''Drive a Crooked Road'' is a 1954 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

film noir directed by

Richard Quine Richard Quine (November 12, 1920June 10, 1989) was an American director, actor, and singer. He began acting as a child in radio, vaudeville, and stage productions before being signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in his early twenties. When his acting ...

and starring Mickey Rooney and

Dianne Foster Dianne Foster (born Olga Helen Laruska; October 31, 1928 – July 27, 2019) was a Canadian actress of Ukrainian descent. Early life Foster was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She began her career at the age of 13 in a stage adaptation of Ja ...

. The drama's screenplay was adapted by

Blake Edwards Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio s ...

and

from "The Wheel Man", a story by Canadian James Benson Nablo.

Plot

Mechanic and race car driver Eddie Shannon is chosen by two bank robbers to help them with a heist. The heist requires someone with his ability to "soup up" engines and drive at high speeds over treacherous roads, to avoid capture after they pull the job. To bait the driver into the dangerous scheme, one of the robbers uses his girlfriend, Barbara Mathews, to help persuade Eddie to assist with the crime—though his share of the heist would also make it possible for him to achieve his dream of racing competitively in Europe, the money alone wouldn't be sufficient inducement. Barbara increasingly feels ashamed of leading Eddie on, and develops some feelings for him. This leads to his discovery of the way he's been used, triggering a deadly confrontation at the end.

Cast

Critical reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

called the film "A crisply done film noir with Rooney taken in by the universal emotional state that was at the root of many noir heroes' problems, loneliness." ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' was complimentary: "Apart from being a very fair melodrama ...

he film He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

... serves as a reminder that, given the right role and good direction, Mickey Rooney is a talented young actor ... The film, as well as Rooney, stands up all the way. So do all the others in Columbia's small, handpicked cast ... first honors go uncontested to the 32-year-old star for a fine, affecting, and unaffected performance."Martin, Mildred. "'Drive a Crooked Road' Stars Rooney at Stanton." ''Philadelphia Inquirer'', 19 June 1954.

References

External links

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''Drive a Crooked Road''
informational site and DVD review at DVD Beaver (includes images) {{Richard Quine 1954 films American auto racing films American crime thriller films American heist films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures films 1950s English-language films Film noir Films based on short fiction Films directed by Richard Quine Films set in Palm Springs, California 1950s crime thriller films 1950s heist films 1950s American films