Highway 13

Highway 13 is one of the better efforts in the Forgotten Noir Vol. 4 series. Aptly directed by William Berke and led by a good cast featuring Robert Lowery who brings some credibility to the proceedings the film succeeds. The story is involving and moves fast. It entails a series of very suspicious accidents on, you guessed it, Highway 13. The action develops with the search for the source of the mayhem. One drawback to this fairly decent film is the very cheesy special effects, but what more can one expect of low budget B films. This was true of most early films but is more evident because of the sophisticated special effects we're used to today. A good movie and any film that has the great character actors Clem Bevans, Mary Gordon and Lyle Talbot can't be all bad!

Robert Lowery drives a truck for a living and is sort of engaged to Pamela Blake, a waitress at a truck stop diner run by her uncle Clem Bevan and aunt Mary Gordon. But too many of the company's trucks have been getting into accidents near the stop, destroying cargo and vehicle. Lowery is purportedly fired, and sent in to investigate.

For a Lippert movie directed by William Berke, there are some nice touches here, if you ignore all the toy cars that wind up falling off mountainsides. The acting is decent, and there are some pleasant moments in the script, like when Lowery and another driver are discussing how they came to drive trucks: one on the Burma Road, and the other in the Red Ball Express. Then they admire each other's coolness. Other than that, it's a standard sort of movie, competent handled on a short budget -- the IMDB trivia claims it was shot in 3.5 days. As a result, there aren't many subtleties, but there is professionalism.

Highway 13 casts Robert Lowery as a truck driver who gets himself into a jackpot as police authorities think he might be responsible for a string of accidents including two fatalities, one of those being the daughter of the president and founder of the company. When insurance investigator Dan Seymour clears him, Lowery becomes Seymour's operative to replace the one he lost as the other fatality was an undercover man, hired by Michael Whalen, widower of the daughter.

This is a pretty decent noir thriller from Lippert with an interesting array of suspects including Seymour himself who is always playing slimy characters. Maris Wrixon who is usually some kind of femme fatale herself in movies runs true to form here as the personnel manager for the trucking company. A short term involvement with her jeopardizes Lowery's relationship Pamela Blake who works at a truck stop garage run by Uncle Clem Bevans and Aunt Mary Gordon.

As you can see Highway 13 does have a nice assortment of character players which really lifts this Lippert film into decent entertainment. Remember the casting because the villain in the end will surprise you more or less.

"Highway 13" is one of a trio of grade-B thrillers available on on a single DVD from Netflix. What's strange is that while they are all American movies, they're preceded by a card confirming their approval by the British Board of Censors. The mystery here is why the rigs of one trucking company, North Express, keep rolling off Highway 13, plunging into the canyons below. A detective hired to masquerade as a truck driver -- and ferret out the culprits -- doesn't last long. Now it's up to square-jawed trucker Robert Lowrey to do the sleuthing, although it may cost him his fiancée. Lowrey isn't bad but it's the character actors who trot off with the honors. Clem Bevans, as an old coot who runs a diner down the road from where the trucks keep crashing, is a grubby, gabby cantankerous stand-out. And Dan Seymour, who spent most of his career playing icy villains, has a rare shot at innocence as an insurance agent. The denouement doesn't make much sense, but if you're in the mood for some motorized mayhem, take a look.

Nice film with realistic locales. Filmed on and around California highway 14, although film is called highway 13. CA highway 14 winds from Ventura to Lancaster and Mojave.

The story is about a series of truck accidents here and there. Their solution is found by a trucker, part time detective. Along the ride there is a cute waitress, an older lady and an old pop with a shady past. Not forgetting an office manager and the company owner.

Special effects, 1948 style abound, most of them look miniatures but pretty good for the film's small budget.