They Drive By Night 1940

They Drive By Night (1940)(Released: 2003 by Warner Home Video)Another looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia"We're tougher then any truck that came off any assembly line!"George Raft and Humphrey Bogart "hit the road" (sometimes literally) to back that claim in "They Drive By Night". As Joe and Paul Fabrini, they do their best to negotiate the competitive (and sometimes deadly) existence of the "wildcat trucker" in an era still scarred by the Great Depression. Ann Sheridan and Ida Lupino bring both pleasure and complications along for the ride. And Alan Hale Sr. ("The Skipper's" father) rounds out the cast as the genial murder victim. ...Gotta have one of those, I reckon.Humphrey Bogart is still a supporting player in this film, while George Raft is the true headliner. Indeed, Bogie almost vanishes about halfway through the picture, when he loses an arm in a trucking accident, leaving Raft, Sheridan, and Lupino to... um, "carry the load" - trucking pun intended.After this, Bogart and Lupino would move on to "High Sierra" and bigger, better things."They Drive By Night" gives us entry into a world that is now almost as remote as that of the range-riding cowboy. Battling, brawling truckers - all in competition to make that elusive hauling buck and outrun both the finance company and the law when necessary, with equipment sporting canvas covers, big fenders, radiator caps, running boards, and the like! But with the more timeless elements of romance and murder thrown in to keep things... um, "rolling".As is our custom in these reviews, we'll break it into CONS and PROS.The CONS:Not much in the way of "CONs" to list.There is NO COMMENTARY TRACK to accompany "They Drive By Night"! Such features on other Bogart films have proved to be of great interest, and so the lack of one here is unfortunate. Bogart biographer Eric Lax is involved with the included documentary feature, but this not being a true a "Bogart film" he might not have been tapped for a commentary. Still, Lax or another film historian could have provided some valuable insight into the film and its times.The PROS:The Film: The story begins as a "Tale of Two Truckers" and... um, "shifts" into a crime drama. Both approaches work well.The cast is first rate, and the print quality is fine for a 70-year-old film.Extra Features:Theatrical Trailer for "They Drive By Night"By now, you all know how much I love theatrical trailers of this vintage! Especially when foot-high hyperbole like THIS explodes across the screen:"DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD!""THE HIGH-GEAR SAGA OF RECKLESS MEN - WHO FIND ROMANCE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!"And, in keeping with our series of "trucker-puns"..."IT'S THE ENTERTAINMENT `PICK-UP' OF THE YEAR!""Divided Highway: The Story of They Drive By Night" (Runs 10:36).An informative "Making Of" documentary. This feature somewhat (but not completely) mitigates the lack of a true commentary track.The film is described as "An immediate hit with the public and critics alike, and it marked a watershed moment in the careers of both Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino. Yet, as good as it was, "They Drive By Night" seems to fall between the cracks of film history". I'd have to agree with that assessment."They Drive By Night" is also described as: "...two entirely separate films". Agreed, once again. The trucker film and the murder case film. So seamlessly done, though, that you don't really notice the "trucker portion" has passed until you are firmly and squarely into the "murder portion".Also, that director Raoul Walsh shot the film ENTIRELY IN SEQUENCE (no cutting or jumping around from scene to scene) over a period of five weeks!Participants include: Film historians: Leonard Maltin and Robert Osborne, and Bogart biographer Eric Lax.Finally, the oddest extra feature of all:"Swingtime in the Movies" (1938)I had NO IDEA what to make of this "comedy/musical short subject" starring FRITZ FELD (!), the short, German-accented fellow best known for his "trademark gesture" of smacking his open-palmed hand over his "rounded lips" to produce a POPPING SOUND that darn near everyone can emulate if they care to try - and familiar to audiences from the sixties and well beyond for his frequent appearances as the officious "Zumdish" on LOST IN SPACE.Our story consists of Feld's attempts to direct a musical western for Warner Bros. Yes, really! Disappointingly, Fritz Feld never once makes "The Popping Sound". Perhaps, this occurred before he developed that now-famous shtick. The short runs for a length of 19:09.Given the 1938 date, vs. the 1940 date for "They Drive By Night", there is no evidence that this short ever played on the same bill with the Raft/Bogart/Lupino feature. Yet, its inclusion here would seem to indicate some association between the two.The Three Stooges excepted, this entire area of filmmaking has receded into a huge historic mystery and something - if only a screen of explanatory text - should have accompanied the presentation of this short. Still, I'm very glad to have seen this oddity.Overall:"They Drive By Night" may indeed have "...fallen through the cracks of film history", but it IS a GOOD film, and worth seeing at least once for a solid story, a great cast, and our last look at the "pre-stardom" version of Humphrey Bogart.The DVD Extra Features are more than worthwhile, with the Fritz Feld short really putting the package over the top!It is recommended for Humphrey Bogart fans despite his less-than-meaty role, enthusiasts of the period and its particular brand of crime story, and anyone who likes great big old trucks - especially those that careen out of control and off of cliffs!If anyone wants to contribute a good "trucker pun" to go out on, I'll take suggestions!

Enjoy the movie

This relatively unknown film is, in my opinion, one of the best of this genre. Bogey’s other films cast a long shadow that eclipses it. Too bad. This is a great film!

Really enjoyed this movie. Really puts to shame the woke crap they put out today.

This classic film is unique--it starts as a sort of social commentary--the rough, dangerous and poorly rewarded lives of intercity truck drivers--then develops into a story of adulterous conduct, sexual jealousy and murder, starring Humphrey Bogart, George Raft, Ida Lupino and Ann Sheridan. What more could one ask for?The film picture and sound quality are perfect. Delivery was somewhat late but I had no problem with that--it was worth the wait. And when you're as old as I (78!) who cares how long a 1940 movie takes to reach you? The movie is even older than I. And it's better!

The Fabrini brothers, Joe (George Raft) and Paul (Humphrey Bogart), are truck drivers that struggle to make it on their own as a loan shark is on their heels trying to repossess their truck . It all seems futile as Joe and Paul's competition is full of bigger companies that do not care about the smaller companies as it is a dog eat dog world. This forces the Fabrini brothers to work long hours often without adequate sleep. One night after a rough day Joe and Paul pick up a hitchhiker, Cassie Hartley (Ann Sheridan), and together the three of them witness a truck accident where some friends die as they fell asleep behind the wheel. This is a wake up call for the brothers as they have different priorities in their lives, and it brings them in different directions. They Drive By Night is an interesting film with multiple themes, which offers a good cinematic experience

Film quality like it came out of the box yesterday

An excellent story with two top stars as our leads although George Raft maintains the lead throughout the story where as Humphrey Bogart disappears midway.If George Raft had not made all the bad decisions he did regarding movie offers, he would have been the bigger name at the end of the game. This is one of his best movies I have seen. They are basically two guys trying to pay off their truck so they can make deliveries and collect the entire profit… Everything else revolves around that premise and is well done… Everyone including our fem fatale Who sucks up the attention in the court room… Great performances and one of the better movies from this era. Highly recommend.

They Drive By Night (1940) is very much a picture of its time and its studio. Messrs Littrell and Roger O. Thornhill have already outlined the plot. I can hardly remember seeing another film that falls so clearly into two parts, and with the joins and glue only too obvious. It reminds me a lot of Warner's Angels with Dirty Faces from a year or two earlier.Both chronicle the flip side of the thrust and raw excitement of American capitalism in full flight. Humphrey Bogart and George Raft (sounding and even looking oddly similar) are compelled to work all hours of the day and night to keep their truck business afloat in a world of loan sharks and undercutting competitors, where the first breakdown or accident can lead to ruin. Just beneath the tough facade of Ann Sheridan's transport cafe waitress lies loneliness and vulnerability. When she quits the job to escape a groping boss she hits the road to L.A. with 1 dollar 12 cents in her purse. Bogie slips up and is left with a shortened arm and even shorter job prospects.Suddenly, with a crashing of gears the movie reaches a signpost marked Melodrama and lurches away along what turns out to be something of a cul-de-sac. Ida Lupino in an early role appears as a drunken businessman's discontented wife with her eye on George Raft (poor taste in men her besetting sin, it seems) and the movie rushes on into the land of jealousy and murder, with even a perfunctory but over-the-top courtroom scene popping up at the end.A bit of a mess, then, and the picture is not helped by hammy or plain inadequate acting from most of the support players. You'd think Hollywood actors of all people would know how to do drunks. So it's down to four stars to come to the rescue. They do their best. Bogie plays second fiddle to Raft but does his thing until strangely at halfway he disappears and is hardly seen again. 22 year old Ida Lupino, in her first substantial part, is encouraged or allowed to overact by director Raoul Walsh, making what could have been an interesting study into a hysterical harpy. George Raft is pretty good. This leaves Ann Sheridan, the Oomph Girl, who's just about the best thing in the picture. She's helped by having the best dialogue but she makes the most of it with her husky voice and her rare but devastatingly flashing smile. Playing a woman with a brittle shell and vulnerable core, she shows Ida Lupino just how to do it.No classic, but worth a look by people who're maybe moving on from a few films noirs and want to see or be reminded how a big studio went about its job.Picture quality is adequate, no more; not too grainy but the b/w contrast is dull. Sound is satisfactory. Extras are the theatrical trailer and a 10 mins Making Of featurette that has people like the film guide author Leonard Maltin giving potted biographies of the stars and film makers, together with a little on Warner Brothers. OK, but it covers well-trodden ground.

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

excellent film that portrays the life of truckers in the early days , fine stars like bogart ,ann sheridan , ida lupino , and george raft taking top honours in the film , tried to get this for years ,only available as import from abroad ,now easier from amazon , i had lots of stuff from amazon over the past year and very impressed with the service and having such a wide choice one has to look no further for prices , will remain a dedicated customer ,thx amazon ,

In my top 5 of favourites.......Look who you've got..Bogart, Alan Hale, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino (what a performance!), and The Man, George Raft.The movie gets better with every watch. Buy it...do it now.

Excellent casting for this film