George Raft’s career @ Warners, as told in three Raoul Walsh films. 1940/THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT: Raft top-billed against fourth-billed Humphrey Bogart in a first-rate, hard-driving truck melodrama. 1941/HIGH SIERRA: Raft nixes on its classic ‘good’ bad guy lead, letting Bogie step in and reset his career. 1943/BACKGROUND TO DANGER: After CASABLANCA catapulted Bogart to the top-tier*, Raft finishes up his Warners contract on this copycat wannabe, a near programmer Walsh walks thru. Not a terrible WWII entry, mind you, something about Sydney Greenstreet trying to cause an incident that will drive neutral Turkey into siding with the Axis Powers; and undercover U.S. agent Raft bumping into various Russian types (if they are Ruskies!), all playing tag with compromising documents proving . . . er, something or other. Many spies, including Brenda Marshall (also on her way off the lot) & brother Peter Lorre. Nice shadowy work from lenser Tony Gaudio (the only guy who seems to be trying) and a lot of seriously unconvincing (if fun!) toy trains, tracks & fit-to-scale scenery. Just about everyone ready to move on from this one.
WATCH THIS NOT THAT: Raft’s best @ Warners came first, William Keighley’s knock-out prison meller EACH DAWN I DIE/’39, with top-billed James Cagney graciously ceding the glory spot to Raft.
ATTTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Many Hollywood history books list Raft as first choice for CASABLANCA, but he was never a serious contender, merely an early casting idea jotted down on a studio memo. Also, most sources have Raft ankling HIGH SIERRA, but writer John Huston says it was Paul Muni who passed with Raft turning down his directing debut, THE MALTESE FALCON.
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