie with an unpredictable plot, some witty dialogue and lots of action that's delivered at a lively pace. What begins as an account of the trials and tribulations experienced by a couple of freelance truckers later (and rather surprisingly) develops into an intriguing drama which involves infatuation, murder and a predatory femme fatale who's played brilliantly by Ida Lupino.The Fabrini brothers, Joe (George Raft) and Paul (Humphrey Bogart) are a couple of truckers who struggle hard to become successful independent operators so that they can be their own bosses. They routinely transport perishable goods from farms in the country to dealers in the city markets but their work is hard, the hours are long and the rewards are very uncertain. Trying to make progress proves difficult as they contend with problems caused by accidents, unscrupulous dealers and living under the constant threat of having their truck repossessed. When they eventually make some headway and pay off the truck, misfortune strikes again when Paul falls asleep at the wheel and their vehicle is wrecked. Joe suffers only superficial injuries but Paul's are more extensive and result in him losing his right arm.After the accident the brothers are no longer able to continue in business but Joe has the good fortune to be offered a management job in a trucking business run by Ed Carlsen (Alan Hale). Joe's relationship with Cassie (Ann Sheridan), who he first met as a waitress in a roadside diner, has also developed and things seem to be going well for him.It soon becomes clear, however, that Joe's good fortune comes with serious complications attached. He'd initially been offered his job because Ed's considerably younger wife Lana (Ida Lupino) had pulled the strings. She was obsessed with Joe and desperately wanted him to be her lover. When her repeated attempts to seduce him fail because of his loyalty to Ed and Cassie, Lana removes what she considers to be the main obstacle to her ambitions by killing her husband. The circumstances of Ed's death are made to appear accidental and Lana appears to be in the clear when the local D.A. has no reason to believe that any foul play was involved. Inevitably, however, there are other interesting developments before the story finally reaches its conclusion.The two brothers at the centre of the story are quite different as Joe is very ambitious, focused and not at all deterred by any of the difficulties that they encounter. Paul, on the other hand, finds the work exhausting and only stays with the business out of loyalty to Joe. When they're on their journeys, Paul misses his wife who would prefer him to do a more regular job where his working hours would be more reasonable and his income would be more reliable.George Raft and Humphrey Bogart are both convincing in their roles and Ann Sheridan provides good support as Joe's girlfriend who can be witty and entertaining but also uses her toughness and sharp tongue to control their relationship. Ida Lupino is terrific from the time that she first appears on screen as the acquisitive and manipulative Lana who is prepared to stop at nothing to get what she wants. Her performance continues relentlessly at this level throughout the remainder of the movie and she makes an indelible impression as the incredibly evil femme fatale.

They Drive by Night (AKA: The Road to Frisco) is directed by Raoul Walsh and adapted by Jerry Wald & Richard Macaulay from the novel "The Long Haul" written by A. I. Bezzerides. It stars George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart. Adolph Deutsch scores the music and Arthur Edeson is the cinematographer. Plot finds Raft & Bogart playing the Fabrini brothers, two guys trying to make a living as truck drivers during the Depression era. Just about keeping afloat in a very competitive market, the boys find that they have to work longer hours to stay ahead in the game. But that brings fatigue and danger, and with the repo men after them they could do with a break; a break that comes by way of work for Ed Carlson (Alan Hale). But the fortune is short lived as trouble awaits, not only on the road, but also in the form of Carlson's wife, Lana (Lupino).Warner Brothers produce a film of two differing halves that blends social realism with film noir edges. The script is tight as the narrative firstly deals in an adventure with period detail, then shifts to drama as bad luck and a bad woman come into play. There's zippy dialogue to digest, too, while Walsh keeps the pace brisk and provides good attention to detail in relation to the subject of the trucking industry. With Bogart a year away from leading man status (High Sierra/The Maltese Falcon), he was fourth billed for this movie. He gets relegated to the sidelines for the second half of the piece but by then he had made his mark. Sheridan is effective, in what ultimately is a love interest role, while Raft dominates as the centre piece character. But it's Lupino's movie all the way. True enough to say that her pivotal scene has a touch of the over theatrical histrionics about it, but it works in context to how she had formed the character up to then. Playing it man hungry and vixen like; yet with a sternness that oozes business woman sensibilities, her performance earned her a studio contract.Two movies for the price of one, then, and nary a dull moment in either of them. 7.5/10

An intriguing movie in many ways, 'They Drive by Night' was made just after a series of classic Warner Bros gangster movies such as 'Angels with Dirty Faces' and a year before the era of a cycle of films popularly known as film noir began. It contains plenty of the grittiness that both genres, and indeed the studio itself, were noted for.In fact, had it been released a few years later the movie may well have been regarded as a prime example of film noir. The first half is the story of the Fabrini brothers (George Raft and Humphrey Bogart) who drive trucks for a living. This is a bit of a dead end job, and both rarely get a good nights' sleep- "Oh boy, I'd like to stay in bed a week, not even get up to eat." This job brings its' dangers- notably the risk of falling asleep at the wheel ("Every minute when I'm alone I expect someone to knock on the door and tell me I'm a widow"- Bogarts' wife, played by Gale Page). At the end of the day, both brothers desperately need their "dough" to make ends meet- after all, this is the depression era. In the second half of the film we witness lust, murder, jealousy and madness, much of which centres around Lana Carlsen (Ida Lupino).The main reason I enjoy this film so much is the performances of the cast. The leading role falls to George Raft and he performs adequately enough. Better known as a gangster in the decade that had just passed, this movie gave him the opportunity to display his acting skills as an honourable 'Ordinary Joe' character. However, I enjoy the other performances most of all. Humphrey Bogart was on the verge of his big career breakthrough when he appeared in this film and although he is only really involved in the first half of the movie there is no doubting the presence he has in the final supporting role of his film career. Ann Sheridan, known as the 'oomph girl' to many (a name I understand she resented) is on top form as a tough, no nonsense working class dame who is resistant to the charms of most of the men she meets ("All right, that's enough of the x-ray treatment"), with an obvious exception being Raft. Then there is the wisecracking, hugely likable character actor Alan Hale (seen often in Errol Flynn movies) who plays the charming and friendly manager of a lucrative truck firm (just look at the state of the art technology of his garage door!) Unfortunately he has two weaknesses- alcohol and his unfailing devotion to his wife, who shall we say is not the gentlest of people.It is in the latter role that Ida Lupino provides the performance of the film as an untrustworthy wife driven to all kinds of insanity by her jealousy of another female, her resentment of her drunken husband ("Your liver must look like a bomb hit it") and her lust for another man. The London-born actress turned many heads here and an especially notable moment sees her in hysterics in the court room scene at the end of the film ("Yes! The doors made me do it!" is a very memorable quote). She clearly took her opportunity to steal the picture with both hands.Moviegoers who enjoy witty lines will have a field day with this picture- there are lots of these to be found in its' 90 minute running time. It's not a comedy but it is the humour that lifts this movie to the impressive heights it reaches in terms of sheer entertainment, despite its' serious side.