You are here:

Highway Patrol

Name: Highway Patrol
Director: Charles C. Coleman
Released: 1938
Duration: 56 min

No Poster Available

Representation Score

1.1/10

Minimal

1938

Approved

Director

Charles C. Coleman

Runtime

56 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Highway Patrol is a typical 1930s crime procedural that emphasizes reinforcing existing social and legal hierarchies. The narrative is driven by male authority figures, focusing on the protection of industrial interests and private property. The film adheres to the rigid genre conventions of its time, offering little visibility for diverse groups. It operates as a traditional B-movie that upholds the status quo rather than challenging cultural norms. Ultimately, the work captures pre-war American values, emphasizing law, order, and established social structures through a narrow lens.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Highway Patrol have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include any LGBTQ+ characters or representations of non-straight identities. It follows a traditional law-and-order storyline typical of 1930s cinema.

How does Highway Patrol portray gender?

Limited

Narrative focus is primarily on male characters, particularly the patrolman and the refinery president. Power dynamics are based on traditional masculine roles in law enforcement and industry.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Highway Patrol?

Minimal

The production reflects the homogeneous casting practices of the late 1930s. The story centers on Anglo-Saxon social structures within the American crime genre.

How does Highway Patrol represent religion and culture?

Limited

The plot reinforces traditional Western institutions and capitalist interests. It presents a moral binary focused on protecting private property and state-sanctioned law enforcement.

Does Highway Patrol include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no information about characters with visible or invisible disabilities. The focus remains on industrial sabotage and crime.

Present on Screen

Offers a clear, linear crime-solving narrative consistent with the action genre.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight characters.
Features limited gender diversity, with ability to act concentrated almost exclusively in male roles.
Reflects the homogeneous casting and social structures typical of the 1930s.
Does not include characters with visible or invisible disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Arrested for speeding by highway patrolman Bill Rolph (Robert Paige), J.W. Brady (Robert Middlemass), the president of an oil refinery, offers him the assignment to find the culprits who have wrecked his gas stations, hi-jacked his trucks and attempted to blow up his plant.

How are these scores produced? →