Thieves Highway (1949)

I watched Thieves Highway, directed by Jules Dassin on the weekend. This another recent release from the Criterion Collection.

Of the three Dassin films that I’ve seen to date, Rififi is by far the best. Thieves Highway was one of the last pictures that Dassin directed in the US before he was exiled to France. It has some nice moments—the scene where the transport truck veers off the road and crashes. Dassin describes this scene as being one of his favourites in an interview, included on the DVD.

The sad thing about Thieves Highway is that studio head, Daryl Zanuck changed the ending of the film without Dassin knowing. And Terry Gilliam thought he had it rough when Universal Pictures changed the ending to his film Brazil.

Posted in DVD Reviews at 10:58 AM