This gripping tale of an elaborate nighttime scheme to heist ten million in gold from a special government train opens with effective title credits as the highway centerline weaves back and forth across the screen. The first fifteen minutes will have you glued, what with the driving rain, the pounding score, and the character’s voice-over inner doubts about their meticulous plan's success. The seventy-two-minute film is concise with little wasted footage. Transportation buffs will enjoy the realism of location shooting.
Directed by Hubert Cornfield with a screenplay by Steven Ritch (above left) from his and Jack Charney's story, this crime gem was produced by Regal Films and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Gene Raymond (above) is the mastermind. He has never pulled off anything like this before. But Raymond is the only one with a college degree, making him the most highly qualified "heister" among the gang. The other four men are from mixed backgrounds with Wayne Morris and Elisha Cook Jr. as the only seasoned criminals (below). The crooks bring the train to a stop with a series of rail explosions by clever long-distance detonations, spectacularly blowing open the boxcar carrying the gold.
Their story then unfolds over nine hundred miles with Raymond not confident everyone will make it. The gold is divided among three trucks, each going different routes, leaving at precise intervals, as devised by the college graduate. The guys patiently wait for their departure time just as the viewer has to patiently wait for what comes next. An effective director’s device or not, it works. The single driver, then the duo, eventually get apprehended in deflating fashion compared to the film’s hard-hitting opening. It realistically captures how mundane these infallible men can be captured. Out of nowhere, Raymond’s girlfriend shows up. Jeanne Cooper is also connected to the heist, handling the fake delivery papers and passports for their south-of-the-border rendezvous.
Raymond, Cooper, and Ritch make it to Los Angeles and they are feeling pretty smug. In a feat that is a bit hard to believe, they melt down their gold into bumpers and wheel covers to fancy up their air-suspended Cadillac. After a strong beginning and middle section, the ending is certainly the film's weakest point. And a bit laughable. Making a getaway on a Los Angeles freeway at rush hour was not as well planned as the train robbery. Then a simple fender bender brings over the police who notice a most unusual Cadillac accessory...solid gold bumpers. The three, in the typical fashion of the era, run for it. From the overpass, Raymond decides to jump onto an oncoming truck trailer on the highway below. His parkour skills not well polished, it sets up one of those “whoa” moments. Desperation, thy name in Raymond.
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