They Drive by Night

Released Aug 3, 1940

1h 33m

Drama

List

92%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

70%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

Brothers Joe (George Raft) and Paul Fabrini (Humphrey Bogart), who are delivery-truck drivers, push themselves hard trying to run their own business. One night, a fatigued Paul falls asleep behind the wheel, demolishing the truck and losing an arm. Joe is then offered a job by a truck company owner (Alan Hale) whose wife, Lana (Ida Lupino), falls for Joe. Lana kills her husband to be with Joe, but when he refuses her advances because he loves Cassie (Ann Sheridan), Lana frames him for murder.

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

The pugnacity of Walsh's comic direction infuses turbulently free enterprise with tragedy.

Oct 27, 2014

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Fast moving and actionful melodrama of long-haul trucking biz, They Drive clicks with plenty of entertainment content.

Jul 6, 2010

Full Review

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

For fanciers of hard-boiled cinema, They Drive By Night still offers an entertaining ride.

Mar 25, 2006

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

They Drive By Night is a two-films-in-one title and features fine direction from Walsh as he makes the best use of his actors.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 25, 2024

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Decades before the life of a celluloid truck driver basically consisted of hauling contraband booze, talking on CB radios, and flipping off redneck cops, They Drive by Night depicted a decidedly darker lifestyle.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 10, 2024

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

The result is a square, melodramatic, somewhat contrived film noir, but it can be seen, without a doubt, by Lupino's presence as the obsessive and manipulative femme fatale. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 6/10

Jul 16, 2020

Full Review

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Joel P

Plays like 2 different movies. First half, terrific. Drama about hardships of truckers. Bogart and Raft great, and Ann Sheridan sparkles with hard boiled dialogue. Second half near awfull, as usually convincing Ida Lupino saddled with over the top role as unfaithful wife, sex starved stalker. Sheridan and Bogart disappear from film. Plot becomes ridiculous. If it feels like a different film, it is. A remake of a previous Bette Davis film. Watch the first half.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/25/24

Full Review

Steve D

I found it sleep inducing.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

David K

This film is a trademark Warners entry...gritty, blue-collar, tough talking guys and the dames that love them. The cast is phenomenal - Bogart, George Raft, Ida Lupino, and Ann Sheridan. Lupino's courtroom scene is over-the-top, but the rest of the movie works well.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie had done terrific banter and the women are fun to watch. Look for Ida Lupino.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Classic pre-film noir centering around the trucking industy in the late 1930s. It features an excellent cast, witty dialogue and great directing. Bogart fans may be disappointed to find that the movie isn't about him or his character. George Raft, Ann Sheridan and Ida Lupino are the real stars here and they shine the brightest. Alan Hale and Roscoe Karns are also memorable. Bogart is best in his scenes with Raft.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

D: Raoul Walsh. George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page, Alan Hale, Roscoe Karns. Marvelous melodrama of truck-driving brothers, Bogie and Raft, battling the dangers of the open road as well as a murder frame-up by Lupino. Unforgettable dialogue by Jerry Wald and Richard Macaulay. Partial reworking of BORDERTOWN. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

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Raoul Walsh

Director

George Raft

Joe Fabrini

Humphrey Bogart

Paul Fabrini

Ann Sheridan

Cassie Hartley

Ida Lupino

Lana Carlsen

Gale Page

Pearl Fabrini

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Synopsis

Brothers Joe (George Raft) and Paul Fabrini (Humphrey Bogart), who are delivery-truck drivers, push themselves hard trying to run their own business. One night, a fatigued Paul falls asleep behind the wheel, demolishing the truck and losing an arm. Joe is then offered a job by a truck company owner (Alan Hale) whose wife, Lana (Ida Lupino), falls for Joe. Lana kills her husband to be with Joe, but when he refuses her advances because he loves Cassie (Ann Sheridan), Lana frames him for murder.

Director: Raoul Walsh
Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Screenwriter: A. I. Bezzerides, Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay
Distributor: Warner Bros., MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Key Video, Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co: Warner Brothers, First National Pictures
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 3, 1940, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.37:1)

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