Hell Drivers (Hard Drivers) (1957)

79% of users liked it
(722 ratings)

In this efficient British crime drama, Tom Yately (Stanley Baker) is an ex-con looking for honest work. He thinks he's found it when he takes a job as a truck driver, but he soon discovers that the trucking firm he's signed on with is not playing by the rules. Red (Patrick McGoohan), the company's… More In this efficient British crime drama, Tom Yately (Stanley Baker) is an ex-con looking for honest work. He thinks he's found it when he takes a job as a truck driver, but he soon discovers that the trucking firm he's signed on with is not playing by the rules. Red (Patrick McGoohan), the company's best driver, and Cartley (William Hartnell), the manager, have created five fictional drivers who have been added to the payroll. The other staff drivers are given the shifts that the phony drivers are supposed to be working, while Red and Cartley divide their pay packets. When Tom attempts to expose the corruption at the trucking firm, he soon discovers that he's taken his life in his hands in the process. Keep an eye peeled for a supporting performance by a young Sean Connery (it was only his fifth screen role); the cast also includes Herbert Lom, Jill Ireland, Peggy Cummins, and David McCallum. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 31 min.
Directed By: Cy Endfield
Written By: Cy Endfield
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jul 23, 1957 Wide

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The thriller is appealing for its no-nonsense approach.
Armond White, New York Press
The working-class personal/political tension leads to a splendidly drawn immigrant characterization by Herbert Lom and the human drama of Baker dangling from a precipice. Both remain memorable.
David Fear, Time Out New York
This is the stuff that B-movie dreams are made of, and Hell Drivers does its damnedest to deliver bottom-of-the-bill bliss.

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

A pretty good movie with good actors, like McGoohan, but a story that's familiar. Still, I enjoyed seeing it on TV.
xGary X

A very old fashioned melodrama about gravel delivery(?!) Only a cast of actors who went on to better things (including Sean Connery) makes it of interest.
Walter M

"Hell Drivers" is a gripping, yet mildly predictable, road movie wherein the highway is a ten mile stretch of country roads where a group of truckers haul ballast from a mine to the main plant, led by Red(Patrick McGoohan) who is out to prove he is number one. After the… More
"Hell Drivers" is a gripping, yet mildly predictable, road movie wherein the highway is a ten mile stretch of country roads where a group of truckers haul ballast from a mine to the main plant, led by Red(Patrick McGoohan) who is out to prove he is number one. After the death of one of the drivers, Tom(Stanley Baker) shows up looking for work and gets it on the basis of a nerve-wracking audition. As Cartley(William Hartnell), the manager, explains, all the drivers must complete at least twelve runs a day or they are fired, paving the way for the men to prove their masculinity by driving excessive speeds. As competitive as the drivers are, Tom manages to make one true friend, Gino(Herbert Lom), an Italian expatriate who has been in England since World War II and is still homesick.