HIGHWAY 301

Although this will probably never make many "top 30" Film Noir lists, if you, like me, believe that we can never have enough examples of that genre available, I found this to be a welcome "discovery" (thanks, and a tip of the hat to Amazon for dropping it into rotation as a "recommended" purchase, as I had previously never heard of it). Plus it stars Steve Cochran; intense, lean and mean, he symbolizes dark, solid and virtually unstoppable male menace on my screen and in my eyes/mind.I was ready to give up on this movie right out of the gate, as there are not only one, but THREE (!) interviews with (real life) Governor's to warn the audience of the perils of a life of crime (well, YEAH, you pick a Steve Cochran character as your mentor and you are doomed, that's why I'm watching this in a film and not asking him to tell me what to do next in real life). Mercifully, this lasts only about 3 minutes in it's entirety, then gets right into the developing quagmire that is crime at it's ugliest; botched capers that lead to sociopaths justifying murders as necessary only because that living person was blocking their pathway to a quick escape from the law.Parts of this seem straightforward (narration that tries to "kill the buzz" in parts, but like the interviews never last long), and some of it is, but the Noir-obsessed among us that stick with it, will, I believe find much to satisfy the appetite of their eyes herein. I won't give anything away plot-wise, but there is a sweet segment that takes place on a long stretch of empty, gloomy city streets that's a good a piece of Noir-mood as I've seen anywhere.As any Chess player would say: "your move", but I haven't played Chess in ages because it cuts into my movie watching time. I personally loved this movie and will be watching it again soon.

I'm a fan of film noir and I bought this from Amazon hoping for a gem. That's what I got. Excellent movie, in my eyes. The movie reminded me of "He Walked at Night", another excellent film noir. The other reviewers mentioned the content of the movie, so I won't. I will only mention that it had me guessing throughout the whole movie, even though I knew what the outcome had to be.

I really enjoyed this. It's very tightly paced, with a cold-blooded brutality that may shock you. One thing's for sure: there's never a dull moment. In its brief 80+ minutes, this film is jam-packed with suspense, unexpected bursts of violence, and steamy sexual tension. As is often the case, the magnetic Steve Cochran anchors the film with his flair for dramatic violence, and his sinister, self-destructive charm with the ladies. Just as he does in Private Hell 36 and the legendary White Heat, he commands the screen with his charisma AND his aura of amoral wickedness. The guy was born to play these kinds of roles. There is also a bevy of beautiful dames to take a gander at; some of them are relatively innocent, while others are tough-as-nails gun molls. In fact, the whole cast are fun to watch, and reasonably talented. But there is no question that Cochran is the center hub of the speeding narrative -- he's the lynchpin. I have to say, though, that I'm not entirely convinced that this is really film noir. It seems more like a crime melodrama to me -- not that that's a bad thing! It does have a lot of procedural elements, and some pretty cool scientific forensics. This is an entertaining facet of the plot, and adds to the dynamic texture of the movie. If this truly is noir, then it is a variant of "docu-noir", with all of its detailed nuts and bolts of the ongoing police investigation. I had a lot of fun watching this -- it was never tedious, or padded. Andrew Stone did a seamless job of writing and directing it. There were plenty of twists and turns to knock you off balance, and there was a truly brilliant process shot at the end, with the speeding train! That has to be seen to be believed. I highly recommend this bravura slice of gangster action.

My mother-in-law loved this movie. She grew up with the people whose life this movie is based on. She told me about Highway 301 so I found the movie for her. It was great for her to see a movie based on her town and the people she knew.

Remember when brutal gangsters wore double-breasted suits and hats to rob banks. Their women were "molls". Steve Cochran always gave a memorable performance and he is at his best as a gangster. Virginia Grey was perfect. If you are looking for an old (1950"s) gangster drama this is it. I loved it.

A real-life drama that works on film. The characters are well-defined and the story-line keeps us interested. This is the kind of fare many of us (although dwindling in numbers) grew up on.

The vicious Tri-State Gang has been pulling daylight robberies in three states and is hotly pursued by the police. This is an exciting, violent and thoroughly entertaining thriller. Steve Cochran, the sullen-faced psychopathic gang leader, thinks nothing of exterminating the mob's molls who attempt escape from the gang. There are several good suspenseful moments as one girl is ruthlessly stalked and shot down, only to survive and escape a second attempt. The thrilling climax, when Cochran inevitably pays the price for his life of crime, is one of the film's best moments. This DVD-R from the Warner Archive contains a good print of this movie, with excellent picture quality and sound. There are no extras, not even a trailer. The disc is Region free. Recommended for fans of classic gangster movies and film noir. Movie 8/10, Picture quality 8/10, Sound 8/10.

GREAT MOVIE....EXCELLENT QUALITY.....FAST SHIPPING

Basada en hechos reales, tan apasionantes como si hubieran sido inventados, se nos narra la huida de la policía de una banda de ladrones y asesinos. Destaca la falta de escrúpulos de un gánster (Steve Cochran), que no titubea al eliminar a cualquier testigo incómodo. Psicologías bien creadas y convincentes. Emoción garantizada hasta el último minuto. Copia muy digna.

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