They Drive By Night (1940)

Plot Two Truck Drivers battle crooked bosses and dangerous long-hauls before getting entangled in a murder.
Stars: George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan.
Best Quote:  

Raft: That's some Classy Chassis 
Sheridan:  Ha. You couldn't even pay for the headlights.

Almost two separate films joined into one*. The first half is an action-drama as truckers Bogart and Raft try to get those Lemons to market without crashing or getting their Truck repossessed. The 2nd half turns into a love-triangle/film-noir murder as bad girl Lupino (who's excellent) misreads all the signals and bumps off her husband (lovable Lug Alan Hale) for an uninterested Raft. There's never a dull moment although it gets silly at times**.

Its a good example of the popular working class film that WB made before Pearl Harbor - full of warm, wisecracking working class Joe's, and crooked bosses in stuffed shirts.  As for Raft, he does well in this one, primarily because his part is relatively small, and he's surrounded by better actors. Flaws? 4th billed Bogart and Raft should have switched characters.  Summary:  Fast paced, unusual, trucker action-drama/film-noir.  Full of blue-collar hokum, but well-acted by an all-star cast. It kept my interest.  3 out 4

Notes:
* = In order to appeal to both men and women, Warner Brothers joins almost two separate films into one, but it works.
** =  The silliest scene? Raft spots a truck ahead with a driver who's fallen asleep. Refusing to honk the horn (that might cause him to drive off the road - LOL!), Raft drives up next to the truck so Bogart can throw a wrench at the hood. Needless to say it all ends badly.  Absurdly, later in the film, Bogart also falls asleep and drives off the road.  Of course, the whole purpose of having two drivers, is to allow one driver to sleep while the other drives. And why would anyone keep driving if they were falling asleep? Oh, well. How else can you make driving a truck full of Lemons seem dangerous and risky?