THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT
US, 1940, 97 minutes, Black and white.
George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, Gale Page, Alan Hale, Roscoe Karns, John Litel, Henry O'Neill, George Tobias.
Directed by Raoul Walsh.
They Drive By Night is a still, very entertaining truckie melodrama. It was a typical Warner Bros. production, was directed by Raoul Walsh, the veteran of so many action films at Warner Bros. It also had a very strong cast - doing their expected thing, but entertainingly so. George Raft and Humphrey Bogart are brothers. Raft had established himself as an actor by this stage. Bogart was about to emerge as a considerable presence. He followed this film with High Sierra and was soon to make The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca. Ann Sheridan was a star at Warner Bros, Ida Lupino a character actress.
The film has the atmosphere of the truck-drivers in California, their hard lot, payments, the tough life. It is complicated by melodrama, murder and romantic jealousy. The film is an enjoyable one from its time.
1. The entertainment value of Warner Bros. melodramas? How well does this film fit in? Taut action, romance, melodramatic resolution?
2. Warner Bros. production values: an atmosphere of the road, the trucking stations, the cafes, courts? Black and white photography? Atmospheric musical score?
3. The title and the indication of themes? The truckies, their way of life, difficulties? Night and dark, day and light? A shadow life? The themes of relationships? The men and women of the road?
4. The focus on the two brothers? Joe and Paul and their bonding? Their working together? Joe's ambitions? Paul as more volatile? Their work, the payments on the track, the corrupt boss, accidents, injuries? The deals? The encounter with Carlsen? Friendship with Cassie? Paul's accident and his working for Carlsen? The encounter
with Lana, her forcing herself on him, his talking about his feelings for Cassie, her vengeance, the contriving of Carlsen's death, her telling the truth to Joe, framing him?
5. The two brothers and the two women? Emotional tangles? Resolution? The character portrayal - George Raft as the more subdued and coping brother? Humphrey Bogart as the more emotionally involved?
6. Cassie and her work as a waitress, friendship with the brothers, with Joe, with Paul? Her friendliness, going on the road, her banter? A sign of contradiction for the brothers?
7. The Carlsens - Carlsen and his fleet of trucks, friendship with the brothers, giving them jobs, accidents? His relationship with Lana? Lana as the femme fatale, her ability in the firm, keeping the books, organising the team? Her relationship with her husband? The attraction to the brothers, to Joe? Her dissatisfaction with her life, the murder, her telling Joe? The court scene, her breaking down and going insane in front of everyone?
8. The range of minor characters: the truck-drivers, the garages and cafes, the men in the trucking firms? The court sequences? Authentic atmosphere?
9. The familiar material of the truck-driver's life? The familiar melodramatic aspects of jealousy, murder and betrayal? The elements of soap opera - but dramatically presented?
10. Satisfying entertainment? A slice of life? A focus on values,
