"They Drive By Night" is a partial remake of the 1935 film "Bordertown." The latter half of the above film resembles the former movie in particular. George Raft was in a better film this time around and he is perfectly tolerable in the lead. Humphrey Bogart is billed fourth and isn't given much to do after the first half. Two brothers who are truck drivers are hoping to raise enough money so they can go into business for themselves. Various complications develop along the way, which is where the second half of "They Drive By Night" kicks in. Raft comes across an old friend (Alan Hale) who offers him a chance to ascend the career ladder. The film has a brilliant pace, good direction, dialogue which is actually quite memorable and a powerhouse performance from Ida Lupino. Her closing scene gave me the chills the first time I saw it. Ann Sheridan proves she is worth a lot more than just being cast as the "Oomph Girl." Her performance in this film is natural and convincing during the dramatic scenes. The generous dose of location shooting really adds to the film as the studio backlot would have robbed the story of the kind of scale it needed.

An entertaining drama.Starts out as a trucking movie, the little independent operator vs the big company, and ends as a murder-drama, even psychological drama. While it does seem to suffer from not having a single focus - there are too many sub-plots going on at the same time - it is never dull and always entertaining. Pacing is good.Solid performance from George Raft in the lead role. Humphrey Bogart had a more supporting role but seems to have more presence than Raft whenever they are in the same scene.Good support from Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Alan Hale.

"They Drive by Night" starts as a powerful blue-collar drama involving two embattled truck drivers, George Raft and Humphrey Bogart as siblings Joe and Paul Brasini, and it ends like a traditional film-noir with Ida Lupino as an over-possessive femme fatale and George Raft as the unfortunate object of her twisted affection. Raft is the common link between two stories that could've been easily separate, making the title even more questionable. In French, it's "A Dangerous Woman", a wiser choice given how prominent Ida Lupino gets in the second half of the film, delivering the most powerful performance among its star-studded cast.But let's get back to the first act, it is a brilliant social commentary about the hardened conditions of truck drivers, traveling in pairs, switching roles in order to gain some sleep, the dialogues cut straight to your heart, the male brotherhood, the solidarity between drivers, their economical struggle while depending on crooked bosses, no mention of unions or drivers' right, it's not "Hoffa" but more of a Steinbeck-like "Wheels of Wrath" with some heart-pounding sequences à la "Wages of Fear". The part featuring Bogart trying to resist to sleep left me on the edge, having just experienced a similar moment while driving alone on a monotonous road, I knew how it feels to feel your eyes heavy and then close them enough to see you getting off the road.The first act is a riveting experience, and it wouldn't have hurt the story to keep on that direction. I loved Paul's melancholic monologues about missing his wife, getting to bed, this speaks something powerful about the way these men lived, they didn't need money to live fancy lives, sleeping was the cherished treasure. And like modern-day explorers or sailors, their benevolent wives waited for them, expecting the worse, for it wasn't uncommon to some drivers who dreamed of sleeping to sleep once and for all. The film oscillates between dramatic moments and some comic reliefs, through Roscoe Karne as the driver who constantly wastes his pay on pinball's. But don't get it wrong, this isn't just a man's film, women play a significant part, and this is how fresh and modern that first act feels.Ann Sheridan plays her usual wisecracking roles, with the waitress who'll always outsmart all the witty quirks addressed to her, she's not just an eye-catching red head, she sure knows how to catch a man's heart, and the no-nonsense look George Raft keeps on her says a lot. But it's Gale Page who caught my heart as Paul's wife. She begged him for children believing it would at least conceal her loneliness, but Paul doesn't feel ready. Her speech in the hospital after Paul lost his right arm is intelligently thought-provoking; she's glad he lost an arm, it's a small price to pay if it could finally earn her peace of mind, and a stability in her couple. It's not cynical, it's only a tough reaction to one of the toughest rackets ever, one that make gangster look like wimps.And now I guess it's time to get to the second half, to Ida Lupino. Her Lana Carlsen is not the dedicated housewife, or the street-wise down-to-earth girl, but the ultimate gold-digger with only contempt for her jovial and fun-loving husband, Alan Hale as Ed Carlsen an old friend of Joe who obviously succeeded. She must've loved something in Ed, and it's not his age, his bonhomie, his looks, his childish puns, the way he keeps laughing at them, or his incomparable talent as a party animal, so she's a venal woman, and the only spot in her heart is for Joe. By the way, Al Hale gave a scene-stealing performance a lovable buffoon, and his brutal murder was certainly a turning point in the film. We're plunged in an ocean of darkness as soon as good old Ed leaves the screen.The murder, memorable for its use of electric eyes, borrowed some elements from Bette Davis' "Bordertown" to boost Lupino's reputation as a new Davis. And somewhat, she deserved that publicity because she added a tragic dimension to her vileness, and her portrayal of mental dementia is still efficient even from a modern perspective. But what was the point to feature a murder so late in the film, and rushed up the rest in less than twenty minutes. So many things happen events lose their impact: Joe, after working for Ed, becomes Lana's partner, business works, but she's so wrapped up by her ego she admits her murder after learning about his marriage with Cassie (Ann Sheridan). She then, accuses him of setting up the whole scheme but on trial, she breakdowns and repeat anxiously : "The doors made me do it" (the film's defining moment)While, it could have done without that manic laughter, her performance was the highlight of the film and it was one of the most despicable female villains ever, but there's nothing Joe ever does: he owes his freedom to Lana's breakdown, his job to their partnership and to Ed's friendship, his figure is so diluted that you wonder what she found in him in the first place, was that man worth that waste? Sure, there's Lupino's performance but I'm not sure it was worth abruptly cutting on that powerful truck story, or maybe with a stronger lead …I have nothing against Raft, but as the film's top-biller, he's clearly out-shadowed by all the other protagonists. My DVD of the film belongs to the Bogart's collection and it couldn't have been more misleading: an elegant Bogart drives a car while holding Lupino, with Raft sitting next. Thankfully, this is one of Bogart's last performances as a sidekick, and Raft's greatest contribution to cinema was to allow his career to take off by turning down "High Sierra", "The Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca". After "High Sierra", Bogart would never sit on the front side, he'll drive his movies … by himself.

An intriguing movie in many ways, 'They Drive by Night' was made just after a series of classic Warner Bros gangster movies such as 'Angels with Dirty Faces' and a year before the era of a cycle of films popularly known as film noir began. It contains plenty of the grittiness that both genres, and indeed the studio itself, were noted for.In fact, had it been released a few years later the movie may well have been regarded as a prime example of film noir. The first half is the story of the Fabrini brothers (George Raft and Humphrey Bogart) who drive trucks for a living. This is a bit of a dead end job, and both rarely get a good nights' sleep- "Oh boy, I'd like to stay in bed a week, not even get up to eat." This job brings its' dangers- notably the risk of falling asleep at the wheel ("Every minute when I'm alone I expect someone to knock on the door and tell me I'm a widow"- Bogarts' wife, played by Gale Page). At the end of the day, both brothers desperately need their "dough" to make ends meet- after all, this is the depression era. In the second half of the film we witness lust, murder, jealousy and madness, much of which centres around Lana Carlsen (Ida Lupino).The main reason I enjoy this film so much is the performances of the cast. The leading role falls to George Raft and he performs adequately enough. Better known as a gangster in the decade that had just passed, this movie gave him the opportunity to display his acting skills as an honourable 'Ordinary Joe' character. However, I enjoy the other performances most of all. Humphrey Bogart was on the verge of his big career breakthrough when he appeared in this film and although he is only really involved in the first half of the movie there is no doubting the presence he has in the final supporting role of his film career. Ann Sheridan, known as the 'oomph girl' to many (a name I understand she resented) is on top form as a tough, no nonsense working class dame who is resistant to the charms of most of the men she meets ("All right, that's enough of the x-ray treatment"), with an obvious exception being Raft. Then there is the wisecracking, hugely likable character actor Alan Hale (seen often in Errol Flynn movies) who plays the charming and friendly manager of a lucrative truck firm (just look at the state of the art technology of his garage door!) Unfortunately he has two weaknesses- alcohol and his unfailing devotion to his wife, who shall we say is not the gentlest of people.It is in the latter role that Ida Lupino provides the performance of the film as an untrustworthy wife driven to all kinds of insanity by her jealousy of another female, her resentment of her drunken husband ("Your liver must look like a bomb hit it") and her lust for another man. The London-born actress turned many heads here and an especially notable moment sees her in hysterics in the court room scene at the end of the film ("Yes! The doors made me do it!" is a very memorable quote). She clearly took her opportunity to steal the picture with both hands.Moviegoers who enjoy witty lines will have a field day with this picture- there are lots of these to be found in its' 90 minute running time. It's not a comedy but it is the humour that lifts this movie to the impressive heights it reaches in terms of sheer entertainment, despite its' serious side.