Drive a Crooked Road

Richard Quine's 1954 American film follows Eddie, a mechanic in love with racing cars whom nobody takes seriously, drawn into a robbery when he mistakes a woman's attention for something real. She is part of the plan; Eddie does not know it, and the film is built on when he will realise. Blake Edwards wrote the screenplay, and the film's strength is making Eddie's loneliness the motive for the crime: he goes in not for money but to be accepted. Mickey Rooney is entirely outside his comic identity here and the performance is counted among his best. The location work in the streets of Los Angeles is strong. The film is short and the ending harsh. Who it's for: viewers who like film noir and American crime cinema of the fifties. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a hopeful close, or impatient with slowly building tension.