Il terrore dell'autostrada

Never in cinematic history have so many Dinky Toys crashed and burned in such close proximity, in such rapid succession. A series of 'accidents' involving H. G. V.s owned by Norris Trucking is quickly followed by a similar car wreck causing the death of company heiress Henrietta Denton, witnessed by well meaning trucker, Robert Lowery - though smoking a pipe at the scene of the inferno was hardly the wisest move he could have made!

The affable Lowery frequents Pops' diner, where his delightful fiance, Pamela Blake is employed, but when a further death occurs involving his own vehicle, his Johnny on the spot presence arouses suspicion of murder, amidst ongoing murmurings of sabotage.

This Poverty Row, Robert L. Lippert outing, replete with William Berke's clunking, low-budget direction raises a number of smiles along the way. Never quite descending into so bad it's good territory, the simplistic, ham fisted delivery ensures that 'Highway 13' is consistently entertaining and the snappy running time helps to keep dull moments to a minimum.

An amiable war vet trucker is suddenly surrounded by bad dialogue, weak acting, and a rash of fatal truck accidents with cheesy butane lighter explosions!

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!

"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.

There's a Lot Packed-In this 58min...3.5 Day Shoot...

Truck-Driver Robert Lowery is Under Investigation for Sabotaging Rigs Originating from the Fleet He's Working For.

Multiple-Suspects, Multiple Over-the-Cliff-Crashes, a Neat-Little Mystery to be Solved, with a Plenty of Action Along a Side-Dish Diner Romance.

Atypical, Rather Nasty Murders Take Place On and Off the Road, and the Guilty Party is Hard to Spot, but Maybe Not.

Everything Comes Crashing Down in Less than an Hour, and the Bang-for-the-Buck is a Good Bet on this Nifty, Pulpy, Entertainment that Contains some Edgy Characters.

The Old-Geezer who Runs the Diner/Truck-Stop Needles His Wife Once too Often and Gets a Pie-in-the-Face, that is Oddly Not Done for Laughs and is Quite Odd.

That's a Good Description of the "Lippert-Studios" Under-Card...Odd...

as it Rides the Road Right In-Line Behind other Popular "Top-Card" Movies from the Era with the Likes of George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, and Richard Conte.

This One Belies Its Own Low-Low-Budget and Delivers the Goods, and if You're Lucky Enough to Spot it on Your Travels.

Looking for Obscure, Little Movies with Big Rewards, it's...

Worth a Watch.