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THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (Warner Brothers, 1940) directed by Raoul Walsh, stars George Raft in one of his top movie roles that is often regarded to be his best for the studio next to EACH DAWN I DIE (1939) starring James Cagney. Working for the second and final time opposite Humphrey Bogart, following their crime drama INVISIBLE STRIPES (1939), Raft and Bogart don't play taxi drivers working night shifts but truck driving brothers working long hours delivering big hauls with little time for themselves. Basically, a man's movie focusing on the struggles of truck driving featuring near miss road accidents, drinking coffee to avoid falling asleep at the wheel, dodging bill collectors out to repossess their truck for back payment, there's also moments involving female co-stars as Ann Sheridan and Gale Page, with the standout performance going to Ida Lupino making her Warner Brothers debut and a studio contract.

The story introduces the Fabrini brothers, Joe (George Raft) and Paul (Humphrey Bogart), truckers working under Mike Williams (Charles C. Wilson). While Paul would rather spend more time with his wife, Pearl (Gale Page) as opposed of long stretches on the road with his brother, Joe is ambitious in getting ahead hoping to someday get out of the trucking business and work for himself instead. While driving down the road, Joe has Paul stop to pick up Cassie Hartley (Ann Sheridan), a waitress they had earlier met at Barney's diner to give her a ride and out from the heavy rain. During the course of time, Joe becomes interested in Cassie and later acquires an office job by former friend and trucker, Ed Carlsen (Alan Hale). Though his new advancement is helping him learn more about the trucking business to strike out on his own, Joe is unable to avoid the advances of Ed's wife, Lana (Ida Lupino). After Ed's death leaving Joe in charge of the business with enough income to marry Cassie, "Mrs. Carlsen" does whatever she can to keep Joe to herself. Others in the cast include John Litel, Henry O'Neill, George Tobias, Paul Hurst, Charles Halton and John Ridgely.

Though Raft and Lupino worked together earlier in the comedy YOURS FOR THE ASKING (Paramount, 1936), THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT is the one that had more impact on their careers. If the Lupino segment sounds familiar, portions of it were borrowed from BORDERTOWN (Warner Brothers, 1935) starring Paul Muni with Bette Davis in the role Lupino inherited. By comparison, Davis' take as the obsessive wife was more natural and believable than Lupino's over-the-top performance. Regardless, Lupino became the one most memorable character by the time the closing credits reach the screen. Lighter moments go to Roscoe Karns as one of the truck drivers who spends more time playing pinball machines than making deliveries, with Joyce Compton as his sassy blonde girlfriend he met in one of the functions. Had THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT been produced at MGM, chances are the material would have been the right fit for Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy playing truck driving partners rather than brothers. Raft and Bogart are properly placed in their roles with Raft having more to do. Bogart gets his moments to shine, however, notably when unable to drive a truck anymore and feeling himself useless with nothing to do. Though Bogart and Lupino share no scenes together, they would appear together for the classic HIGH SIERRA (1941) which helped advance Bogart to superstardom roles to come.

THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, which often plays on cable channels as Turner Classic Movies or Movies, is available on video cassette since the 1980s and DVD distribution. (***)

LOVE IS A HEADACHE (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1938) directed by Richard Thorpe, stars Gladys George in a welcome change of pace, COMEDY. After a couple of serious dramas (STRAIGHT IS THE WAY (1934) and THEY GAVE HIM A GUN (1937) both with Franchot Tone, and notable tearjerkers (VALIANT IS THE WORD FOR CARRIE (1936) and MADAME X (1937)), George gets her chance to make her audience laugh. Though the title isn't as impressive as the story, this is George in rare form. Cast opposite Franchot Tone for the third and final time, working opposite a couple of kids again (Mickey Rooney and Virginia Weidler) as she did in VALIANT IS THE WORD FOR CARRIE, George shows she can be just as amusing as she can be sentimental.

Carlotta Lee (Gladys George) is a stage actress whose recent play, "A Lady of Experience" has closed after two days. With four consecutive flops in a row, Carlotta goes after the upcoming production of "Carolina" by Sam Ellinger. Peter Lawrence (Franchot Tone), a columnist of the New York Chronicle, having known Carlotta most of her life, keeps advising her not to assume roles in plays that would hurt her career but prefers to listen to her own conscience in play selections instead. Assisted by Jimmy Slattery (Ted Healy), her press agent, Carlotta is acquainted with Reginald Odell (Ralph Morgan) who has inherited $40 million and wants to marry her. After Joe Cannon gives the news to Peter that their former classmate from the old neighborhood, Francis X. "Buck Teeth" O'Tool, a window cleaner having plunged to his death from a twelve-story building leaving his two kids orphans, Fred decides to help the O'Toole children, Mike (Mickey Rooney) and his kid sister, Jake (Virginia Weidler) from being sent separately to an orphanage by finding them a permanent home. Following Fred's broadcast over the radio, Jimmy arranges for the kids to live in the luxurious home of Carlotta Lee without her knowledge. Not only is Carlotta angry about having a couple of street wise kids upsetting her daily routine but is equally upset with Fred accusing her of taking in these kids for publicity reasons with intentions of taking them away from her. Co-starring Fay Holden (Mary, Peter's Secretary); and Barnett Parker (Hutchkiss, the Butler). Character actress Jessie Ralph is quite amusing as both sheriff and justice of the peace of a small Connecticut town.

LOVE IS A HEADACHE is a likable story that plays fast for its 73-minutes. Aside from Gladys George gathering enough attention as a temperamental actress who only plays polite in front of the press and showing her true self behind closed doors, Ted Healy (in his final movie role) and Frank Jenks do an amusing byplay reminiscent to comedy team of George Burns and Gracie Allen pertaining to "Reincarnation." With other amusing bits by Gladys George, it's a pity she didn't get to do more comedies like this. She and Tone give the impression they were enjoying themselves during production, and it shows.

Seldom broadcast on commercial television since the 1960s, LOVE IS A HEADACHE began to surface regularly on cable television's Turner Classic Movies since 1994. For anybody who knows Gladys George solely as a character actress in secondary or minor parts of the 1940s should get to watch her in a rare leading performance that indicates love is a headache but also a whole lot of fun, too. (***)

MADAME X (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1937) directed by Sam Wood, became the studio's answer for another strong performance given by Gladys George, whose prior role in VALIANT IS THE WORD FOR CARRIE (Paramount, 1936) proved good enough to earn an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress. Though she didn't win, George's next few films, mostly for MGM, were not only attempts of repeating the formula but also danger of possible typecasting. With the story for CARRIE taken from a then current 1935 novel, MADAME X dates back to 1908 by Alexander Bisson followed by a successful 1910 stage edition. Screen adaptations followed: (1915 with Dorothy Donnelly) and (1920 with Pauline Frederick) from the silent movie era, followed by two sound editions: (MGM, 1929, directed by Lionel Barrymore, starring Ruth Chatterton in her Academy Award nominated performance) and this one. While this lates edition didn't earn Gladys George another nomination, this latest and shortest 71-minute retelling did show how George is capable and convincing in a leading role when the right source of material came her way.

Set in Paris, the story opens in a luxury apartment where Jacqueline Fleuriot (Gladys George) breaks up her illcit affair with Jean Rochin (Philip Reed) to devote her life back to her lawyer husband and young son. Moments later Jean's jealous girlfriend, Jeanette (Ruth Hussey) forces herself in. Knowing he's been entertaining another woman hiding outside the terrace, she points out her gun, shoots, runs out, throwing the gun beside the body. Fearing she'll be accused of murder, Jacqueline escapes unnoticed. Upon her return home, her husband, Bernard (Warren William), suspecting she's been unfaithful and unaware her son is sick in bed treated by the doctor (George Zucco), Bernard demands her departure and never return. Denied of ever seeing Raymond again, who believes his mother is dead, Jacqueline goes through life alone working job to job in order to survive. Going under the name of Miss Pran, Jacqueline obtains work as governess to two children (Dickie Moore and Buster Phelps); followed by going on a yachting cruise to Monte Carlo with Hugh Fairman (Jonathan Hale); working as hostess for Scipio (Luis Alberni) in his New Orleans cafe where she sings "You're Setting Me on Fire" to patrons; and finally broke and destitute in Buenos Aires where she becomes acquainted with LeRocle (Henry Daniell), a gambler and a blackmailer. Although Maurice Dovrel (Reginald Owen), Bernard's closest friend, convinces him to give his wife a second chance, his search for his wife becomes useless as hired detectives are unable to find any trace of her, only to be dismissed after ten years on the case. Bernard's grown son, Raymond (John Beal), engaged to Helene (Lynne Carver), is now a lawyer, whose first case is helping a non-speaking mystery woman on trial for murder and not knowing anything to try to help her. Also in the cast are William Henry, Cora Witherspoon and Paul Porcasi. Look quickly for uncredited roles of Gene Reynolds as young Raymond and Dickie Moore, who appeared briefly in both this and the 1929 version of MADAME X.

Technically, this 1937 edition improves over the more successful Ruth Chatterton 1929 talkie. As with VALIANT IS THE WORD FOR CARRIE, Gladys George gains sympathy from her viewers enough to side with her character. Her drunken scenes are both sad and convincing, especially when performed without makeup. She's technically the whole show here which makes this version worth watching. As much as the material may seem old-fashioned and outdated, MADAME X saw latter remakes, the best known and often televised 1966 release for Universal starring Lana Turner where all the names from the original source were changed. And yes, there was even a latter made-for-television movie in 1981 starring Tuesday Weld where the character's child was changed from son to daughter.

Due to the Lana Turner edition, earlier MADAME X editions have become obscure and forgotten. It wasn't until the 1980s when cable television resurrected the 1929 edition (retitled ABSINTHE) and Gladys George remake first on Showtime in 1989 before becoming a permanent fixture on Turner Classic Movies since 1994. Also available on video cassette and DVD format for its rediscovery both film and a rare Gladys George lead performance before turning to secondary character parts for much of the duration of her career. (***)