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George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Gale Page ... see more see more... , Alan Hale , Roscoe Karns , John Litel , George Tobias , Eddie Acuff , Marie Blake , Eddy Chandler , Joyce Compton , Alan Davis , Joe Devlin , Frank Faylen , Eddie Fetherstone , Pat Flaherty , Brenda Sue Fowler , Sol (Saul) Gorss , Mack Gray , William Haade , Charles Halton , Carl Harbaugh , George Haywood , Howard Hickman , Al Hill , J. Anthony Hughes , Paul Hurst , Vera Lewis , George Lloyd , Wilfred Lucas , Frank Mayo , Matt McHugh , Jack Mower , Henry O'Neill , Pedro Regas , John Ridgely , Ralph Sanford , Charles Sherlock , Charles Sullivan , Don Turner , Dorothy Vaughan , Max Wagner , Billy Wayne , Dick Wessel , Frank Wilcox , Norman Willis , Charles C. Wilson , Lillian Yarbo , Ralph Lynn , Richard Clayton , Dutch Hendrian , Claire James , Michael Lally , Demetrius Emanuel , Phyllis Hamilton

They just don't make 'em like They Drive By Night anymore. This slam-bang Warner Bros. attraction stars George Raft and Humphrey Bogart as Joe and Paul Fabrini, owners of a small but scrappy trucking ... read more read more...firm. The film deftly combines comedy with thrills for the first half-hour or so, as the Fabrini boys battle crooked distributors and unscrupulous rivals while establishing their transport company. Things take a potentially tragic turn when the overworked Paul Fabrini falls asleep at the wheel and cracks up, losing an arm in the accident. He's pretty bitter for a while, but, with the help of his loving wife, Pearl (Gale Page), Paul eventually snaps out of his self-pity and goes to work as a dispatcher for the Fabrinis' company. Meanwhile, Joe's on-and-off romance with wisecracking waitress Cassie Hartley (Ann Sheridan) is threatened by the presence of seductive Lana Carlsen (Ida Lupino), the wife of glad-handing trucking executive Ed Carlsen (Alan Hale). At this point, the film metamorphoses into a remake of the 1935 Paul Muni-Bette Davis vehicle Bordertown. Desperately in love with Joe, Lana murders her husband, making it look like an accident, then offers Joe half-interest in Carlsen's organization. Joe accepts the offer, but spurns Lana's romantic overtures, whereupon the scheming vixen accuses Joe of plotting Carlsen's murder. Thus, the stage is set for a spectacular courtroom finale, completely dominated by a demented Lana, whose "mad scene" rivals those of Ophelia and Lucia di Lammermoor. In addition to the full-blooded performances by the stars and the virile direction by Raoul Walsh, They Drive By Night benefits immeasurably from the nonstop brilliant dialogue by Jerry Wald and Richard Macaulay -- especially in an early lunch-counter scene between Ann Sheridan and George Raft, generously seasoned with hilarious double- and single-entendres. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Flixster Users

66% liked it

2,209 ratings

Critics

94% liked it

17 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Raoul Walsh

Release Date: January 1, 1940

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DVD Release Date: November 4, 2003

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Stats: 96 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (96)

  • ajv2688
    September 29, 2010
    ajv2688
    I don't know why there was a fascination with truck drivers in the 40s, but the movies about them always turned out great. This movie is no exception, and it has a great cast.
  • sanjurosamurai
    July 12, 2010
    sanjurosamurai
    a wonderful film. raft and bogart make a solid team and the subject matter is one that most people would never think could make a solid drama. the script is the strength of the film and the acting was superb. The film has layers to it that have to be peeled back to be apprecia... read moreted.
  • groaningbitch
    November 10, 2007
    groaningbitch
    a neglected classic directed by raoul walsh (who also handled the ultimate james cagney gangster classic "white heat"), a star-studded flicks with good wisecrackers from its appealing cast. it's a story about a pair of trucker brothers(raft and bogart) who take the risk of havin... read moreg everything expropriated by the scrivener just to strive for the chances to rise high...then with a twist, everyone seems to obtain what he/she desires at the first place except the dame (lupino) who has an intense crush on george raft's character, consequent with murder, un-requited love and heart-twenching insanity.

    the first issue with this movie is that it's departed into two gendres of storylines which have been re-blended into one piece: social drama and meldromatic noir. it could be deemed as one flick before humprey bogart's crippling accident. a quaint social drama which discusses the bloody grimness about the prole trucking business, the labour and sweat from the working men, also emblemished with the pleasant romance between raft and ann sheridan, particularly their witty flirtation about "red means stop"...and sheridan utters her quick wits as the dainty waitress whom the customers drool over. lack of his usual mystic aura, bogart still gives a nice performance of a tough trucker even it's not quite riveting, and raft is quite in the right niche of his ambitiously clever truck leader with charisma. the three of them all inspire audience's empathetic approval of their hardship and occupational dignity..a peacefully cozy scenarios with likable characters that shelter you in an easefully relaxed atmosphere....

    it all works harmoniously until the emergence of the sharp-tongued spunky ida lupino takes the spotlight from everyone who turns out to be lackluster compared to lupino's deliriously edgy performance as the love-struck rich wife who desperately craves for raft then disposes of her own husband to facilliate herself to court him, eventually ends up in a straitjacket. no one could ignore her running-amok scene in the court room that sets her overnight reputation. this twist transforms the whole flick into a semi-film-noir which is quite uneven. besides it's dealt with thick melodramaticity..(accordingly it was recycled from the plotline of bettie davis' "border town" with paul muni from warner bros.....) but the arrangement of lupino's doom is a bit too coincidental just to deliberately grant audience a crowd-pleasing happy ending.

    sketchily "they drive by night" is a well-acted movie which is a bit un-usual and deserves more credits and applauds toward today. and it has enough social topicality and flamy dramatization to keep your interests throughout the whole flick. it's worthy taking a view in holiday just to shift into a congenial mood.
  • jjnxn
    March 30, 2007
    jjnxn
    ida owns this
  • mjgildea
    October 27, 2006
    mjgildea
    Ida Lupino makes the movie. I don't know why, but a one-armed Bogart is kind of funny.
  • benjaminguilbert2
    January 31, 2008
    benjaminguilbert2
    A decent noir, a bit too mushy for my tastes. Even Walsh's camera seems a tiny bit bored by the subject.

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Critic Reviews

Donald J. Levit
September 3, 2010
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Performances are fine, with a bonus in the endearing corny wisecracking and dialogue of a type that cinema has now abandoned in favor of visual effects. Full Review

Michael E. Grost
July 18, 2009
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television

Riveting mix of working man film and crime drama, inventively directed by Raoul Walsh. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
May 29, 2009
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

Walsh keeps the film close to the ground and makes the transition between the two very different stories with complete confidence. Full Review

Pablo Villaca
April 3, 2008
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

Sem se decidir se quer ser um drama sobre a difícil vida dos caminhoneiros ou um frágil e artificial filme de tribunal, este trabalho de Walsh desperdiça Raft, Bogie e Sheridan, além de contar com uma...

Dennis Schwartz
November 2, 2004
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Raoul Walsh directs this entertaining romantic melodrama with tenderness. Full Review

Bill Chambers
February 17, 2004
Bill Chambers, Film Freak Central

The film's U-turn is so radical that it arguably transforms They Drive By Night into one of the U.S. cinema's earliest experiments in portmanteau Full Review

Mark Robison
January 5, 2004
Mark Robison, Reno Gazette-Journal

A forgotten gem.

Nick Schager
November 2, 2003
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

There's no denying that this overlooked 1940 gem is essentially two films in one. Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
September 17, 2011
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

Click to read the article Full Review

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

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