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Thieves' Highway (1949)

Rate: 3
Viewed: 1/18, 6/22

ThievesHigh
1/18: Originally titled as Thieves' Market, Thieves' Highway came to me heavily recommended, but after watching it, I was like, "Really?"

I'm not sure what the critics were thinking, but it's not a film noir by any means. There are many problems that plague it, and the three big ones are: hammy acting, slow pace, and simplistic story. In other words, they're the typical hallmarks of a Jules Dassin film.

A case in point is the family reunion at the beginning. The scene is as phony as it gets. Seeing later that Nick favors Rica, the proverbial hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold, over his fiancée, I'm left at a loss for words. I mean, what's wrong with Polly Faber? Having seen enough of Jules Dassin's films, he's, just like Fritz Lang, a liability more than anything. Brute Force, Night and the City, Du rififi chez les hommes, and Topkapi aren't what I call good pictures. They're either obvious or corny in style.

I like Richard Conte and have enjoyed his past performances. It's just that I wish he had better material to work with. He tries his best here, but nothing works. Lee J. Cobb isn't bad, either, but he's starting to look typecast which will hit the zenith in On the Waterfront.

All in all, I'm developing a strong aversion to Jules Dassin's movies.

6/22: There's hokey, and there's Jules Dassin hokey and Thieves' Highway is just exactly that.

Film noir? Ha! The characters are corny, and the atmosphere is banal. Nick Garcos had no plan to begin with. By the time he reached the fruit and vegetable market square in San Francisco, he couldn't wait to go to sleep while leaving his truck on the street with these boxes of apples ready to be stolen in plain view. When he woke up, there's still no plan, and he decided to wander around, showing off his low-IQ behavior. Ridiculous.

It's amazing how much Nick dug Rica after meeting her for mere hours in spite of having a longer relationship with his fiancée Polly. What's Rica's history? She doesn't look trustworthy and may be a prostitute for all I know. But Nick still digs her. After Ed Kinney is burned to death, nobody seems to care about him afterwards. If that's the case, then why spend so much time on him?

All in all, Jules Dassin is the Master of Hokey.