Everyone likes apples – Except doctors. Thieves’ Highway comes from director Jules Dassin and features a screenplay by A. I. Bezzerides, based on his novel Thieves' Market. The film includes Richard Conte, Valentine Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence, Jack Oakie, and Millard Mitchell in the cast; Alfred Newman composed the music and Norbert Brodine was responsible for the cinematography. A man returns from military service to discover that his father has been left unable to walk by a dishonest produce dealer operating in San Francisco. Vowing retribution, he becomes a truck driver and travels to Frisco with a shipment of Golden Delicious apples... Motivated by revenge, hope, and despair, Dassin’s carefully planned noir progresses steadily. The movie focuses on its characters while also examining the failings of the American dream. A familiar plot point—a returning war veteran—starts things off, as Nico Garcos (Conte) finds a disabled father and an opportunistic fiancée awaiting him; welcome home! From there, Dassin and Bezzerides emphasize the theme of revenge, interweaving elements of greed and corruption within California’s produce industry. The journey by truck is effectively shown, creating both excitement and conveying the difficulties faced by truckers. Once Nico and his companion, Ed Kinney (Mitchell), arrive in Frisco and confront Mike Figlia (Cobb), a ruthless businessman, shady methods begin to surface, and Rica (Cortese), a prostitute, entering Nico's life introduces a morally ambiguous element with pointed dialogue. On-location filming contributes to the story’s realistic feel, and the performances from the cast are all exceptionally good. The ending feels somewhat contrived, added against Dassin's wishes, and it seems it should have been more critical of the economic themes; additionally, the fact that Nico's father is more worried about losing money than his ability to walk—is rather odd. Nevertheless, from a scene involving falling apples to the realization that something other than money has been stolen here, Thieves’ Highway is clever, intelligent, and captivating. 7.5/10

Source on TMDB