A war veteran turned truck driver attempts to avenge the crippling and robbing of his father at the hands of an amoral produce scofflaw.A war veteran turned truck driver attempts to avenge the crippling and robbing of his father at the hands of an amoral produce scofflaw.A war veteran turned truck driver attempts to avenge the crippling and robbing of his father at the hands of an amoral produce scofflaw.
- Awards
- 1 win
- Rica
- (as Valentina Cortesa)
- Officer Riley
- (uncredited)
- Announcer
- (uncredited)
- Mr. Faber
- (uncredited)
- Mitch
- (uncredited)
- Motor Policeman
- (uncredited)
- Man in Freight Elevator
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to director Jules Dassin, Jack Oakie was completely deaf by the time of this film. "He caused absolutely no delays," Dassin said.
- GoofsAt the end, when Nick is confronting Mike, he hits Mike's hand with the small hatchet. The head of the hatchet can be seen flying off the end of the handle. However, in subsequent scenes, the head is back on the handle. (correction follows) Nick is holding the hatchet by the head and hits Mike with the butt end, at which time, some unidentified object already on the table bounces into the foreground. At this point, the entire hatchet head can still be seen in Nick's hand.
In the same scene, Mike can be seen nursing his injured, bloodied hand. Later, however, as Nick attacks Mike, there is no sign of blood on Mike's hand.
- Quotes
Nick Garcos: Hey, do you like apples?
Rica: Everybody likes apples, except doctors.
Nick Garcos: Do you know what it takes to get an apple so you can sink your beautiful teeth in it? You gotta stuff rags up tailpipes, farmers gotta get gypped, you jack up trucks with the back of your neck, universals conk out...
Rica: I don't know what are you talking about, but I have a new respect for apples.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Fast and the Furious (1954)
Returning home from the war Richard Conte finds his father Morris Carnovsky crippled, the result of a trucking accident and robbed of the money for recently delivered produce to Lee J. Cobb the man in charge of San Francisco's wholesale market. Conte decides to take some vengeance out and get the money his father was robbed of.
In order to do this Conte goes into partnership with Millard Mitchell an old time trucker who now has Carnovsky's truck which has seen better days. When Conte arrives with a delivery of needed apples for the market, Cobb pays him off all right, but gives him the same kind of treatment he gave dad. A little something extra with femme fatal Valentina Cortese.
The main plot involves Conte and Cobb, but woven into the story is that of Conte's engagement to Barbara Lawrence which takes a jolt when she meets Cortese. Also Jack Oakie and Joseph Pevney play a pair of scavenger drivers who follow Mitchell in his beat up truck waiting for something to befall him.
Trucking wholesale fruit and vegetables is shown to be a dog eat dog business and top dog is Lee J. Cobb. His part here is almost a dress rehearsal for the waterfront racketeer he played in On The Waterfront. In a cast of good performances Cobb is also top dog.
Thieves Highway is a wonderful film that dates not one bit because things you see here still go on.
- bkoganbing
- Jul 29, 2013
- How long is Thieves' Highway?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1