Warner Brothers made some of the most socially aware movies of the classic era, not in a preachy or even a condescending sense but in a way that was both matter of fact and humanitarian at the same time. This aspect of the studio’s output was particularly apparent throughout the 1930s and it provided a sound base on which to establish their characteristic gangster films. That classic gangster cycle was effectively brought to a close by Raoul Walsh’s magisterial The Roaring Twenties. The following year Walsh cast two pivotal figures from those seminal crime movies in major roles in They Drive by Night (1940), a film whose very structure represents something of a bridge between the strong social conscience material of the previous decade and a smoother kind of melodrama that hinted at a noir sensibility.
Movies based around the exploits and experiences of truck drivers are pretty common, from Racket Busters to Thieves’ Highway, The Wages of Fear and Hell Drivers to The Long Haul. That last movie, a British picture with Victor Mature and Diana Dors, shared the same title, but nothing more, as the A I Bezzerides novel from which They Drive by Night was adapted. There is a certain in-built romance to any kind of road movie, the notion of man and machine blazing trails and running into crime, corruption, or maybe just lousy luck has plenty of storytelling potential. There’s also the opportunity to examine the hardships involved, all the mundane little trials that come with such a typically working class job. That’s how this movie starts out, following the exhausting, insecure and poorly rewarded toil of two brothers trying to eke out a living hauling whatever loads are handed to them. They are Joe and Paul Fabrini (George Raft and Humphrey Bogart respectively), bleary-eyed, grimy, short of cash and never more than a tip-off or a fast dodge ahead of their creditors. Even so, there’s a tough integrity to their poverty, the wisecracks serving as a cloak of modesty for the determination and ambition honed and tempered by long years on the road.
The first half of the movie traces a true but bumpy and incident strewn path towards Joe Fabrini’s ultimate goal, with just the same steely focus as the character himself shows as he hugs that white line night after night. It feels like one long ride, broken occasionally by stop-offs at cheap boarding houses, gas stations and roadside diners peopled with braggarts, lechers and brawlers, quick with a quip yet as close knit and proud as only the downtrodden can be. This section is dominated both by the to and fro over what might be termed the work-life balance between the Fabrini brothers, and also a burgeoning romance between Joe and Cassie (Ann Sheridan), a short order waitress. Two other major characters, restless vamp Lana Carlson (Ida Lupino) and her rambunctious and incorrigible husband Ed (Alan Hale), are introduced. Ed is an old friend of Joe’s who has made good and is living in the kind of luxury he hasn’t yet managed to get a handle on. Lana also knows Joe from way back, and she’s very keen on not only renewing the acquaintance but on seeing it develop into something much more intimate. However, this strand is only fully explored in the latter half of the film.
Everything changes dramatically, the direction of the story and the whole tone of the movie, after a serious accident quite literally takes the Fabrinis off the road. It opens up an opportunity for Joe to strike out on an alternative route to success, and it also presents an opportunity for Lana as she gets to thinking she might be able to rid herself of the husband she’s grown to despise and simultaneously sate her desire for Joe. In an ironic twist, the trappings of wealth and prosperity that Ed has surrounded himself with to facilitate the high life are shown to be capable of bringing that life to a swift and premature end. After another evening of boozing and ribaldry, Lana feels humiliated and frustrated enough to act – it only requires her to take a short walk on a quiet night and thus commit murder by remote control. Could this be the perfect crime?
Walsh handles the story with typical vigor, bridging the stylistic divide over the course of the movie with aplomb so that the changing circumstances feel authentic. The early scenes have a real flavor of the 30s about them, full of Depression-era energy and snappy, wisecracking dialogue, while Raft, Bogart and Sheridan get the lived-in feel of their characters down pat. Raft is very assured, arguably his Joe Fabrini is too sure of himself, to the point where it is going to come back and bite him. Sheridan is at her best in the diner sequence, tough and sassy, trading one-liners with the customers and more than holding her own. Bogart could always play it soulful when necessary and he’s good value till the script sees him effectively sidelined. The second part of the story looks ahead to the type of movie that would become increasingly common in the 1940s, and it is this section where Ida Lupino comes into her own. She switches smoothly from acid to sugar depending on the person she happens to be dealing with and her desperation to conceal a trashy background and move in more genteel circles is almost a living thing. That barely disguised dissatisfaction grows steadily, driving her to crime and ultimately consuming her body and soul. The physical transformation she achieves by the time of the famous courtroom meltdown is quite remarkable.
The movie, or its latter stages at any rate, see it flagged as an early film noir by some. Admittedly, there is a touch of that about it, but there’s no more than a suspicion really. It’s a solid melodrama with a crime and jealousy angle and there is no need to hang any other labels on it. The triangular romance and the betrayal this provokes, those illicit, murderous passions stirred into life amid a tough working environment are said to be an echo of the earlier Bordertown, a film I have not seen, and there are points of similarity to be discerned in the later Blowing Wild. Leaving aside genre descriptors and links to other movies, They Drive by Night is a fine picture, an involving, well-crafted piece of work that showcases the ease with which Raoul Walsh seemed to make great films. It is unmistakably a Warner Brothers production, a first rate Raoul Walsh movie and a genuine classic.
Riding the High Country 
Great part for Ida. Bogie soon to completely overtake Raft in the stardom stakes.
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Pretty much al the major players were well cast. It’s difficult to imagine anyone else in those roles, which usually means they went for the right people.
The 1940s saw the gradual rise to prominence of the slightly ambiguous hero, not quite the antihero but the bruised and slightly compromised variety. Bogart was well suited to such parts. Raoul Walsh certainly got the ball rolling in earnest as far as that was concerned when he subsequently cast Bogart, and Lupino too of course, in High Sierra. Raft is said to have turned down that role, and it’s one of the decisions that is often cited as leading to his slow decline as a star, but I don’t think he would have inhabited it in the way Bogart did and even if he had taken it on, it’s unlikely to have altered the ultimate course of his career in a significant way. Bogart had that air about him that captured the zeitgeist of that era.
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Raft had a reason to turn High Sierra down, it was no gangster parts. He was right.
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I can’t see that, to be honest. His determination to play only certain types of roles led to a lot of very bland parts in some decidedly bland movies – not all by any means, but enough to see his star slowly wane while someone like Bogart, who was prepared to take on the more dubious stuff, went from strength to strength. By the time he did accept darker material, such as that very good turn in Rogue Cop, it was essentially too late for him to turn things around.
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I believe yur observations are correct, but in hindsight. Raft was a kid from the lower East Side, Bogart, also a New Yorker, from the upper middle class. Raft would never have played Conflict, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, and Bogart was lucky to have survived them professionally. It is a way of looking at the world while these things are in play.
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The rise of film noir required a whole new acting approach. The fast-talking 1930s style of acting started to go out of fashion. The trend was towards brooding minimalist acting. It is impossible to imagine Mitchum or Alan Ladd having successful careers in the 30s. In the 40s they thrived while the big stars of the 30s mostly started to fade.
According to Louise Brooks (in her wonderful book Lulu in Hollywood) it was Leslie Howard who taught Bogart to tone down his performances while they were making The Petrified Forest. Brooks believed that that lesson is what made Bogart a star.
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Some 30s stars did fade, but plenty continued to thrive as well. The tone of the movies did shift, especially with the war, and those with greater range, flexibility or adaptability did fine. Of course there were those whose star waned as they aged too.
Howard’s influence on Bogart’s development and the key part played by his role in The Petrified Forest has been noted before. I think recall first hearing it long ago in a documentary/retrospective on Bogart’s life and career. I don’t believe it made him a star though as he spent a fair bit of time in third or fourth billed parts afterwards. It was Walsh and then Huston who cast him in the defining roles that moved him onto a different level.
And you’re not alone on getting the titles mixed up – I do that myself. The similarity in syntax gets me every time.
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I think it did make him a star because if you watch his performances prior to The Petrified Forest they’re absolutely awful. He was an embarrassingly bad actor in his early film career. His performances are horribly stagey. Then suddenly he learns how to do film acting properly. Had he not learnt that lesson there’s no way he would have been given those star-making roles. So it was Leslie Howard who made him ready for strdom.
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I know what you mean. I’ve seen some early performances and the contrast with what came later is indeed marked. I guess it’s just a question of semantics as I wouldn’t use the term star for anything Bogart did before High Sierra. That’s not denying his development as a performer or of any assistance in that direction from other actors.
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For me Ida Lupino could do no wrong as an actress in the 40s.
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I love to read what you have to say about a film I rate highly, Colin. I think you just nailed it.
Certainly Lupino is a ‘femme fatale’ here so hints of ‘noir’ abound but really, as you say, it is a straight, gritty melodrama.
Warners in the 30s and 40s made some of my favourite movies, both A and B, and their style was so very much the studio’s own. From LITTLE CAESAR in 1931 on the world they depicted they depicted better than any other studio, I feel.
Terrific cast, great director, terrific movie.
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I like revisiting this film, all bridging or transitional movies tend to interest me, and thoroughly well made examples such as this even more so.
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When you say a movie is a genuine classic, I have to get it! Will start searching for a copy straight away. I share your estimation of Lupino’s acting ability. She was exceptionally good in ROAD HOUSE, a film I watched on the strength of your review of it, and has shone in several other films I’ve seen since.
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I have just ordered a copy.
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In that case, I can only say that I hope you enjoy the movie when you get round to watching it.
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In many ways Raft’s last great film at Warner Bros. I don’t know if this happens to anybody but glad you mentioned title similarities with the British release as I often get this one mixed up with Ray’s They Live By Night. Which is dumb of me but there you go … Actually must check to see if I have this one!
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Damn, no DVD. Will get a copy from elsewhere but could have sworn… it’s that darn title mix-up! But Sheridan was just terrific so must re-watch soon. Thanks Colin.
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Sheridan had a good run from the mid to late 30s right through to the end of the 40s and was great in almost all genres. I think she was wonderful in The Man Who Came to Dinner, but that’s just a prince of a picture all round.
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Love that film though not seen it in ages. She is great in WOMAN ON THE RUN, a great capper to her career in many ways.
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Have you seen Silver River? Sheridan gives a strong performance in it and it also has fine work from Errol Flynn and, again, Raoul Walsh’s assured direction.
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I think I saw it but a very long time ago – the one where Steiner re-used his Dodge City theme as I recall?
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You have there and you may be right on the scoring – I haven’t seen it recently enough to confirm that aspect though .
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Sheridan left Warners in the late forties, and her films tanked at Universal, on the independent level, and her billing, like Raft’s dropped. Contrary to popular opinion, the same thing happened to Lupino when she began directing modest films which led to bankruptcy. Prior to that, she had a deal at Fox, Road House was the only title and for that, Ida earned $150,000.00, enormous money at the time, but walked away into mediocre and unsuccessful films in which she did not always play the lead.
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Lupino’s credits in the 1950s are patchier, but there are some significant tiles in there. On Dangerous Ground is simply a great film. And I rate Woman in Hiding, While the City Sleeps and The Big Knife.
Anyway, she had a long career and was never out of work either behind or in front of the camera. Over time, her reputation has grown, and we’re still talking about her today. All told, I think she was pretty successful.
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There were not big pictures, either in terms of budget or success. Reviews and opinions are different. While Teh City Sleeps is dressed to seem like an all-star cast, they were all treading water, and Dana is the only star — he works with all, the others are in for a few days or a week. Same thing with The Big Knife, just more pretentious and less fun.
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I feel they stand the test of time. They have gained in reputation over the years if anything and much of what they highlight remains relevant. Most of all though, they are movies by directors I love and peopled with actors whose work gives me pleasure.
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Nothing you have said is wrong or wronghead, but we are looking at these things through a different lens. Yours is personal, mine, a professional observation related to the decline of Raft, and spun off from there. The later Lupino, Sheridan, and Raft films were for the most part wanting in paid admissions, and stature within the industry. All of them were the product of personal and professional decisions but also related to changing tastes and age. Only Bogart of They Drive By Night survived as a top star.
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Yes, I watched Background to Danger again not that long ago, another Raoul Walsh movie. While it’s quite enjoyable and slick, it would have been better without the star’s insistence on his part being altered to make him an undercover Fed. Eric Ambler’s best books worked at least in part because they tended to have those Hitchcockian situations with regular guys getting drawn into complex and dangerous circumstances which were way above their heads, which is a characteristically noir setup too.
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Another I have not seen in yonks … but yeah, this is why Raft is not as well remembered really .
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Yep, if you take an Ambler “reluctant amateur drawn into the world of espionage and intrigue” hero and make him a professional then you’ve missed the whole point of Ambler’s best stories. But I guess Hollywood is all about taking great stories, missing the point entirely and turning them into uninteresting conventional stories.
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That’s a harsh view overall, and not entirely fair. Plenty of good works were used as the basis of good films, and some poor material got elevated too. I think in this case, the responsibility appears to lie principally with the star, as it sounds as though the alterations were made at his insistence rather than those of the writers, director or producer.
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And that was a major problem with Hollywood movies. The producer, the writer and the director might have known exactly what they were doing but they could always be overruled and forced to make disastrous changes by studio execs or by the egos of powerful stars.
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There is a reason for stardom, and it is not that these men and women do not know what they are doing.
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and some poor material got elevated too.
Yes, that’s true. Two excellent examples are The Lady Vanishes and The Spiral Staircase, both based on novels by Ethel Lina White. In those two cases the source novels were complete rubbish but the movies were superb.
And The Birds was based on a very mediocre story by Daphne du Maurier.
That’s the weird thing about movies. There are so many bad movies based on great novels, and great movies based on lousy novels.
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The lesson is, never let actors make decisions!
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Looking at the broad picture, things do tend to balance out I feel. When I consider the sum of good, bad and questionable decisions, I’m a lot more pleased than displeased with the movies made in the classic era.
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It’s one of the things that makes the movies of that era interesting. You watch a poor movie made from a great book and you wonder, how on earth did they manage to mess that up? And then you watch a great movie made from a mediocre book and you’re left equally stunned and surprised, but in a good way.
It was still true in the 70s. Don’t Look Now is a great movie based on a terrible Daphne du Maurier story. The Shining is a great movie based on a very poor Stephen King novel. It just seems to be in the nature of things. Movies and books are so totally different that what works in one medium can fail hopelessly in the other.
It might still be true today. I wouldn’t know since I don’t watch the movies of today.
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And then you get movies based on novels that are absolutely unfilmable. Sometimes they can be quite interesting. I’m quite fond of John Huston’s Moby Dick. But then you get Kubrick’s Lolita which was, predictably, a total trainwreck.
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Justify that. I gthink you are flat out mistaken. Whatever magic it takes to make someone a star, in picutres is the window through which the world sees the film. No star, no picture.
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Nice work here, Colin, on what is a pretty good film. Everybody seems to fit in perfectly with their roles. While there are still plenty of Lupino films I have never seen,, LUST FOR GOLD, ROAD HOUSE, HIGH SIERRA. WOMON IN HIDING, THE SEA WOLF and OUT OF THE FOG all made an impression on me.
Keep them coming.
Gordon
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I’m not as well versed in her earlier roles, but I’ve seen the bulk of her post-1940 work and liked pretty much all of it.
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Deep Valley, The Man I Love and Moontide are Lupino movies well worth seeing.
I understand why she wanted to become a director but she was much better as an actress.
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I need to and plan to catch up with The Outrage as soon as I’m able and I think The Hitch-Hiker is a terrific bit of low budget tension. Anything I’ve seen of her TV directing, and I’ve caught up with a fair bit of it now, has been a positive experience.
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I’d say she was a very competent director, but a truly great actress.
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Totally off-topic (although I guess westerns are never off-topic here), who else is looking forward to Kino Lorber’s new three-movie Audie Murphy Blu-Ray set? It includes Sierra which was discussed here recently.
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Personally, I’m locked into Region B so I won’t be buying, but it is heartening to see these movies getting Blu-ray releases.
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I’m a bit late to the show as I’ve been monitoring the previous HIGH WALL. All this talk about Bogart, Raft and Lupino reminds me of how these actors made their mark in film. Before Lupino made her way to WB in 1940 (They Drive By Night) she was under contract to Paramount Studios beginning in 1933 until 1938. IMO, it was there she exhibited her breakout role in YOURS FOR THE ASKING (1936), where she was in support of topped billed George Raft. Raft made many films for Paramount in the 30’s which were highly successful portraying him in good tough guy roles. Other films included THE GLASS KEY (1935) and YOU AND ME (1938), co-starring with top billed studio favorite Sylvia Sidney.
Henceforth, based on the proven popularity of the lower east side Hell’s Kitchen Raft and the roles he played is no wonder why Warner’s wanted him. He fit right into the gangster/crime genre that Warner’s was known for.
In Raft’s first Warner film, EACH DAWN I DIE (1939), he co-starred with the studio’s top guy, James Cagney, and over-shadowed the top star. Those two were never teamed up again. Raft went on with They Drive By Night were he was topped billed with a great supporting cast that included Lupino. After this film, he was offered many starring roles of a list of films he turned down. This is when things began to unravel for one of Warner’s new top stars. During this time, he did manage one more really good film, MANPOWER (1941), where he was third billed in a co-starring role with top billed Edward G. Robinson and second billed Marlene Dietrich. Although, third billed, Raft carried most of the weight, with Dietrich doing what Dietrich does. It’s really too bad for Raft, because once again he showed a strong screen presence totally over-shadowing Warner’s other top star E.G. Robinson.
While all this was going on with Raft, WB main supporting player Bogart was given the opportunity in the A-film production of HIGH SIERRA (1941), co-starring with top billed Ida Lupino. Bogart’s Roy Earle won the day and Lupino getting much deserved praise. Also, being that this was Bogart’s initial effort in a starring A effort they changed his hair color to a gray as to be different from the supporting player the audience was accustomed to. Personally, I think High Sierra would have done just as well with a Raft/Lupino effort.
Wow, this was kind of a long winded summation of something that is already well known. I just had to say my piece.
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I would love to see the 1935 version of The Glass Key but it appears to be totally unobtainable.
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It’s readily available online.
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Thanks for that but I don’t do the streaming thing. Partly for technical reasons. In my country we have a national government-run broadband service which would be considered a disgrace in any self-respecting Third World country. It’s not reliable enough for me to bother with streaming. Also I just don’t approve of the whole streaming concept.
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Dee, I don’t do streaming either. There is a copy of THE GLASS KEY (1935) on Ebay UK for £3.25. I bought a copy and whilst the print is not BluRay standard it is entirely watchable. I don’t know whether that helps you or not though.
George Raft’s career is interesting – it is almost as though he let it slide after some good films at WB. I still enjoy his 1940s films like JOHNNY ANGEL & INTRIGUE but by then his acting range was more restricted than earlier. Seems like that was a conscious decision on his part.
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My favourite 40s George Raft movie is Nocturne (1946). In fact it’s one of my favourite noirs. And I think Red Light (1949) is superb as well. I might be swimming against the tide but I think the 40s was a great decade for Raft in terms of making quality films, although probably not such a great decade in box office terms.
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Nocturne benefits from having a script by Jonathan Latimer.
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dfordoom
That version I need to see as well.
Gord
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Scott S
Thanks for the info on it being online. Amazing what a fellow can find online.
Gordon
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Love Nocturne. Mabel Page (as Raft’s mother), Myrna Dell ( as an unlikely housekeeper) and Lynn Bari provide great support .
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It’s great to see Nocturne getting some love here. A movie that deserves to be much more highly thought of than it is.
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Yes, I should have mentioned NOCTURNE as it is a Raft high point.
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Personally my fav later Raft film is RED LIGHT from 1949. A well done noir with a superb supporting cast that includes, Virginia Mayo, Bart MacLane, Harry Morgan and a top performance from Raymond Burr. An excellent film.
Other Raft I like are several named by others here and, JOHNNY ANGEL,45, RACE STREET 48, LOAN SHARK 52 and the earlier one, SOULS AT SEA from 1937.
Gordon
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Hi Gord and All….
After SOULS AT SEA in1937, George Raft had two really good starring outings for Paramount in 1938. The aforementioned YOU AND ME and the actioned packed adventure SPAWN OF THE NORTH with co-stars Henry Fonda (2nd billed) and Dorothy Lamour (3rd billed) who is memorable in her role and supported with loads of familiar Paramount players and a seal named Slicker. I must have seen this film on television a dozen times in the 70’s. Raft made a lot of good movies pre-Warner that he seldom gets recognized for. IMO, that’s a bum rap.
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I must make an effort to see Spawn of the North. I have seen the remake Alaska Seas, which was OK.
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One very good film from George Raft’s big-star era at WB that we have all failed to mention is INVISIBLE STRIPES (1939) with Raft top-billed over Jane Bryan and William Holden and Humphrey Bogart and Flora Robson in support.
This is from Warners social comment period in the ’30s that they made so much their own and STRIPES is a top-notch example.
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I enjoyed Invisible Stripes too and it has a fantastic cast, including a young William Holden. I only caught up with it when it was released on DVD – it seemed to be very elusive before that.
The director Lloyd Bacon is one of those who was extraordinarily prolific yet I’ve only seen a mere handful of his movies, mostly those Cagney, Bogart, Robinson efforts from the late 30s and practically nothing among his post-war credits.
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I must confess I have never really looked into Lloyd Bacon’s CV yet it seems he had a long career as a ‘workhorse’ director, particularly at Warners, where he helmed entertaining films, both A and B.
Glad you brought that point up, Colin.
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Hi Colin, Jerry and All, if you enjoyed WB’s INVISIBLE STRIPES you most likely will enjoy (maybe even more) Paramount’s YOU AND ME, co-starring Raft and Sylvia Sydney (top billed). Released a year earlier, it was Paramount’s contribution to the “social comment period in the ’30s” (Quote Jerry), with Sylvia Sydney as a parolee with good intentions and Raft as a parolee with criminal intentions. Henceforth, they meet and fall in love creating serious complications. A really good movie with a wonderful cast of supporting players. Highly recommend.
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I think that’s been hinted at as a future Blu-ray release in the UK. Maybe via Indicator, but I can’t remember now for sure.
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Scott, thanks for that. I picked up a copy of YOU AND ME just last year and agree with you that is a really fine social drama. Sylvia Sidney seemed to rather specialise in such in the ’30s and was very successful in them. YOU AND ME was completely new to me but I also thought her superb in YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE with Fonda and STREET SCENE from 1930.
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Sylvia Sidney was really quite the actress. She was another actress that achieved staying power in the movie industry. I’m with you Jerry about STREET SCENE, a film that focuses on Americana of the time. YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE…….the last reel was an absolute knockout with a Bonnie and Clyde type ending. Another goody is the pre-code PICK-UP (1933), once again with co-stars Sidney and Raft. Sidney and Raft had good chemistry between them, thus teaming up a number of times over the years.
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Sidney had a long and varied career. I like that she got to appear on the big screen again in her later years via a couple of high profile Tim Burton pictures.
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Thanks for your review of this. Just recently got the DVD in a Bogie. Ironically just picked up some more books on him including his son’s book. Fascinating stuff. Lupino was so luminous as an actress. I need to check out more of her stuff. Enjoyed her in ‘Sherlock Holmes’ (so beautiful as a damsel in distress) and ‘Junior Bonner’ (so knowing and wise about men and their ideas). Enjoyed ‘The Hitch-hiker too that she directed. Such an admirable talented woman. Before I forget: ‘The doors made me do it!’.
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Odd how the passage of time creates different allusions for us – it almost feels like she was blaming Jim Morrison for all her woes. 😀
As others have said, there’s lots to enjoy in Lupino’s screen work, especially throughout the 1940s. You’ll have a good time exploring it.
I have and have read a couple of books on Bogart, one by Nathaniel Benchley and one by Sperber & Lax.
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I know! I thought of that too. Sperber & Lax is the best on Bogart. That ‘High Sierra’ Blu is tremendous. Wish you could get a copy.
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I could get a copy easily enough, Chris. The problem for me is I don’t have a Blu-ray player that will deal with Region A (US) BDs. DVDs I can handle just fine of course. I keep hoping that the UK branch of Criterion will release the movie, but their output has slowed to a point where beginning to wonder how long they plan to continue.
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I know I hate region locks! Never got the German Blu of ‘Open Range’ because of that. Can’t believe that great Western doesn’t have an American Blu release. Disgraceful.
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Thee things are an annoyance. Region locking on DVD was/is pretty easy to work around, Blu-ray presents more problems. I understand 4K releases don’t employ and region coding, but I really can’t see myself jumping on another format at this stage.
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I have 4K but my desire to rebuy my collection after DVD and Blu is very low indeed. I pick and choose. Anyway under 65 inch screens the difference to me is not enormous. Nicer yes revelatory no.
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Can you buy multi-region Blu-Ray players in your part of the world? A very worthwhile investment if they’re available.
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Yes, and I have thought about it before. I’m not convinced I need one though or can really justify not only the cost of the device but also the expense of importing regularly from the US.
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I wonder if you and I have the same Pioneer model, Colin. The DVD UPSCALER is multi-region but will only play Region 2 BluRays.
I have a region-free BluRay of HIGH SIERRA which shares the disc with ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT. A good Bogart double bill and SIERRA looks stupendous.
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I have a Panasonic that is multi-region for DVD but Region B only for Blu-ray. And I also have an older LG that is locked into the European standard for both formats.
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To be honest, it has not been that big a problem for me except perhaps the many KL releases I can’t play. But, as you say, I’m now put off by the huge cost of importing from the US anyway.
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That closely mirrors my own experience, Jerry. I’d have more of a problem if I were unable to play US DVDs as have a significant number of those.
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Overseas shipping rates can be a problem. I buy everything from amazon and I get free shipping from overseas so it’s not a problem for me personally. In Australia there’s no alternative. If you want to see movies other than the latest blockbusters you have to buy them from overseas.
I find that the biggest problem is not the shipping but the rapidly spiralling costs of the discs themselves. And nowadays there’s so much stuff that is only released on Blu-Ray, which I hate. And often I find that buying a movie on DVD will cost me three times as much as buying it on Blu-Ray, which is insane.
I detest the Blu-Ray format but I buy Blu-Rays because so often it’s the only option. Without a multi-region Blu-Ray player I’d have to give up classic movie fandom altogether.
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Colin, I’ve had a Sony multi region player (including region A blu) . It cost £159 in 2021 including post from multiregionmagic.co.uk at 214 Lincoln rd Peterborough tel 01733 340707. Very reliable.
Though I appreciate your thoughts on costs.
Regarding the 1935 GLASS KEY, it was interesting to see Ann Sheridan in one scene only, as a nurse. Also Ray Milland had 10 mins screen time. The Ladd version was better.
I don’t find any Ann Sheridan film ‘mediocre’. Of her 50s films, I like ON DANGEROUS GROUND, TAKE ME TO TOWN, STEEL TOWN, WOMAN ON THE RUN, COME NEXT SPRING.
I think While The City Sleeps does have an all star cast – Rhonda Fleming, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, Ida Lupino, Dana Andrews, George Sanders, Howard Duff.
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That’s not a bad price – thanks, I’ll bear that in mind, although it’s not a priority for me just now.
And I feel While the City Sleeps is a starry vehicle too, and in a good way.
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The best solution for someone who doesn’t watch many Blu-Rays from other regions is a budget multi-region Blu-Ray player. In Australia they cost about a hundred dollars (about fifty quid in British money). I wouldn’t bother with an expensive name-brand player.
My favourite Ann Sheridan movie is her 1947 noir (or noir melodrama if you prefer) Nora Prentiss.
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Wasn’t NORA PRENTISS to be Ann Sheridan’s long awaited pathway to Best Actress Academy Award as was MILDRED PIERCE for Joan Crawford two years earlier? I think Sheridan reached her zenith when she was topped billed in KINGS ROW (1942). Many star makers in this film…….co -stars Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan and Betty Field.
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It’s a good film. Vincent Sherman was an effective director on that kind of movie and most stuff shot by James Wong Howe is worth viewing.
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I just recorded APPOINTMENT IN HONDURAS from 1953 with Sheridan, G. Ford, Zac Scott and directed by Jacques Tourneur. Unable to recall if I have seen it or not. I generally found Miss Sheridan to always be worth a look.
Gordon
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I have this on a DVD alongside Escape to Burma. As far as I recall, it’s a fairly entertaining jungle intrigue picture.
Most of those Benedict Bogeaus productions are enjoyable.
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Quote Colin, “most stuff shot by James Wong Howe is worth viewing” and for listening…Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
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Actually, I’m happy to hear any of the classic era composers: Rosza, Tiomkin, Steiner, Herrmann, Skinner, Duning, et al.
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I caught NORA PRENTISS on cable TV some years back and I remember wondering why it isn’t better known.
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It is not about thoughts or feelings, but how the relatively modest production of While The City Sleeps was structured to crate those thoughts and feelings. Advertising phenomena.
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Ah ha!! HIGH SIERRA is coming up here on TCM next week. So I will get to see it again for the first time in at least a decade.
Gord
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It’s probably been as long since I last watched it myself, Gord. It’s a real star making role for Bogart. I must give the second remake, with Jack Palance, another look. I wasn’t all that taken with it last time.
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Regarding the high cost of USA imports…….BREXIT!
Before Brexit the £ averaged at 1.60 to the $ As soon as Brexit happened the £ crashed to 1.30 with
inancial experts saying it could go as low as 1.20
right now it’s spluttering at around 1.24. The highest the £ went in the years before Brexit was 1.75 Funny how the fate of a country can be decided by a majority of thicko racist morons.
Colin-I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES has CinemaScope and Warnercolor on it’s side Palance just OK in Bogies role but Shelley Winters terrible in Ida’s role….where was Gloria Grahame? Color is a bit off on the DVD I would go for a Blu Ray upgrade.
Also Colin I thought you had a region free Blu Ray player-I assumed that you were collecting those Kino Noir triples. Elephant France are soon to release Jack Arnold’s OUTSIDE THE LAW an undercover cop thriller with Ray Danton and Grant Williams Elephant are also releasing THE GLASS WEB but not the 3D version.
Another Ida winner is PRIVATE HELL 36 and although her star was fading she was still making interesting films as a director. OUTRAGE I feel was certainly her best. The amount of Ida films being released on disc means that her reputation is gaining traction among fans. Glenn Erickson has just reviewed Imprint’s Noir box set Vol 4 where there are two Ida films featured. Glenn unmasks the mystery of JENNIFER (which he considers the weakest of the set) and notes the film was actually directed by TV veteran Bernard Girard. Girard also directed the engaging Rory Calhoun Gloria Grahame Western RIDE OUIT FOR REVENGE actually a film made by Kirk Douglas Bryna imprint. Girard also directed the notorious THE PARTY CRASHERS a very sad swan song for Bobby Driscoll and Frances Farmer. Other main feature credits for Girard include DEAD HEAT ON A MERRY GO ROUND and THE MAD ROOM.
During the 50’s Ida also made another Allied Artists career killer STRANGE INTRUDER sensitive material clumsily handled. Ida’s performance in a difficult role is fine but the film is not.
I understand Bogart himself talked Raft out of HIGH SIERRA coveting the role for himself with Raft having also turned down THE MALTESE FALCON (not wanting to work for an inexperienced director) and CASABLANCA. After HIGH SIERRA Bogart was top billed for the rest of his career.
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Ye John, there’s nothing good to said for Brexit.
Thank you for that info on those French Blu-rays, I wasn’t aware of them.
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I think it’s clear that Raft never turned down Casablanca – how could he, he was never offered the role. According to “ Inside Warner Brothers”, Jack Warner told Hal Wallis that Raft actually did want to do Casablanca but Wallis made it clear that Bogart was ideal for it and it was being written for him.
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I can imagine Raft would have been attracted to the lead in Casablanca, it has enough of that noble romanticism about it to appeal. Still, and I fully acknowledge that Bogart’s complete ownership of the role and its status within the pantheon of classic cinema parts makes any other actor appear immediately unsuitable, I don’t think he would have been right at all. Sure he could have carried off the slickness probably the tough cynicism as well. However, the real magic of Rick Blaine is the way Bogart invested him with a slow blooming humility, not just that alcohol-fueled “of all the gin joints shtick”, but a true self-awareness that that cut right to the essence of the man, to the strength that is borne of coming to terms with his own weakness. Bogart had the soulfulness which allowed him to reach into himself and not only express that, but also to make it entirely plausible. I’m not sure Raft had that in him.
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You’re probably right although it would have been interesting to see Raft given the chance at the role. Personally I’m more of a Raft fan than a Bogart fan.
And I’m not the biggest fan of Casablanca. Maybe I just saw it too many times on TV. There are some movies I’ve seen many times and I love them more each time and there are others I’ve seen many times and I’ve grown a bit tired of them. For me Casablanca falls into the latter category.
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I’ve always liked Casablanca although I haven’t seen it for a few years now. The last time was on the big screen in an outdoor summer cinema in Athens along with someone who had never seen it before. Her enjoyment of the movie made it seem even better – the cinema experience is generally beneficial for any picture and there is something about sharing the pleasure of movie-going with others that is hard to define yet very real.
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This might seem weird but I’ve never really had that special cinema-going experience. Probably because my tastes in movies have always been so divorced from popular tastes. I’ve never found anyone in real life who loves the movies I love. Until I discovered the world of online movie fandom I had no idea there were other people who loved the movies I loved.
I have never enjoyed watching movies at the cinema.
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I think it depends on the movie, and to an extent on the audience.
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I’m sure it does for most people. I used to go to cinemas a lot, back in the days when that was the only way to see anything a bit out of the mainstream. When DVDs arrived on the scene I was overjoyed. I would never have to go to a movie theatre again.
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The closest I’ve ever come to having shared movie-watching experiences was at a certain point in my life when I was a shift worker. I shared a house with a woman and we’d get home from work at midnight and stay up all night watching old black-and-white movies together on TV (in the days when two of the networks here showed old movies from midnight to dawn). She had a real love of old movies.
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Noir doesn’t come much bleaker than Private Hell 36. Steve Cochran is always worth watching.
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I did not want the other two films in the Kino ABOVE THE LAW set so I was pleased regarding the Elephant release. I have high hopes for MAN AFRAID especially as it co stars Phyllis Thaxter a generally unheralded actress I always admire. MAN AFRAID played in the UK as a main feature.
So Colin what’s the deal on the Kino Noir triples- are you just waiting for Euro releases? I was under the assumption that you were collecting the lot.
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Man Afraid is fine thriller, although I’ve only seen it in a rather ropey copy.
The Kino titles? Yes, I’ve just been hoping for European releases.
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I hope Indicator continue with their Universal Noir series-at least they release titles as stand alone versions when the box sets go OOP. Kino have more or less exhausted Universal Noir- I’m still waiting for STORY OF MOLLY X and UNDER THE GUN.
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I very much hope Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and Nightmare (1942) get released by somebody somewhere.
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And practically on cue, Arrow have announced an August release for their Film Noir Volume 3 box, comprising:
Calcutta
Ride the Pink Horse
Outside the Law
The Female Animal
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The Female Animal is very underrated. It’s not a noir. It’s a deliciously overheated melodrama but I love overheated melodrama. Hedy Lamarr’s last film. I’ve always enjoyed her performances.
Calcutta falls into that tropical noir/tropical melodrama category that I love so much so naturally I enjoyed it.
That set is clearly a must-buy.
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Yes, it’s an attractive set. And Arrow have tended to release titles individually or in a more basic box when the limited edition sells out or expires.
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Maybe I need to see Ride The Pink Horse again. I remember seeing it some years ago and not being very impressed.
Re-watching Down Three Dark Streets just now – good FBI thriller with Brod Crawford, Ruth Roman, Kenneth Tobey. Seem to recall ending at the Hollywood sign in the hills.
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Yes, that ending at the famous sign sticks in my mind too, and I think I’ve only seen the movie once.
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A bit off topic here, but the 1963 film version of LORD OF THE FLIES is coming up here on cable. I read the William Golding book in high school and was impressed. I saw the 1990 film version but never the 1963 take. What about you good people, any opinions?
Gord
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I too read the book in my youth and it struck me then as a sobering piece of work. However, I have never seen any of the adaptations.
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I saw the 1963 film on the big screen in London at its release. The book was part of our school curriculum and a small school trip was arranged. Not my favourite film of all time!!
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I saw the 1963 Lord of the Flies on a school trip as well. I remember very little about it. The books and movies I was forced to read or see at school made very little impact on me, although reading a Steinbeck novel at school did leave me with a life-long loathing for Steinbeck.
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