Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Posted by Bogeyman

The diminutive one, Mickey Rooney stars in this 1954 heist/noir offering. To give you the Reader Digest version does the phase “I didn't get the money and I didn't get the woman” sound familiar? If so you this is the film for you. Now if you’re not into the whole brevity thing, please read on.

The film opens with some classic sport car road racing scenes and during the course of the film the cars are as much the stars as the cast. We’re treated to glorious shots of MG TDs, XK150 Jags and Porsche 356 Speedsters in addition to leggy co-star Dianne Foster (Barbara Mathews). The second male leads are suburb; Kevin McCarthy (Steve Norris), and Jack Kelly (Harold Baker) both a few years prior to their definitive roles in Invasion of the Body Snatchers and TV’s Maverick. Seems these three schemers have happened upon the perfect little bank to rob (excuse me, but seems I’ve heard this somewhere before) and all they need is a hopped-up getaway car and someone to drive it.

It just so happens Eddie Shannon (Mickey Rooney) is not only a pretty good racer who dreams of racing at Le Mans and Silverstone but earns his way through life as a mechanic at a shop catering to foreign cars. So when Steve and Harold are at the race seeking out possible driver candidates and Harold remarks Eddie has “No family, few friends, lives alone and hates it.” He’s fingered as the all day sucker and the missing piece in the puzzle. So how does one get a good natured guy who likes his job mixed up with a couple of crumbs getting ready to pull a bank job? Can you spell DAME?

As noted Eddie works at a garage occasionally races, and hangs out with his fellow mechanics at the garage. His so called pals constantly question his sexual orientation and mock his physical stature. They jokingly call him ‘Shorty’ and repeatedly asked when he was last with a woman? We know he’s got a soft side as we see him pick flowers from the yard of the boarding house he lives in and places them in his room after disposing of older ones. In a couple of telling scenes one co-worker remarks to another “Little guy’s an odd ball,” and one of his male co-workers asked him at the garage “Don’t you love me any more?” While probably reading too much into this we’re made aware early on that Eddie would like to have a girl of his own but just doesn’t know how to go about it. So when Barbara Mathews tools into the shop needing her Hillman convertible worked on and asks for Eddie by name, the die is cast. She could just as easily have been Miss Wonderly strolling into Sam Spade’s office or Phyllis Dietrichson leaning over the banister with a towel wrapped around her, all of them ready to push the handle on the toilet of life and flush some other poor slob down it.

This may be one of the classic cases of casting against type for our star at the time was on the forth of his eight wife’s so his being uneasy with the fairer sex in his role called for some real acting. Speaking of, Rooney’s acting here is a far departure from his usually over the top, frantic style we’re all grown accustom to. His delivery of the reserved, shy, & confused little mechanic dumb struck by a curvaious hunk of woman is right on the mark.

Once Barbara’s thrown out the line she slowly begins to reel in Eddie. He’s unsure of himself but he’s never seen anything like her and grudgingly he just happens to take a drive to the beach after she overtly flirts with him and practically draws him a map of where she’ll be. Once at the beach she introduces Eddie to Steve who’s renting a house at the beach and is just an old friend she tells him. For this innocent meeting, it’s on to a party at Steve’s later where Eddie’s introduced to the wise cracking Harold. This is followed with dinners at Barbara’s place by which time Eddie’s swallowed the hook and the scheme to hold up the bank is laid out to him.

From this junction on, the film takes a decidedly darker tone in both story line and visual style. Where it had been cars, the beach, and parties now we’re into heist details, selling one’s soul and double crossings - the notable exception being the introduction near the films conclusion of the femme fatale with a heart. The pacing also picks up with the apex being the high speed dash along 20 miles of a twisting, narrow, poorly surfaced road with Eddie at the wheel of a hopped up 40 Ford sedan while Steve rides shotgun gap mouthed and Harold bug eyed in the back seat holding on for dear life.

So do they get the dough? Do they crash and roll the car which obligatory burst into flames during the getaway? And will love every find Andy Hardy? Rather than spoil the ending I’ll just leave you all with the peace of mind knowing that this is one that doesn’t end all rosy and nice so all you noir purist can relax. As Barbara remarks to Steve earlier while agonizing over their role in leading Eddie into harms way “People get paid back when they do things like this.”

Click to play clip from the film