Review of Thieves' Highway (1949) by Arafat H — 25 Mar 2010
Schematic agitprop and awkward film noir. It probably owes what goodwill it has to the fact that director Jules Dassin was later blacklisted. On a strictly surface level the plot is ludicrous. Two truck drivers are driving apples from Fresno to San Francisco to collect a windfall.
On the way one is nearly killed changing a flat tire because he clearly does not know how to set a jack correctly, the other is...nevermind. He does something stupid too that I won't spoil. Now, truck driving has its dangers but it is not THIS damn dangerous, even in 1949! Naturally the produce dealer who buys the apples is unredeemably evil.
Then there's the proletariat hooker with a heart of gold, and the bourgeois fiance. So I'm not blind to it's subtext, I understand it's a critique of American capitalism. A fair subject, but does it have to be this hamfisted? I don't think Jules Dassin was blacklisted for being a leftist, they were trying to stop him from making more embarrassing movies like this.
If you want to see a movie that takes on dog-eat-dog capitalism COMPETENTLY, try "Glengarry Glen Ross". Or re-read "Death of a Salesman". For much better Jules Dassin noir, "Rififi".
This review of Thieves' Highway (1949) was written by Arafat H on 25 Mar 2010.
Thieves' Highway has generally received very positive reviews.
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