''Thieves' Highway'' is a 1949 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

directed by

Jules Dassin Julius "Jules" Dassin ( ; December 18, 1911 – March 31, 2008) was an American film and theatre director, producer, writer and actor. A subject of the Hollywood blacklist, he subsequently moved to France, and later Greece, where he continued hi ...

and starring

Richard Conte Nicholas Peter Conte (March 24, 1910 – April 15, 1975), known professionally as Richard Conte, was an American actor. He was known for his starring roles in films noir and crime dramas during the 1940s and 1950s, including '' Call Northside ...

, Valentina Cortese and Lee J. Cobb. The screenplay was written by

A. I. Bezzerides Albert Isaac "Buzz" Bezzerides ( August 9, 1908 – January 1, 2007) was an American novelist and screenwriter, best known for writing film noir, films noir and action film, motion pictures, especially several of Warners' "social conscience" film ...

, based on his novel ''Thieves' Market''. The film was released on DVD as part of the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...

in 2005.

Plot

Nico "Nick" Garcos is a veteran of World War II, who arrives, from Asia, at his family home in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

to find that his foreign-born father, who became a produce truck driver, has lost his legs and was forced to sell his truck. He learns that his father was crippled at the hands of an unscrupulous produce dealer in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, called Mike Figlia. Garcos vows revenge for his father. Garcos goes into business with Ed Kinney, who bought the Garcos truck, and they each drive a truckload of apples to San Francisco. Garcos arrives ahead of Kinney and meets Figlia, after parking his truck in a manner that blocks Figlia's busy wholesale stand. Subsequently, the produce dealer's thugs sabotage the truck by cutting a tire. Figlia hires a streetwalker, Rica, to seduce and preoccupy Garcos in her room while his men unload the apples without permission. Garcos makes Figlia pay for the fruit, but that night goons waylay and rob Garcos of the cash. Meanwhile, Kinney's truck, full of apples, has been struggling on the drive to San Francisco and the

drive shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power (physics), power, torque, and rotation, usually ...

universal joint A universal joint (also called a universal coupling or U-joint) is a joint or coupling connecting rigid shafts whose axes are inclined to each other. It is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion. It consists of a pair of hinges ...

breaks as he is driving downhill, preventing downshifting (

engine braking Engine braking occurs when the retarding forces within an internal combustion engine are used to slow down a motor vehicle, as opposed to using additional external braking mechanisms such as friction brakes or magnetic brakes. The term is ofte ...

). The brakes also seem to fail. In a horrific crash Kinney initially survives but the truck bursts into flames and he is burned alive, to the horror of several onlookers. Polly, Garco's hometown sweetheart, then arrives in the city ready to marry him, but leaves disillusioned after she finds him recovering from his beating in Rica's apartment and with no money. Garco and a trucker, who witnessed and brings news of Kinney's death, finally confront the cowed bully Figlia at a tavern. Garcos beats him, and Figlia is arrested, restoring the Garcos family honor. Garcos and Rica happily drive off and plan to get married.

Cast

as Nico "Nick" Garcos * Valentina Cortese as Rica * Lee J. Cobb as Mike Figlia * Barbara Lawrence as Polly Faber *

Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Chaplin's ''The Great Dictator'' (1940) ...

as Slob * Millard Mitchell as Ed Kinney *

Joseph Pevney Joseph Pevney (September 15, 1911 – May 18, 2008) was an American film and television director. Biography Born in New York City, Pevney made his debut in vaudeville as a boy soprano in 1924. Although he hated vaudeville, he loved the thea ...

as Pete *

Morris Carnovsky Morris Carnovsky (September 5, 1897 – September 1, 1992) was an American stage and film actor. He was one of the founders of the Group Theatre (1931-1940) in New York City and had a thriving acting career both on Broadway and in films u ...

as Yanko Garcos *

Tamara Shayne Tamara Shayne (25 November 1902 – 23 October 1983), also known as Tamara Nikoulina, was a Russian-born actress and long-time resident in the United States. Early life Tamara Shayne was born Tamara Veniaminovna Olkenitskaya on 25 November 1902 ...

as Parthena Garcos * Kasia Orzazewski as Mrs. Polansky * Norbert Schiller as Mr. Polansky *

Hope Emerson Hope Emerson (October 29, 1897April 24, 1960) was an American actress, vaudevillian, nightclub performer, and strongwoman. Emerson started acting when she was three years old during a production with her mother. Her career started when she adver ...

as Midge, a buyer *

as a fruit salesman on a freight elevator (uncredited)

Production

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir and later in Western films. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigio ...

and

Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include '' One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darli ...

originally were announced for the lead. The film was shot in 30 days. Some of the film was shot on location in San Francisco, and is noted for its accurate depiction of the vibrant fruit and produce market in that city, then located adjacent to the Embarcadero north of the Ferry Building. The Figlia Market is depicted on the corner of Washington and Davis Streets (clearly indicated by a street sign). The produce market was closed and moved to the southeastern part of the city by the end of the 1950s. The warehouses were demolished to make way for the Alcoa Building (now known as One Maritime Plaza), and the Golden Gateway residential and commercial development. The Hotel Colchester where Rica resides was located at 259 Embarcadero (now a parking lot). Also depicted is the old State Belt Line Railroad which provided service to the piers and warehouses of the entire Embarcadero. Some of the outdoor produce market scenes were shot at the Oakland Produce Market, near today's

Jack London Square Jack London Square is a neighborhood on the waterfront of Oakland, California, United States. Named after the author Jack London and owned by the Port of Oakland, it is the home of stores, restaurants, hotels, Amtrak's Jack London Square st ...

Reception

When the film was released, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' film critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

said, as a part of a larger review:

But particular thanks for this crisp picture should go to the Messrs. Bezzerides and Dassin for their keen writing, well-machined construction and sharpness of imagery. Once again, Mr. Dassin, who directed "The Naked City," has gone forth into actual settings for his backgrounds — onto the highways and the city streets, the orchards and teeming produce markets of California and San Francisco. He has got the look and "feel" of people and places in the produce world. You can almost sense the strain of trucking and smell the crated fruit. More than that, he has got the excitement and the tension of commerce today. "Thieves' Highway" is a first-class melodrama which just misses — yes, just misses — being great.

''Thieves' Highway'' is considered an example of film gris, according to the classification of Thom Andersen.MUBI
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References

External links

* * *
''Thieves’ Highway: Dangerous Fruit''
an essay by

Michael Sragow Michael Sragow (born June 26, 1952) is an American film critic and columnist who has written for ''The Orange County Register'', ''The Baltimore Sun'', ''Film Comment'', the ''San Francisco Examiner'', ''The New Times'', ''The New Yorker'' (where ...

at the