Highways by Night

Based on a story by Clarence Buddington Kelland but with one eye seemingly on Howard Hughes, this RKO B movie features Carlson as a millionaire whiz-kid content to enjoy a sheltered existence at home while contributing revolutionary designs to the family engineering plant. Since he is shortly to become a leader of men in the navy, his uncle (Collins) suggests he go and find out how those men live. Obediently visiting a sleazy nightclub, he witnesses a murder, is framed for the killing by a racketeer (MacLane), and finds shelter with a working girl (Randolph), whose brother (Jones) runs a one-man trucking firm the racketeer is trying to put out of business. Adding his brains to the brother's brawn, Carlson saves the day and wins the girl. It's all efficiently done, but not very interesting: Sullivan's Travels reworked by Capra, with the wit replaced by bromides about the sterling worth of ordinary folk, the benefits of manual labour, and the joys of ham sandwiches.