HIGHWAY DRAGNET (1954) – The Blu Review

Review by Roger Carpenter

Jim Henry (Richard Conte) is a decorated soldier who has just returned from the Korean War.  Making his way across the country to California, he’s stopped over in Vegas to visit an Army friend.  While killing time until his dinner date he cozies up to a pretty blonde in a bar before the two argue very publicly.  The next day finds Jim hitchhiking out of Vegas when he is arrested by the police—for the murder of the girl he fought with the night before.  Jim claims he can prove his innocence but his Army pal, on a classified mission, has disappeared, along with Jim’s alibi.  Feeling railroaded, Jim manages to escape the clutches of Detective White Eagle (Reed Hadley) to go on the run.

While on the road he meets two ladies, a high-class photographer, Mrs. Cummings (Joan Bennett), and her assistant, the pretty Susan Willis (Wanda Hendrix).  He manages to hitch a ride only for the women to discover Jim is wanted for murder.  Now Jim must contend with not only a highway dragnet but the suspicions of two women, neither of whom want to end up like the blonde in Vegas.  What Jim doesn’t know is that, along with her luxurious alligator skin luggage, Mrs. Cummings has some extra baggage only the two women know about.  How are these two women connected to the blonde corpse back in Vegas?  Is Susan really falling for Jim or is it just a ploy so he will let his guard down?  Can Jim stay out of the dragnet long enough to track down his mysterious friend and clear his name?  Or, is Jim actually guilty of murder?

Highway Dragnet is a noir-ish, B-grade crime thriller, but it’s still a great deal of fun. At 70 minutes, the pace is quick enough and the film has enough action to keep one interested.  The film is filled with great character actors, each with a zillion credits to their name.  While none are Oscar-winners, they are all solid actors who grew up when talkies were new and actors had contracts with the likes of Universal or Columbia.

Reed Hadley supports the stars as the policeman White Eagle.  Hadley was a blue-collar, hard-working character actor with 130 credits to his name.  While never an A-lister, Hadley was experienced with studio filmmaking as well as early television shows, particularly westerns.  He is right at home playing a Native American police officer on the hunt for a murderer.

Wanda Hendrix, as Susan Willis, also supports the two top-billed stars but shines as brightly as they do.  She is pretty, with just the right amount of sass, and looks good in a bathing suit as well.  She worked in a ton of 1940’s westerns and 1950’s melodramas before transitioning to television in the 60’s.  But her star had lost its shine by 1970 and her career stalled significantly.  She was perhaps better known as WWII hero and film star Audie Murphy’s wife, at least for seven short months around 1950.  Tragically, she died of pneumonia at the age of 52.

The real stars of this vehicle were Richard Conte and Joan Bennett.  Bennett’s career spanned from the silent era into the early 1980’s and she had some great credentials during that time.  She’s probably best known for her star turn in 1945’s Fritz Lang-directed classic Scarlet Street as well as her portrayal of Elizabeth Collins Stoddard in the original Dark Shadows television series. Her last film was Dario Argento’s Suspiria and she followed that up with three television movies, including the solid little haunted house thriller This House Possessed before passing away at the age of 80.

Like Hadley, Richard Conte was also a blue-collar actor who truly worked for a living.  Unlike Hadley, Conte did make some genuinely classic films as well as some popular genre features.  He featured in a ton of 40’s and 50’s noir and melodramas and one of his best was the Jimmy Stewart vehicle Call Northside 777.  He transitioned into television in the early 60’s before being considered for the lead in Coppola’s The Godfather.  Ultimately, Marlon Brando took that part but Conte was cast as Brando’s Sicilian rival, Don Barzini.  He finished his career in Italy where he starred in some very solid crime thrillers there like Fernando Di Leo’s The Boss and Shoot First Die Later, Tonino Ricci’s The Big Family, and Sergio Martino’s The Violent Professionals, along with some dreck like Evil Eye and Return of the Exorcist.

As mentioned before, the plot keeps the film moving along.  But even unsophisticated viewers will likely catch on quickly as to who the murderer actually is.  The hints are plentiful but I was actually engrossed enough in the film to miss the first big clue.  But the reveal will likely come as no surprise to the average viewer as various layers to the women are peeled and one, in particular, seems to want Jim framed at all costs.

The film itself made some money but isn’t much more than a standard potboiler.  It’s perhaps most famous as Roger Corman’s first writing credit and the film that convinced Corman he could make a living in the movies.  After selling the story, he joined the film as an unpaid worker but ended up with a writing credit as well as a credit for associate producer.

Highway Dragnet is an enjoyable little melodrama and a fun way to pass an hour or so.  Kino Lorber has just released the film on Blu-Ray with a new 4K scan, and it looks and sounds terrific.  It’s a bare bones release with only a handful of trailers for other films as a bonus, but it’s a solid crime thriller with pretty girls and a twist at the end.  You can purchase the film directly from Kino Lorber at kinolorber.com or through Amazon.