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Filmed mostly on location in the San Francisco area, the film has a gritty feel to it that reveals the dark side of the produce business where people, mostly immigrants, are used and tossed away. Dassin exposes the unpleasant greedy side of capitalism where everyone is just interested in making a dollar no matter what the cost. Lee J. Cobb is amazing as the arrogant, crass, evil, remorseless Mike Figlia who gets increasingly more so as the film progresses.
Richard Conte who made many interesting noir films in the late forties and early fifties before his career took a turn downward gives an intelligent performance as the hot headed Nick. Conte, of course, had a late career success as Don Barzini in Coppola’s "The Godfather" in 1972.
Valentina Cortese is Rica, a prostitute who Figlia uses early on to seduce Nick, but she eventually falls for him. There are actually some very sexy scenes between Nick and Rica. While Nick is recuperating, and hiding, after being beat up by Figlia’s men, in Rica’s small bedroom apartment we see the two constantly eyeing each other, verbally and physically sparring between mistrust and sensual desire. At times Rica is playful, other times defiant then playful again. She becomes openly lustful toward Nick, surprisingly so for a film of this time period. Cortese, who was billed as Cortesa in the credits is very sexy and I would have liked to have seen her in more noir style films.
The film has some well done highway trucking scenes. One remarkable shot has Ed’s (Nick’s partner) truck going off the road (his brakes went on him) and rolling down a hill exploding into a ball of fire. Dassin does a great shot from the bottom of the hill with the truck at the lower part of the frame, apple boxes spread out all over the hill and apples rolling down. Dassin comments on this shot in one of the extras on the DVD.
There are two scenes, both of which Dassin discusses in a short interview on the Criterion DVD, that hurt the film. The first has to do with Polly (Barbara Lawrence), Nick’s fiancée in the beginning of the film when he first arrives home. She is not seen again until later in the film when Nick is in Rica’s apartment, beaten up and broke. Rica called her and told her to come. Polly, of course does not like Nick living in the same apartment with Rica and also that he lost all his money. She breaks off their engagement and leaves. The scene is contrived, poorly done and was apparently inserted by Darryl Zanuck probably just to free up Nick to eventually get together with Rica without him looking like a heel. The second scene is toward the end when after a climatic fight the police come. I won’t say any more but again the hand of producer Darryl Zanuck is unfortunately visible. The scene softens the ending and seems even more contrived than the first scene mentioned. Dassin states in the interview that he was not even aware that this scene was inserted into the film. Both scenes are weak and seem to have been input to make the movie softer and more acceptable to audiences but unfortunately are detrimental to the film. Overall, this is a good film with fine performances and a solid story.
Thieves’ Highway is a film that is in good company and holds its own with other films about truckers like "They Drive by Night" and "Wages of Fear." Just prior to being blacklisted Jules Dassin put together a string of interesting films including "Brute Force" (1947), "Naked City" (1948), "Thieves’ Highway" (1949), and "Night and The City" (1950). After being blacklisted in 1951 because he refused to testify before the House of Un-American Activities it took Dassin four years and an ocean away to make his next film, the classic French film noir "Rififi."
- John Greco (0 comments)