THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (1940)

Released on this day 81 years ago was THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (1940), directed by Raoul Walsh and starring, George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart.

The film was a sleeper hit for the Warner Bros studio. The budget was an estimated $400,000 and the movie grossed more than $4 million. It is pretty easy to understand why it was popular with audiences, as it had a great cast, lots of snappy dialogue and Walsh did a great job of moving the story along.

George Raft and Humphrey Bogart play brothers who are long-distance truck drivers. In addition to dealing with the challenges of the road, they are faced with crooked employers, fierce competition and gruelling deadlines. They set out to start-up their own trucking company but encounter some unexpected turns.

Life on the trucking circuit was not a common backdrop in movies of that era, so that must have been a novelty for audiences. However, the movie does descend into the sub-plot of a crime and court procedural, directly lifted from an earlier Warner Bros film, BORDERTOWN (1935) starring Bette Davis. Although it suddenly feels like we walked into a different movie, Ida Lupino performance steals the show with her dramatic energy.

Impressed with Lupino, Warner Bros saw her as a hot commodity and gave her top-billing in her next film, HIGH SIERRA (1941), also directed by Raoul Walsh. They fully expected the film to help solidify her stepping into stardom. Funny enough, it would be her co-star, who would be destined that particular fate.

THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT would be Bogie’s last film before taking his fateful step as a premiere Warner Bros leading man. Up until this point, he was forever the supporting player, typically shot by the hero at the end of the picture. In the previous year to THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, Bogart was in seven movies, four of which he was killed by the leading character. For HIGH SIERRA, Bogie received high praise for his portrayal of notorious thief, Roy Earle, a role that George Raft turned down. Later the same year, Bogie was also Sam Spade in THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), again a role that George Raft turned down.

Also stealing scenes in THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT is the highly likeable Alan Hale Sr. Hale plays on owner of a trucking company, and plays it with gusto and charm. In the movie, Hale wears a gold pinkie ring. The same ring his son, Alan Hale Jr, would wear two decades later playing The Skipper in “Gilligan’s Island”. Alan Hale Jr wore the ring for the rest of his life as a tribute to his father.

Despite some u-turns, THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT is worth the trip as it offers lots. Walsh manages to weave a fast-pace

road movie along the side of charismatic performances for an overall enjoyable watch.

THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT is available for rent through AppleTV and YouTube.