The film that kicks off the Belcourt’s “Ida Lupino at 100” retrospective is certainly a doozy. This twisty — and twisted — 1940 bit of blue-collar melodrama, directed by frequent Lupino collaborator Raoul Walsh, has iconic tough-guy leading men George Raft and Humphrey Bogart as truck-driving brothers struggling to make a decent living as they try to stay awake on dangerous roads. The movie takes a detour into film-noir land when Lupino as the seductive boss’s wife shows up, attempting to work her moves on a consistently uninterested Raft (ol’ boy has a smitten Ann Sheridan waiting for him at home), until she ultimately does something criminal to keep him close. It’s kind of a wacky movie — wait until you see Lupino’s climactic batshit courtroom scene. For those who aren’t familiar with Lupino’s work in front of the camera, I can’t think of a better movie to start with. CRAIG D. LINDSEY
They Drive by Night
