This is a ripper of a movie.
This opening movie in the first Humphrey Bogart Collection is historic in that it marks the last time Bogie appeared in a movie as a support actor only.
He's the fourth lead in this flick, behind George Raft, Ann Sheridan and Ida Lupino, and his role could really have been played by any other Warners contract player - it's not a quintessential Bogart role, and he almost disappears from the movie halfway through its length.
The film belongs to the other three actors; George Raft in probably his finest role in film (playing a good guy for a change), Ann Sheridan and a compelling Ida Lupino, with the young British actress getting third billing but in fact stealing the picture.
Half of the plot is stolen - sorry, recycled - from an earlier Warners Bette Davis vehicle, Bordertown. Grafted onto this is a very gritty and realistic tale of truckies who drive by night, while trying to stay awake while meeting impossible quotas and demands from their bosses. How things have changed!
George Raft and Humphrey Bogart are Joe and Paul Fabrini, two brothers trying to get ahead in this dangerous world. Ida Lupino plays Lana, the fickle wife of Joe's friend, Ed Carlsen, a former driver who's lifted himself into the big league of trucking magnates. She is mad about Joe, but Joe has picked up waitress Cassie Hartley (Ann Sheridan) - and besides, he doesn't want to do the dirty on Ed.
The movie is directed at a cracking pace by Raoul Walsh, and while there's sentiment, it's never cloying. Clever scripting leads you into expecting any of a half-dozen 'predictable' outcomes during the movie, none of which happen. Despite Bogie's near-invisibility, this is a clever, satisfying movie.
Watch for Ida Lupino's courtroom scene towards the film's close. Without giving anything away, it's easy to see why she stole the movie. Just don't watch the background doco on this disc first - it gives away just about everything.
One of the nice features of films of this vintage is spotting the extra cast members. In this one, watch in that courtroom scene for the brief appearance of the defence attorney. Yes, it's an uncredited John Hamilton, the definitive Perry White, editor of a great metropolitan newspaper in the outstanding, never-bettered 1950s television series, The Adventures of Superman. Just a bit of pointless trivia for you...
This black and white movie was, as the title suggests, filmed largely by night, and the tonal values and dense blacks are just great.
It hasn't been scrubbed and polished to the degree of the Warner special edition of Casablanca - there are moments when white does tend to turn instead to grey - but it's never less than totally viewable.
Overall, it's a great depiction on DVD of a good black and white movie, and there's just enough grain left to remind you that yes, this film did come on celluloid.
This is a strong opening to the first Bogart collection. Even though Bogie doesn't really feature, it's got fast rides, action, romance, intrigue, drama... even the usually terrible George Raft comes across as pretty tolerable in this outing. Highly recommended.