Drive a Crooked Road

Rooney imbues the role with a lot of subtlety and never overplays it. The other leads are strong as well. The film's major flaw is that it's rather slow to get going... the first hour has some fine character building, but is rather skim on plot development. Too much time is spent establishing the relationship with Foster. The meat of the story feels rushed, especially compared to the languid pace of the preceding hour. However, that final act is gripping, and heavy with cynicism and melancholy.

Rooney in a noir takes a while to get used to with his boyish frumpy persona. Luckily that's appropriate for the role he's given, as a talented patsy, so once it's revealed what's going on the darkness starts to creep in and it works ok. Still, the first hour isn't the most exciting thing, sure there are some good moments here and there and none of it is bad, it's just kind of bland. Those last 25 minutes though, they're pretty great, especially the ending. Redeems the whole film.

Viewed June 23, 2020. The melancholy ending is overwhelming and terrifying, because it's so understated in its bleakness.

A generally enjoyable noir, with an "aw shucks" hero in Mickey Rooney being taken in by a femme fatale (who, oddly for the genre, feels remorse for her role). The ending, while good, feels a little incomplete.

While this is nowhere near the top of the genre, mainly due to the simple story, it was still a nice surprise and a gem of a film noir. I knew Mickey Rooney's background as a child actor, but I wasn't familiar with his work. He is a perfect fit here as the innocent, perhaps not the brightest mechanic who is manipulated to participate in a heist. Dianne Foster's character has also more depth than your usual femme fatale. The hopelessness of the story and the ending are pure noir.

A noir set mainly during the day along the beach AND staring Mickey Rooney. As odd as it sounds it does work very well, mainly because of Rooney's somber performance. Rarely do I feel so sad for the protagonist, but his blank stare is enough to generate significant pity for the broken man.