Hell Drivers (Cy Endfield, 1957)

[HerrSchreck]

Looking for some quick feedback from anyone who's managed to see this British noir Hell Drivers. Here's the MoMa synopsis:

Hell Drivers. 1957. Great Britain. Directed by Cy Endfield. With its dog-eat-dog politics and breakneck chase sequences, Hell Drivers stands alongside Raoul Walsh's They Drive By Night, Jules Dassin's Thieves' Highway, and Henri-Georges Clouzot's Wages of Fear as a gripping allegory of postwar capitalist exploitation and betrayal. The film's swaggering cast features the brooding, cocksure Welshman Stanley Baker and a then-unknown Sean Connery, along with Patrick McGoohan (Secret Agent), William Hartnell (Dr. Who), and Herbert Lom (The Ladykillers). Preserved by the bfi, London. 92 min.

I'm asking because it's running this afternoon, and trying to decide whether or not to take someone on their birthday (who is generally a fan of noirs, and golden age/studio-era suspense films) to go see it. If it was just me on my own I'd just plop right over there without hesitation without seeking feedback.

Anyone?

PS.. if there's already a thread for this, I can't find it. I tried searching the forum, but the search engine said it couldn't find any posts with the word DRIVERS in them (!?)

[colinr0380]

Sorry for the late reply, but I hope you decided to go to the film. It is a great film with an underdog against the corrupt boss plot with a number of Wages of Fear style scenes of pushing a truck to dangerous speeds on narrow lanes.

The film is also packed full of famous faces including a pre-Bond Sean Connery in a slightly larger role from his non speaking appearance as 'Welder #1' in Time Lock the same year!

There was a small discussion of the film in the Network DVD thread when they released a DVD of the film last year.

[HerrSchreck]

Thanks... the whole thing just got kaboshed at the last minute due to scheduling problems (in the form of the attendee getting stuck inna brokendown car on the side of the road, and now waiting for AAA. Happy B'day!).

But I'm still interested in hearing about the film, as it will probably play again, and I'll make the pilgrimage...

[colinr0380]

Here's the trailer! Living in a countryside area close to a number of quarries I can attest to these driving practices still being alive and well!

[HerrSchreck]

I saw this on Monday night and it did not disappoint. Quite the piece of raw filmmaking chops as Endfield took a cast, a few trucks, some empty roads, (and some very tiny sets and a quarry location) and cranked out a piece of hardboiled filmmaking as grim and brooding as Brute Force, They Made Me A Fugitive, or even Kansas City Confidential. And not far behind any of them in terms of effectiveness.

The only thing I didn't quite jive with was the ending...

Spoiler

I didn't quite buy the coming-together of Stanley Baker with the Peggy Cummings character. We spend the whole film looking at her as wily, horny, flighty and untrustrworthy horndog, so that when they wind up togther at the end of the film, we were a bit thrown. It certainly didn't feel satisfying, as it just reversed in one stroke something the film was trying to keep you uncomfortable with: the idea of the two of them together.

That's one long tall lanky Sean Connery, with irrigation ditches for laugh lines. And McGoohan delivered a righteously sinister Red. The whole ensemble, actually, deserved kudos. Herbert Lom turned in a truly genuine and respectable Gino devoid of caricature.

And of course the comparisons to Thieves Highway and Wages of Fear are absolutely apt.

[tojoed]

Christ, the DVD of this is going for £70 plus on Amazon.UK. Anyone know why it's so expensive ? OOP already, maybe? I haven't seen this since I was very young, but I remember it was terrific. Doesn't look like I'll be seeing it again anytime soon.

[Perkins Cobb]

Well, there are two UK DVDs, the older ITV edition (which is the one selling for 70lbs) and the newer Network, which is in print and goes for reasonable prices. I've seen both; the ITV has a somewhat better transfer, but the Network has a bunch of (mediocre) extras.

A pretty terrific movie: McGoohan is mesmerizing as the villain, and the driving sequences are executed brilliantly. That idea of short-run trucking -- the breakneck back-and-forth on the same roads, over and over again -- is a great existential concept to build a movie on.

[tojoed]

Thanks, PC. It looks like I'll get the newer Network edition. Sounds reasonable.