They Drive By Night

George Raft heads up a colourful cast of up-and-coming talent in this rough-and-tumble film noir about brothers trying to make a name for themselves in the hard graft life of honest, independent truckers. Humprey Bogart co-stars as Raft's family-man brother, together they're always on the road, always working, always trying to make a hard dollar so they can pay off their truck and start their own freight business. Unfortunately, with sleep and penny-pinching employers amongst their enemies, it doesn't look like the path to success is going to be easy.

Trucking films are few an dfar between, but that doesn't stop They Drive By Night from adhering to the tried-and-true formulas of the era. Whilst the audience doesn't know exactly what to expect from a trucking movie in terms of plotting, the structure is built in three distinct acts with occasional obvious contrivances. The first half hour is spent establishing the profession and showing the Fabrini brothers getting up on their feet. The second act introduces a devastating complication and the way their lives change as a result. The third act then, somewhat belatedly, edges into film noir territory (albeit without the mystery element) with Ida Lupino as the femme fatale.

They Drive By Night came out at a point when Bogart was close to breaking out as a leading man. Here he diligently plays support to the less-appealing George Raft - who just doesn't have the depth to carry a lead role in a memorable fashion. Bogart is particularly good in his post-accident scenes, bringing some realistic frailty and bitterness to his performance. Ann Sheridan co-stars as Raft's love interest - a weary, sharpwitted truckstop waitress. She makes a good impression in her first scenes, but the script fails to build or even maintain this characterisation for the rest of her screentime. Ida Lupino rounds out the cast in her attention-getting role as Lana, the wife of a trucking magnate who lusts after Raft. Her actions in the last act range from those of a scorned villainess to the outright ridiculous (her attempt to frame Joe Fabrini asks the viewer to really ramp up their suspension of disbelief). Lupino is okay in the role, it's really only her final scenes that make a real mark 0 her hysterically unravelling brought about by automatic doors is a little remniscent of The Telltale Heart.

They Drive By Night is a bit of a potboiler. I found the tone a little uneven, the ocassional hokeyness (such as the ending, or the 'innovative' splitscreen phone conversation scene) makes the film feel a little slapped together and unfocused at times. But as far as trucking films go, it's fairly decent and quite entertaining, and if you're a fan of golden era action-thrillers or film noir then you'll probably enjoy it.

LOWPOINT: The worst contrivance of the film is the introduction of the trucking character Harry. As soon as he's introduced we just know he's about to become a casualty of the profession. 1) He's yawning and mentions how tired he is, 2) He talks about how long it's been since he saw his wife and kis, 3) He's finally just paid off his truck, and 4) The goodbyes between him and the brothers seem a bit too heartfelt for a casual meeting.