Hell Drivers (1957)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Cy Endfield

Writers:

John Kruse (screenplay) and
Cy Endfield (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 August 1957 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Roaring Down the World's Deadliest Roads!

Plot:

Ex-con trucker tries to expose his boss' rackets.

Plot Keywords:

Ex Convict | Truck

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Stanley Baker	...	Tom Yately
Herbert Lom	...	Gino Rossi
Peggy Cummins	...	Lucy, Hawlett Trucking Secretary
Patrick McGoohan	...	C. 'Red' Redman, Foreman (Truck 1)
William Hartnell	...	Cartley, Hawlett Manager
Wilfrid Lawson	...	Ed, Hawlett Mechanic
Sid James	...	Dusty, Truck Driver (as Sidney James)
Jill Ireland	...	Jill, Pull In Waitress
Alfie Bass	...	Tinker, Truck Driver
Gordon Jackson	...	Scottie
David McCallum	...	Jimmy Yately, Tom's brother
Sean Connery	...	Johnny Kates
Wensley Pithey	...	Pop, Truck 4 Driver
George Murcell	...	Tub, Truck Driver
Marjorie Rhodes	...	Ma West, Landlady

Also Known As:

Hard Drivers

Runtime:

108 min | USA:91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (2003) | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Blue Circle Cement Works - disused, Steyning Road, Upper Beeding, West Sussex, England, UK

Company:

Aqua Film Productions

Trivia:

Five of the actors who play supporting roles in this film became well known in the 1960s for their roles in film and television: Sean Connery (Dr. No (1962)), Patrick McGoohan ("Danger Man" (1960), "Danger Man" (1964) and "The Prisoner" (1967)), William Hartnell ("Doctor Who" (1963)), David McCallum ("The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964)) and Sid James (the "Carry On" films).

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end of the film during the final chase, Tom's loaded truck is headed through the shortcut in the same direction that the drivers have taken to pick up a load (when the trucks are empty). He's going the wrong way.

Quotes:

[Ed is encouraging Tom to drive faster and faster along a single-track road]
Ed, Hawlett Mechanic: Don't ease up.
Tom Yately: Supposing we meet something.
Ed, Hawlett Mechanic: Supposing we don't. Look on the bright side.

Brilliant, underrated piece of British 50s social realism

This underrated film, directed by Cy Endfield (Zulu) is a dour, realistic drama about an ex-con (Stanley Baker) who goes to work as a lorry driver for a crooked haulage company, only to discover that the ruthless boss and his foreman are cheating the drivers of huge amounts of money, and forcing them to work in dangerous conditions, resulting in the death of several drivers.

It benefits from a taut, BAFTA nominated screenplay by Endfield and John Kruse (better known as a documentary film maker), which pulls no punches in its realistic depiction of the genuinely life-threatening conditions that these lorry drivers had to endure.

Its chief asset, however, is the remarkably strong cast. Stanley Baker, as the ex-con determined to expose his corrupt bosses, brings a quiet strength and sincerity to his role as a basically decent guy who makes the wrong choices. It is interesting to compare Baker's performance here with his acclaimed portrayal of the ruthless, hardened gangster in Joseph Losey's 'The Criminal', made three years later.

Patrick McGoohan shines in an early role as the psychopathic lead driver, exuding genuine menace. And as for the priceless supporting cast: Herbert Lom, Sid James, Gordon Jackson, and Sean Connery in one of his earliest roles..need I say more. To sum up, Hell Drivers is a minor classic of post-war British cinema, and deserves more recognition than it has formerly feceived.