Thieves' Highway (1949)

Regisseur:

Jules Dassin

Drehbuchautoren:

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

Premierendatum:

10. Oktober 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Werbezeile:

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:

Apple | Big City | Criminal Gang | Fiancee | Truck Driver

Nutzerkommentare:

Dassin on a roll!

Besetzung

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 Prentiss
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

Alternativ:

Collision (USA) (working title)
Hard Bargain (USA) (working title)
The Thieves' Market (USA) (original script title)
Gefahr in Frisco (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) [de]
Markt der Diebe, Der (Österreich) [de]

Länge:

94 Min

Produktionsland:

USA

Sprache:

Englisch | Italienisch

Farbe:

Schwarzweiss

Seitenverhältnis:

1.37 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Altersfreigabe:

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

Drehorte:

San Francisco, California, USA

Firma:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Dies und das:

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

Dialogzitate:

Nico 'Nick' Garcos: Soft hands.
Rica: Sharp nails.

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Ausschnittsweise enthalten in The Long Haul of A.I. Bezzerides (2005)

Dassin on a roll!

Beginning with his compelling "Brute Force" ('47)followed by the richly atmospheric "Naked City" ('48), Jules Dassin became the hottest dealer in Hollywood of the Film-Noir genre. "Thieves Highway" adds ethnic tensions to the Dassin stew of lost souls always living at the edge of danger. Richard Conte was at his peak here as the tough trucker, quick to throw a punch when he's threatened and equally capable of rolling with them if necessary. In Robert Siodmak's "Cry of the City," he's held in a headlock by a butch Hope Emerson; in this one, a jack gives way and a truck fender lands on his neck....ouch!

Conte, like Burt Lancaster, came from a streetwise background that, second only to a boxing ring, fitted him neatly as a glove when it came to movies like "Thieves Highway." Conte was so good in this, he was selected to repeat the role on TV six years later under the title "Overnight Haul" on the old 20th Century-Fox Hour.

As for Dassin, he had yet a fourth fling at the genre the following year with the claustrophobic thriller, "Night and the City." A film worth commenting on later. As for "Thieves Highway," having seen it, you may want to follow it up with Clouzot"s "Wages of Fear," made three years later and the ultimate truckers' movie. As a boy I was privileged to have seen all four Dassin movies during their original releases. How thrilling to see "Thieves Highway" and "Night and the City" now out on DVD!