They Drive by Night (Snap case)

Buy This Item They Drive by Night (Snap case) by Warner Home Video  Available from Amazon  $17.99  on 11-27-2008     George Raft and Humphrey Bogart share a driving ambition in They Drive by Night, a feisty tale of brothers trying to make a go of their independent trucking enterprise. Ann Sheridan plays a truck-stop waitress who can dish both the daily special and the patter. And Ida Lupino is the headstrong executive who mixes business and romance with murder. With Bogart again riding shotgun en route to leading-man stardom (a stature he would achieve the following year) and Raft handling the wheel in one of his best roles of the decade, this fine example of Warner Bros. social-conscience filmmaking (directed by Raoul Walsh) proved a sturdy vehicle for both actors. The movie proved even more fortuitous for Lupino. Her courtoom scene of babbling derangement made her a celebrated "overnight" sensation that resulted in a seven-year studio contract for her. Year: 1940 Director: Raoul Walsh Starring: George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Special Feature: Original Theatrical Trailer B&W/93 Mins. Reader Reviews Thinking this was a Humphrey Bogart movie, I put this in and what I found was a tale of two brothers trying to make it in the trucking business. George Raft plays the other brother and it is George who is really the star here. Early in the movie the brothers make a pit stop in a roadside diner and meet waitress Ann Sheridan who we learn in the auxilary featurette was known as the "ummph girl" back then. George falls for her and she for him but that takes a while to sort itself out(it's funny to hear Cassie(Sheridan) referred to as "red" in a black and white film). We watch the brothers struggle to gain a footing in the highly competitive truckers world and George's fending off of the advances of a woman who is clearly no good for him-and that would be the dubious Ida Lupino who by pictures end makes a REAL star for herself. Somewhere about 3/4 of the way through the story, Humphrey's brother role is shrunk into the background setting the stage for the grand finale involving Lupino and Raft. In short this is a terrific movie and the disc includes the excellent featurette on the making of the picture and all involved. As a personal aside, looks like they've made an Ann Sheridan fan out of me!

They Drive by Night (Snap case) Available from Amazon Price: $17.99 Updated on 11-27-2008.

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