Hell Drivers

The spirit of 30s Warner Brothers movies lives in this tough, intense thriller about men doing an impossible job-- driving gravel trucks at breakneck speed. (Like the mail service in Only Angels Have Wings, this company loses way too

many men and trucks to make economic sense, but it's great as a movie

pressure cooker for character.) Baker, a largely forgotten star who was the first real working class hero in British films and the precursor to Michael Caine et al. (which, to extend the Warner Bros. analogy, sort of makes him to British cinema what John Garfield was as the first real ethnic American star), is brooding and Eastwood-silent as a new trucker with a past, while a highly interesting cast of character actors includes not only three future movie/TV spy stars, as other

reviewers have noted, but a bunch of ace Carry On-type comedians (Sid James,

Wilfred Lawson, and Alfie Bass), Gun Crazy star Peggy Cummins, the future

Mrs. Charles Bronson (Jill Ireland) and even a Dr. Who (William Hartnell).

Writer-director Endfield, an American blacklistee whose most famous film (and Baker's) would be Zulu ten years later, clearly drew some inspiration from the international art house hit The Wages of Fear, but this movie wisely doesn't seek existential meanings and keeps its B movie soul pure-- and hardboiled.

This movie shows us a side of the English that most Americans are unfamiliar with. Down, dirty, gritty, and nasty. We see these traits more in ourselves than in our friends across the pond.

As an old trucker, I was practically hypnotized by this movie. If I were still driving it would give me nightmares. A trucking crew, at odds with themselves as well as the owner, practically cut each others throats to become top driver. It is a daily grind consisting of hauling loads of gravel back and forth from a gravel pit to a construction site, rolling over each other as well as everyone else on the road in the process.

It isn't the story that makes this film - it's the cast, action, and direction - in any order you like. Stanley Baker plays the new guy. An ex-con trying to make a new start. Patrick McGoohan plays his antagonist in a truly evil fashion. I thought back and cannot remember seeing Patrick McGoohan in any standout role other than a Columbo re-run. But he really hit the mark here. Probably before he became convinced he was the world's greatest actor. The rest would fill out the Rank Organisation's register. Gordon Jackson (from The Great Escape), Herbert Lom (from the Pink Panther series) as an Italian!, and Sean Connery (pre James Bond) with real hair!

I found myself watching this movie with my mouth open and wondering WHERE WERE THE COPS!

In many ways, "Hell Drivers" reminds me of the French film "The Wages of Fear"...and that is indeed a compliment! Both involve evil trucking companies which seem more than willing to lose a few drivers along the way...all in the name of profits.

The film begins with an ex-con looking for work as a gravel truck driver. Considering he also doesn't have a license, there is no way he should get hired...but is. It seems that all the company cares about is having the drivers make as many runs as possible...and if a few get killed as a result, that's just fine. However, the more runs Tom (Stanley Baker) makes, the more his fellow employees work to sabotage him and keep Red (Patrick McGoohan) the guy with the best record. But there's far more to it than an uncaring employer and nasty co-workers....and Tom only learns the truth late in the film...and it makes for a very tense and exciting finale!

In addition to having an excellent script, this film is great to watch just to see a lot of British actors before they became famous. In addition to Baker and McGoohan, you'll see William Hartnell (the first Dr. Who), Sean Connery, David McCallum, Herbert Lom and Jill Ireland! That's an impressive cast indeed! Overall, a really good film that doesn't insult your intelligence. Well worth your time.

A tautly directed and tight lipped B movie done in American 50's crime genre style. This was one British film that had actors playing tough guys properly instead of the usual feeble and artificial methods of acting tough that let down scores of British films of that time. In particular the fist fight scene looked convincing and dramatic for a change. All this was very refreshing for its time. A very watchable Patrick Mcgoohan excelled in the role as the main antagonist playing a believable hard b'stard. I wish he had done subsequent roles as a leading heavy he would have been good at that. A strong cast all round. The dour realism of working class England was captured well. The crazy driving was not too far from the truth either. During the Fifties there was a massive rebuilding programme going on following the war and the blitz and you would see these ballast lorries scurrying around everywhere breaking speed limits where they could. Many looked in a bad state of maintenance. For truck geeks they were Dodge Semi Forwards with mostly Perkins diesel engines.

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.