Thieves' Highway
directed by Jules Dassin
directed by Jules Dassin
Whereas some noir films like Decoy had convoluted storylines and dreamy cinematography, Thieves' Highway was simple and realistic. It was mostly shot on location in San Francisco among the produce markets.
I wasn't surprised to learn that Dassin had been blacklisted shortly after this film and forced to surrender his career in his native United States and relocate to Europe.
Thieves' Highway may feature some criminals, even some organized ones, but this movie makes it clear to modern eyes, and apparently a few right wing eyes in the late forties, that the real crime was a system that made it only too rational to exploit workers and eliminate them if they protested.
Nick Garcos (Richard Conte--Don Barzini from The Godfather) is a WW2 veteran who has come home to marry his blonde fiancee Polly (Barbara Lawrence) and reunite with his father Yanko (Morris Carnovsky) and mother Parthena (Tamara Shayne).
There's one little problem though. Yanko, a former produce truck driver, refused to play ball with the dominant grocer and produce distributor Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb).
It seems that Nick's old man then had an "accident" and had to leave the business, selling his damaged truck to his friend Ed (Millard Mitchell), also an older man with little capital to repair or upgrade the vehicle.
Nick has fought for the nation so he'll be dammed if he's gonna let some two-bit gangster like Figlia get away with this stuff. Seeking to make money to take care of his Dad, get some evidence or vengeance on Figlia, and show the other drivers that they don't need to be afraid of Figlia, Nick goes into business with Ed.
Nick soon comes to the (negative) attention of Figlia. But Figlia is a devious man. Figlia assigns Rica (Italian actress Valentina Cortese) to watch over Nick while Figlia does some dirty deeds.
Rica walks like she knows what goes where and why. And indeed Rica does because she normally charges for her "time" by the hour. Nick and Rica are both cynical people but they might see something in each other despite their initial disdain and distrust.
This movie didn't overstay its welcome. It captured the rivalries and fears among the workers and how the bosses exploit those.
The film realistically depicted worker struggles such as staying awake during long night trips or being beaten down on price by negotiators armed with more capital, more patience, and ruthlessness. Cobb repeated and expanded his role here in the later movie On The Waterfront. This film was more sexually explicit than I expected for the time.
