HIGHWAY 13 (1948)

The Norris Trucking Company has been experiencing a series of accidents which are making headlines, and the latest involves the death of Henrietta Denton, the Norris heiress, when her car plunges off of Highway 13. We meet a number of characters tied to the company. Frank, Henrietta's widower, gets the company to hire George, an old buddy of his, to investigate the accidents. Hank, a Denton driver, is dating Doris, a waitress who works at a truck stop diner called the Clover Cafe, run by her kindly old uncle Pops. George shadows Hank to get to know the drivers and the routes, and soon George suspects that whatever is going on is tied to the Clover Cafe. We know that George thinks that Pops, who does a number of check-ups on the trucks and has a criminal past, is a suspect, but George is sure that Hank is in the clear. A tragic accident (or possibly a planned murder) occurs which puts Hank in the spotlight, and he and Doris have to do some investigating to clear his name. This is a thoroughly average B-crime melodrama with some OK acting and enough characters to muddy the waters as we try to figure out who the villain is. I like Robert Lowery, a beefy character actor perhaps best known for playing Batman in the 1949 serial BATMAN AND ROBIN, and he's fine if a bit dim as Hank. Steve Pendleton gives good sidekick support as George, and Pamela Blake is perky as Doris. There is some folderol about Doris pressuring Hank to get a raise so they can get married, but it's just a plot device to allow him to make contact with Mary, a secretary and potential femme fatale (played by Maris Wrixon). Clem Bevans, who played old men for most of his long career, is Pops, who can be both cranky and amusing; Dan Seymour is a (perhaps shady) insurance investigator; Mary Gordon is Pops' kindly wife; Lyle Talbot has a small role as a detective. The plot twists keep you on your toes, and I must admit that the solution surprised me. Apparently the exteriors were shot alongside an actual California highway (14 rather than 13). Pictured are Lowery and Pendleton. [DVD]