Michael_Elliott Drive a Crooked Road (1954) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Mickey Rooney plays Eddie Shannon, a race car driver without a bit of self respect due to a scar that covers part of his face. He spends most of his time alone or working as a mechanic until one day he meets the beautiful Barbara (Dianne Foster). The two strangely hit it off but it turns out she's working for a small-time gangster (Kevin McCarthy) who needs to use Eddie for a bank heist. This semi-noir isn't the greatest film ever made but there are enough interesting moments to make it worth sitting through if you're a fan of the genre. It's always funny seeing some of this non-MGM roles that Rooney was in at the middle point of his career because on one hand it just doesn't seem right seeing him in a part like this but at the same time it gives the film a somewhat interesting twist simply because you are seeing him in this type of role. It's strange but I think Rooney's performance starts off a tad bit stiff but gets better as the movie goes along. The early scenes we see Eddie sitting alone, in deep thought and simply being too shy and embarrassed of himself to talk or act like a normal person. I thought Rooney struggled a little bit during these scenes but at the same time this could be one just simply in shock because this isn't the Rooney we're use to seeing. Once the story starts to pick up and he begins to come to life with the girl then I found Rooney to be much better suited. Foster really looks like a prettier version of a young Barbara Stanwyck. I thought she did a very good job in the film as she was perfectly believable as the love interest but she also handled the cold-blooded villain as well. McCarthy clearly steals the film with his slick, laid back performance. You can't help but feel he's a villain you love to hate because of his lack of emotion when it comes to fooling this weak guy by making the loser think he's a winner. There are many memorable moments in the film including an early scene between Rooney and Foster on a beach where she tries to bring him out of his shell. The greatest sequence in the film is the actual heist, which is followed by a sequence where Rooney must drive at a fast speed on a dangerous road in order to get past a road block that police will put up once they learn of the robbery. This sequence here has some nice tension in it and the editing is very good. DRIVE A CROOKED ROAD is probably going to appeal to fans of Rooney and McCarthy more than your typical crime-picture fan. I think a stronger screenplay would have been beneficial especially early on when this hot woman falls for the Rooney character as it simply isn't very believable.

RanchoTuVu A shy Los Angeles mechanic and weekend racer (Mickey Rooney) is duped into being the getaway driver for bank robbers played by Kevin McCarthy and Jack Kelly. It seems as if they have a rather elaborate plot to hook him into their scheme by using McCarthy's girlfriend played by attractive Dianne Foster as lure for the shy and withdrawn Rooney who only has his job and his racing trophies to keep him going. It all works fairly well and shows how an innocent person is lured into doing something he would never ordinarily do with the bait being implied sex. Rooney is really good but so are both Kevin McCarthy and his partner played by Jack Kelly. The robbery itself occurs in Palm Springs and does not disappoint in execution with Kelly especially good as the gunman cracking jokes as he accompanies the head teller to the bank followed by the getaway car (which was souped up by Rooney). The film's title comes into play as Rooney drives like mad over a twisting mountain road back to the highway in under twenty minutes. All the elements of the story are mixed pretty well with a tough ending.

HEFILM Richard Quine probably has his best "non comedy" film with this one, but maybe has to take the rap also for what's weak about this film. The opening car race and the key bank "race" are pretty blandly done as is any other action set piece in the movie. The opening scene is really poor, like something you'd see in a film made in the Early silent days. Badly matched rear projection, the camera angle is so wrong in the rear projection that is doesn't match the action of Rooney driving at all. The process work isn't bad, the footage shot is. The rest of the race material is also poor. And for a film about the ability to race, the fact that the racing is bad can't be overlooked. After this crappy beginning the excellent performances and dialog drive the film along perfectly. Most of the cast is perfect and the personal violence between characters is very strong. Rooney is very understated here--in many of his other adult work he'd tend to over act, not here though at all. It's an award worthy performance.Just too bad that the action is treated like sloppy second unit work--some say (un)credited to Blake Edwards himself--but with Edwards interest in fast cars etc., hard to believe he'd shoot this stuff so badly. The ending, which also involves some action is perfunctorily done and the resolution too quick. Too bad because otherwise this would be a nearly perfect movie. Still if you get over, the opening especially, this is a must see.

dougdoepke As other reviewers point out, America's favorite little guy was at a career crossroads at this point (1953). All in all, this downbeat low-budget caper film was a gutsy choice for MGM's former golden boy. Not only is Rooney's Eddie Shannon a rather pathetically repressed and vulnerable nobody, but the script stays entirely within that character, allowing Rooney none of his usual assertive (and often annoying) antics. The result is perhaps the biggest departure of his career, and also perhaps the most moving. The film itself is a good one, benefiting from unfamiliar Southern Cal locations, excellent acting from a number of up-&-comers, Jack Kelly , Kevin McCarthy, et al., and a plausible script. As a caper film, it's inferior to the best ones of that decade (The Asphalt Jungle, The Killing, etc.), but as an account of one man's sad and lonely plight (never a Hollywood biggie), it holds its own with the best of them, thanks to Rooney.