Review of Highway 301

Made on the heels of Cagney's turn in "White Heat", this film features Steve Cochran as the leader of a criminal gang that terrorized three states with a series of vicious robberies and murders. It's based on the real-life crime spree of the Tri-State Gang operating in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina in the 1930's, the title referring to the highway connecting them all, but oddly it isn't mentioned throughout the story. The film opens with something I'd never seen before, as the governors of those states appear on screen beforehand to basically send the message that crime does not pay and that the criminals responsible would be brought to justice. Cochran gives it his all in portraying mob leader George Legenza, who isn't averse to taking out his gal pal when she just about admits to the new wife of gang member William Phillips (Robert Webber) that their stock in trade involves robbing banks and armored car payrolls. When Phillips is shot and killed during a police confrontation, his wife Lee (Gaby André) attempts her own getaway, and unexplainably survives a point-blank shooting when Legenza catches up with her in a cab he stole! Legenza's attempt to finish the job leads to a car chase through city streets and a final, fatal showdown at a railyard where the Tri State crimewave comes to a halt. I caught this film on Turner Classics earlier today with host Eddie Muller, who had high praise for Steve Cochran, at one point calling him the 'Elvis' of film noir.