Drive a Crooked Road

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Drive a Crooked Road

1954

1h 22m

Crime

Drama

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4 Reviews

33%

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100+ Ratings

Eddie Shannon (Mickey Rooney) is a guileless Los Angeles auto mechanic with dreams of one day racing in European car meets. Eddie encounters fetching Barbara Mathews (Dianne Foster) and, much to his surprise and delight, she agrees to date him. But Barbara's true intentions are revealed when she introduces Eddie to her associates -- Steve Norris (Kevin McCarthy) and Harold Baker (Jack Kelly) -- who, as it turns out, need a getaway driver for a planned bank heist.

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Mickey Rooney-completely rid, for once, of his Andy Hardy mannerisms-is an honest mechanic who falls in with bank robbers and a dame. Surprisingly good, and recommended.

Nov 11, 2019

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Eric Melin

Scene-Stealers.com

Rooney is certainly understated and extremely effective. Richard Quine keeps everything in nice balance and by its downer of an ending, Drive a Crooked Road turns out to be quietly affecting.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 23, 2012

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Sean Axmaker

Parallax View

... what I like to call beachhouse noir, a world away from the classic nocturnal urban style with its coast highways and sunny beaches and sleek West Coast architecture.

Feb 19, 2012

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

It's the simpleness of this tale and lack of any pretensions that makes it convincing but not necessarily sparkling.

Rated: C

Sep 3, 2003

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Audience Member

Drive a Crooked Road (1954) Mickey Rooney doing a film noir? It's hard to believe, but yeah, and to top that off, it's kind of a racing picture too. Rooney plays Eddie Shannon, a sports car mechanic and an amateur racer with dreams of racing in Europe. Because of his small size and a bad scar from a past accident, he's not a lady's man. Naturally, he's an easy mark for Barbara Mathews (Dianne Foster) who is working for Steve Norris (Kevin McCarthy) and Harold Baker (Jack Kelly) who want Eddie to be their wheel man on a bank robbery. Eddie is an all around nice guy, but who can say no to Barbara, who isn't feeling good about using Eddie this way. And, everyone suspects that Steve and Harry are going to take poor Eddie out after the job.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Audience Member

I kind of enjoyed this film. Certainly not a great film. Predictable, but worth a viewing.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Audience Member

Little Guys Also Dream

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Audience Member

noir from the 2nd cycle

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

It's a nice conceit, but it goes nowhere you don't expect. Rooney's performance makes the film work better than it should.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

Reminiscent of Don Siegel's version of "The Killers"

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Richard Quine

Director

Mickey Rooney

Eddie Shannon

Dianne Foster

Barbara Mathews

Kevin McCarthy

Steve Norris

Jack Kelly

Harold Baker

Harry Landers

Ralph

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Synopsis

Eddie Shannon (Mickey Rooney) is a guileless Los Angeles auto mechanic with dreams of one day racing in European car meets. Eddie encounters fetching Barbara Mathews (Dianne Foster) and, much to his surprise and delight, she agrees to date him. But Barbara's true intentions are revealed when she introduces Eddie to her associates -- Steve Norris (Kevin McCarthy) and Harold Baker (Jack Kelly) -- who, as it turns out, need a getaway driver for a planned bank heist.

Director: Richard Quine
Producer: Jonie Taps
Screenwriter: Blake Edwards, Richard Quine, James Benson Nablo
Production Co: Columbia Pictures
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2020
Runtime: 1h 22m

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