Highway 301 (film)

Highway 301
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAndrew L. Stone
Written byAndrew L. Stone
Produced byBryan Foy
StarringSteve Cochran
Virginia Grey
Narrated byEdmon Ryan
CinematographyCarl Guthrie
Edited byOwen Marks
Music byWilliam Lava
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
  • December 8, 1950 (1950-12-08) (New York)[1]
  • December 13, 1950 (1950-12-13) (Los Angeles)[2]
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$530,000[3]
Box office$1,604,000[3]

Highway 301 is an American 1950 film noir written and directed by Andrew L. Stone and starring Steve Cochran, Virginia Grey, Gaby André and Edmon Ryan.[4]

Plot

Governors William P. Lane of Maryland, John S. Battle of Virginia and W. Kerr Scott of North Carolina each address the audience to express support for the film and its moral message regarding the evils of criminal activity.

A gang of career criminals, modeled on the real life Tri-State Gang, are terrorizing and robbing banks and payrolls in North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. George, the gang's leader, is a cold killer who does not distinguish between armed guards and any of the group's molls that cross him.

All five of the gang members are caught or killed. One of the malls is killed by a shot from the gang's leader, a second is shot and lies in a coma before recovering and a third is arrested while impersonating a reporter.

Cast

Production

During filming of a scene on location at a Los Angeles-area bank, Steve Cochran, in character as George Legenza, ran from the bank armed and with an armload of cash, attracting the attention of a real-life police patrol car from which officers emerged with weapons drawn, believing that an actual bank robbery was taking place.[5]

Release

Highway 301 premiered in Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia, the states in which the film takes place, as well as in Washington, D.C., on December 7, 1950.

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $759,000 in the U.S. and $845,000 in other markets.[3]

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther called Highway 301 "cheap gangster melodrama" and referenced the opening addresses from the three governors, writing: "[T]hese eminent and honorable officials convey the solemn idea that what you are about to see is something that will prove to you how profitless crime is. And what you see is conventional modern-day cops-and-robbers film, based on the dismal depredations of the so-called Tri-State gang, in which robbing and shooting and violence are exhibited for pure sensation's sake, with the gangsters annihilated in a juicy blood-bath at the end. ... [T]he whole thing ... is a straight exercise in low sadism."[1]

Critic John L. Scott of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "For a modest-budgeted picture it is okay and should please action fans ... All characters are played with a minimum of histrionics, which gives added realism to the piece."[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Crowther, Bosley (1950-12-09). "The Screen: Standard Crime Film". The New York Times. p. 13.
  2. ^ a b Scott, John L. (1950-12-14). "Gangland Melodrama on Exhibit at Warners". Los Angeles Times. p. 12, Part III.
  3. ^ a b c Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 31 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
  4. ^ Highway 301 at the TCM Movie Database.
  5. ^ "Movie Scene Too Realistic". Los Angeles Times. 1950-12-11. p. 12, Part III.
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