Thieves' Highway (1949)

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

A.I. Bezzerides (screenplay)
A.I. Bezzerides (novel)

Release Date:

10 October 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

Rackets Ride The Roads!

Plot:

A war-veteran-turned-truck driver attempts to avenge the crippling and robbing of his father at the hands of an amoral produce scofflaw. |

Plot Keywords:

Produce | Fruit Picker | San Francisco California | Fiancee | Gangster

Cast

Richard Conte	...	Nick Garcos
Valentina Cortese	...	Rica (as Valentina Cortesa)
Lee J. Cobb	...	Mike Figlia
Barbara Lawrence	...	Polly Faber
Jack Oakie	...	Slob
Millard Mitchell	...	Ed Kinney
Joseph Pevney	...	Pete
Morris Carnovsky	...	Yanko Garcos
Tamara Shayne	...	Parthena Garcos
Kasia Orzazewski	...	Mrs. Polansky, the Apple Farmer's Wife
Norbert Schiller	...	Mr. Polansky, the Apple Farmer
Hope Emerson	...	Midge, a buyer

Also Known As:

Collision (USA) (working title)
Hard Bargain (USA) (working title)
The Thieves' Market (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #13530) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

According to director Jules Dassin, 'Jack Okie' was completely deaf by the time of this film. "He caused absolutely no delays," Dassin said.

Quotes:

Nico 'Nick' Garcos: Hey, do you like apples?
Rica: Everybody likes apples, except doctors.
Nico 'Nick' Garcos: Do you know what it takes to get an apple so you can sink your beautiful teeth in it? You gotta stuff rags up tailpipes, farmers gotta get gypped, you jack up trucks with the back of your neck, universals conk out...
Rica: I don't know what are you talking about, but I have a new respect for apples.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Fast and the Furious (1955)

Soundtrack:

The Kleftman

Keep On Truckin'

This was a pretty good film noir - nothing spectacular - involving a crooked trucking boss, "Mike Figlia" effectively played by Lee J. Cobb who was good at playing nasty villains. In this story, a young trucker, "Nick Garcos" (Richard Conte) whose father was ruined by Cobb, goes after him to settle the score. Nick drives up north to San Francisco to seek him out but has some rough going himself, until the end.

This had interesting characters and a different type of female lead in European actress Valentina Cortese, who was good film noir material.

The story moves pretty fast with few, if any, lulls, yet seems longer than it's 93 minutes. I found this was one of those films I liked a lot better the first time than the second, lowering my rating. It's definitely still a film to check out if you're a film noir fan.