They Drive by Night

Movie Review: They Drive by Night

Year of Release: 1940
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Raoul Walsh
Cast: George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart

Plot outline: Two brothers struggle as wildcat truck drivers; one comes to harm, the other is accused of his friend's murder (IMDb).

They Drive by Night is generally regarded as George Raft’s best Warner Brothers movie. But, the truth is that Raft probably comes off the least effective among his co-stars. The beautiful Ann Sheridan was allowed the most memorable, snappy dialogue, which she delivered as only Sheridan could; Ida Lupino was finally given the chance to display her acting range as the murderess; and Humphrey Bogart got the opportunity to shed his patented B-picture tough guy in a brief yet compelling scene where he expresses his bitterness both at his injury and having to accept what he perceives as his brother’s charity. Raft, on the other hand, maintains his tough yet cool composure throughout and is not afforded a single scene to match the dramatic intensity of Lupino or Bogart. Perhaps his shining moment comes when he trades punches with a pugnacious fellow trucker. Critics and fans have noted that the movie succeeds best as a straight trucker drama and loses momentum once its focus shifts to Lupino’s determined and unbalanced infatuation with Raft, a plot device borrowed from Bordertown (1935), starring Paul Muni and Bette Davis. At that point the wisecracking Sheridan becomes less visible while Bogart disappears almost completely from the movie, only to pop up briefly in the courtroom and in the final scene. An almost painfully trite addendum to the obligatory happy ending. (SO)

My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars