Highway 13

"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.

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.

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.

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!

William Berke, who rose from assistant boy to director/producer of B noirs, and died a young 55, certainly can claim some merits in the finished product of HIGHWAY 13. Obviously operating on a shoestring budget that even had model shots, trucks and sedans careen off Highway 13 before disappearing in explosions, he also had to make do with a clearly substandard cast. The only member of the latter that I recognized from small parts in various minor movies was Clem Bevans, the endearing old "Pops" accumulating more mischief and a longer rap sheet than I had seen coming.

Perhaps the cleverest touch in this cheap Lippert production is Mary Gordon throwing, or threatening to throw, blueberry pies in Bevans' face... I ought to have known that she was doing it for a reason, but I decided - wrongly - that she and the old geezer were two geriatrics and nothing more, thereby ignoring the consistency of "Pops'" presence in this 58-minute noir.

Robert Lowery is a third rate actor but he does not compromise; as indicated, Bevans and Gordon actually elevate the film's acting standard; and Maris Wrixon and Frank Whalen play suave villains. The real poor choice, sadly, is Pamela Blake, who cannot act to save her life, and is given far too significant a role saving the day in the end.

The screenplay by Maurice Trombagel is concise and keeps you interested, cinematography by Carl Berger reflects the film's low budget but I have seen far, far worse. I found the ending rather fitting, too, with justice rightly served to the deserving parties. 7/10.