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Thieves' Highway

Play trailer Poster for Thieves' Highway 1949,  1h 34m,  Crime/ Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 100% 11 Reviews Tomatometer 79% 1,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Nick Garcos (Richard Conte) comes back from his tour of duty in World War II planning to settle down with his girlfriend, Polly Faber (Barbara Lawrence). He learns, however, that his father was recently beaten and burglarized by mob-connected trucker Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb), and Nick resolves to get even. He partners with prostitute Rica (Valentina Cortese), and together they go after Mike, all the while getting pulled further into the local crime underworld.

Critics Reviews

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Bob Thomas Associated Press Jul 24, 2019
Thieves' Highway answers the need for something new in film entertainment. It's a hard-hitting, almost nerve-jangling film of skullduggery in the produce market. Go to Full Review
Nick Schager Slant Magazine Feb 19, 2005
3.5/4
Dassin swathes Thieves' Highway's long-haul boys in claustrophobic compositions and menacing darkness. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Jul 23, 2025
3.5/4
Thieves’ Highway is the least known of the four Jules Dassin noirs, but don’t let that keep you away. Go to Full Review
Eve Tushnet Patheos May 24, 2023
For me, the best things about this picture were the long and harrowing scene of Nick trying not to fall asleep at the wheel; the attentiveness, in general, to the physical tasks and risks of long-haul driving... Go to Full Review
David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Jan 20, 2023
3/4
...a slow-moving yet increasingly compelling endeavor... Go to Full Review
Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Dec 3, 2022
[Richard] Conte makes for a firecracker of a two-fisted idealist and director Jules Dassin gives the film a working class grit and post-WWII disillusionment. Go to Full Review
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Thieves' Highway

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Cast & Crew

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Jules Dassin

Director

Richard Conte

Nico 'Nick' Garcos

Valentina Cortese

Rica (as Valentina Cortesa)

Lee J. Cobb

Mike Figlia

Barbara Lawrence

Polly Faber

Jack Oakie

Slob

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Thieves' Highway

Thieves' Highway (1949) Thieves' Highway (1949) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Nick Garcos (Richard Conte) comes back from his tour of duty in World War II planning to settle down with his girlfriend, Polly Faber (Barbara Lawrence). He learns, however, that his father was recently beaten and burglarized by mob-connected trucker Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb), and Nick resolves to get even. He partners with prostitute Rica (Valentina Cortese), and together they go after Mike, all the while getting pulled further into the local crime underworld.
Director
Jules Dassin
Producer
Robert Bassler
Screenwriter
A. I. Bezzerides, A. I. Bezzerides
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
20th Century Fox
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 10, 1949, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 13, 2017
Runtime
1h 34m
Sound Mix
Mono
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