They Drive by Night

Joe and Paul Fabrini are brothers who run their own small trucking business, hauling loads as independent operators. Money is tight, creditors are after their rig, and the work is grueling and often dangerous, with drivers pushing themselves past their limits to deliver on time. Joe dreams of being his own boss, while Paul wants to settle down with his wife, Pearl. A chance at steady, better-paying work comes when Joe is hired by Ed Carlsen, an old acquaintance in the haulage trade. But Ed's wife, Lana, becomes fixated on Joe, and her obsession pulls the brothers into a situation far more threatening than anything they faced on the road.

Raoul Walsh directed this crime drama for Warner Bros., the third of the twenty-three films he directed in chronological order, following The Roaring Twenties and preceding Dark Command. George Raft and Humphrey Bogart play the Fabrini brothers, with Ann Sheridan as Cassie Hartley, Ida Lupino as Lana Carlsen, Gale Page as Pearl, and Alan Hale as Ed Carlsen. The screenplay was written by Jerry Wald and Richard Macaulay, and the credited cast runs to sixty-eight performers.

The film took about two million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 7.2 rating from roughly ten thousand votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.9 from a much smaller number of votes. The critics' rating of 6.9 from twenty-seven reviews sits close to the audience scores, suggesting a generally favorable if not ecstatic response across all three measures.