"If we go over a cliff, wake me up"

George Raft has gotten a bad rap on this blog. He has been repeatedly criticized by me for his poor judgment in which roles to take. His inability to foresee the possibilities of a role have led to him being relatively unknown today. It also paved the way for Humphrey Bogart to become a star. The truth is, Raft was a talented actor who was great in gangster pictures. He made his big break in 1932’s Scarface (1932), opposite fellow gangster picture actor, Paul Muni. Today though, Raft is probably best known for his role in Some Like It Hot (1959).

Bogie and Raft starred together in the movie They Drive By Night (1940). It would be the last movie in which Bogart was not featured in the starring role. After this, because of Raft’s inability to take chances and see the possibility of a role, Bogie would star in High Sierra (1941) and The Maltese Falcon (1941). It is interesting to see They Drive By Night because of what would happen to the two actors after the movie. This would be the final time Raft had any leverage over Bogart.

In the movie the two are brothers who happen to be truck drivers. Not much has changed in the truck driving industry since the movie was released. The product, in this case fruit, needs to be delivered on time no matter what. So the brothers have to drive all night and all day to make their deliveries. Being America, the brothers think of what life would be like if they had their own trucking business. After making their latest delivery, Raft decides it is time to start their own business. They still have to pay off their truck, but Raft uses the money he has gotten from the delivery to buy more fruit and use that to pay off the truck and start their own company.

He does all this without Bogie, who happens to be a married man and enjoys spending his limited time off with his wife. Raft makes the trek up to Bogie’s to get him, as the two begin their journey back on the road. Bogie isn’t ready, but goes anyway. That night, he gets too drowsy and drives the truck off the road. The truck explodes, the produce is gone and Bogie losses his arm. He is unable to continue in the trucking business and Raft is up a creek without a paddle.

This is when Ida Lupino enters the scene. She is married, but Raft courts her. I’ll leave the story at that, as the ending is worth seeing and shouldn’t be ruined by reading about it on the Internet. Instead, I’ll turn to Lupino. She was one of the most talented actresses to ever grace the Hollywood screen. She was tough, beautiful and cunning. She portrayed these qualities well on screen. She is amazing in this movie. Her follow-up would be opposite Bogie in High Sierra.

Although Lupino was a good actress, what makes her so remarkable is that she made the transition to the director’s chair. This position had been and still is traditionally dominated by males. To have a female in the chair was something different, especially one who had been a former actress. Actresses typically aren’t held in high esteem for their brains, while directors have been.

Now, Lupino didn’t direct anything as revolutionary as Citizen Kane (1941), but she was a competent director who specialized in film noir. One movie that stands out is The Hitch-Hiker (1953). She also did some Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes. The fact that she was the only female director at the time of Hollywood’s studio system is an accomplishment in itself. The fact that she was capable of giving good performances, like in They Drive By Night, is secondary.