A Pre-Coder for the Whole Family with Child-Star Dickie Moore (Our Gang) on Hand for Much Lightheartedness and Finally Pathos.

It's a Quickly-Paced Inner-City Tale of a Mechanics Garage a Front for a Stolen Car Ring.

The Action is Fast and Furious and the Inner-Gang Machinations make for some Off-Beat and Colorful "Characters"".

There is a Deaf and Dumb Psycho who Uses an "Auto-Pen" to Communicate Between the Gang. He Looks Like He Stepped Off the Set of a Bela Lugosi Movie and Wandered Where He Could Look the Most Out of Place.

"Silver" is a Platinum Blonde Looker that Struts Around Like a Mini-Mae-West.

The Sex and Violence are on the Softer-Side of Many Pre-Coders. A Few Play on Words and that's it.

Even a "Little-Person" Makes the Opening Scene.

The Car Chases are a Highlight as is the Overall Audience-Friendly Tone.

Not Much to See Here as a Pre-Code Movie, but Nonetheless its Entertaining for its 1 Hour Running Time and Keeps You On Your Toes.

Slightly Above Average and...

Worth a Watch.

"Beef" Evans (James Gleason) works in a crooked garage. He takes in hot cars because he wants his wife and son to have the best things in life, but his wife worries about the consequences of his actions. Rightfully so. His new hire, "Gabby" Denton (Edmund Lowe) has his own concerns, and starts investigating the details of the racket.

I saw this movie screened at Cinevent 41, and for most of the movie, the sound was out of sync. If I were too bored, I would have left, but I couldn't miss out on seeing Dickie Moore in a rare film. Even when his voice didn't match his expressions, I found myself awwing for his innocence in spite of his predictable role in the story.

This is a standard programmer with strong ties to the crime drama genre. If you're a fan of cars and pre-codes, find a copy.

The Devil Is Driving (TDID) is a little known pre-code movie that is currently available for viewing on the Criterion Channel. It is of interest to us today primarily because of its unusual casting. Traditionally offered leading man roles around that time, Edmund Lowe------known mainly to fans of old films for his salty Sergeant Quirt part in the acclaimed Raoul Walsh silent version of What Price Glory (1926) and as the sophisticated society doctor in the all-star MGM classic Dinner at Eight (1933)-------plays an ordinary nondescript auto mechanic (!) who just happens to get involved in some very extraordinary activities that take place in the garage where he works. And seasoned veteran comic actor James Gleason, who over the years accumulated a hefty resume of scene-stealing humorous wise-cracking character parts, plays it more or less straight as the garage's manager as well as a kindly and loyal husband, father and friend. Both Lowe and Gleason stand out in the fast moving and unusual film.

The garage forms the principal setting for this tale, and much credit must go to the director and cinemaphotographer for making TDID both highly realistic and very exciting. Much of the camera work is startling and inventive---well above the usual standard associated with what was probably budgeted as a "B" movie.

Wynne Gibson does her usual thing as the hard-boiled blond with a heart of gold. She was quite believable and effective as Lowe's love interest. A supporting juvenile part was very well played by the talented child actor Dickie Moore.

It is astonishing to realize that Paramount Studio likely produced this little gem as a minor programmer to be shown as the bottom end of a "double bill" theatrical presentation. Nonetheless, TDID is well plotted, absorbing and constantly interesting. TDID is definitely worth being checked out as one of the better pre-code "B" films of the period.