They Drive by Night (1938 film)

Last updated

They Drive by Night
"They Drive by Night" (1938 film).jpg
British lobby card
Directed by Arthur B. Woods
Written by Paul Gangelin
Derek Twist
Screenplay byJames Curtis
Based on They Drive by Night
1938 novel
by James Curtis
Produced by Jerome Jackson
Starring Emlyn Williams
Ernest Thesiger
Cinematography Basil Emmott
Edited by Leslie Norman
Music by Bretton Byrd
Production
company
Warner Bros. - First National Productions
Distributed by Warner Bros. (UK)
Release date
  • December 1938 (1938-12)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

They Drive by Night is a 1938 British black-and-white crime thriller film directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Emlyn Williams as Shorty, an ex-con, and Ernest Thesiger as Walter Hoover, an ex-schoolmaster. [1] It was produced by Warner Bros. - First National Productions and based on the 1938 novel They Drive by Night by James Curtis.

Contents

The picture is sometimes confused with the 1940 American film They Drive by Night , based on a different novel and featuring George Raft and Humphrey Bogart, and also a Warner Bros. film. This British film also has the alternative title, perhaps only in the United States, of Murder on the Run.

Plot

"Shorty" Matthews (Emlyn Williams) having recently been released from prison visits his girlfriend in London only to discover she has been murdered. Fearing he will be wrongly accused of being the culprit he disappears amongst the long-distance lorry driving community. Meanwhile, the real killer, unassuming ex-schoolteacher Walter Hoover (Ernest Thesiger), continues to prey on London women. As Shorty had feared he has become the main suspect. He returns to London with old flame Molly to prove his innocence.

Cast

Production

James Curtis adapted his own novel, They Drive by Night to provide the screenplay for the film. The female victims of the book were prostitutes and to prevent censorship this aspect was watered down. Additionally, the book featured scenes of police brutality that were excised altogether. [2] The film was made by Warner Brothers at the recently purchased Teddington Studios as a quota film under the "Cinematograph Films Act 1927". [3]

Release and reception

On release in the UK it was well received critically with author Graham Greene being a notable fan. Of the film he cited how close it came to French cinema with its realism and lack of romanticism. [2] While it gained a certificate to be released in the US the studio cited an inability to get a negative out of the UK. As such it did not receive a US theatrical release. [3]

The film made a profit of £10,557. [4]

Leslie Halliwell's 1977 edition of The Filmgoer's Companion cites the picture as the director Arthur B. Woods' most notable film and also a film of note for Ernest Thesiger. [5]

The film is currently unavailable on DVD. However, the novel was reissued by London Books with an introduction by Jonathan Meades in 2008. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emlyn Williams</span> Welsh writer, dramatist and actor (1905–1987)

George Emlyn Williams, CBE was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor.

<i>Little Dorrit</i> (1987 film) 1987 British film

Little Dorrit is a 1987 film adaptation of the 1857 novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin. The music by Giuseppe Verdi was arranged by Michael Sanvoisin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Thesiger</span> English actor (1879–1961)

Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger, CBE was an English stage and film actor. He is noted for his performance as Doctor Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's film Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

<i>Yield to the Night</i> 1956 British film by J. Lee Thompson

Yield to the Night is a 1956 British crime drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Diana Dors, Yvonne Mitchell and Michael Craig. It was written by John Cresswell and Joan Henry based on Henry's 1954 novel Yield to the Night.

<i>The Magic Box</i> 1951 British drama film by John Boulting

The Magic Box is a 1951 British Technicolor biographical drama film directed by John Boulting. The film stars Robert Donat as William Friese-Greene, with numerous cameo appearances by performers such as Peter Ustinov and Laurence Olivier. It was produced by Ronald Neame and distributed by British Lion Film Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Curtis (British writer)</span> British writer

James Curtis was a British writer who was best known for his novels, They Drive By Night and There Ain't No Justice, both of which were made into feature films.

<i>Cottage to Let</i> 1941 British film by Anthony Asquith

Cottage to Let is a 1941 British spy thriller film directed by Anthony Asquith starring Leslie Banks, Alastair Sim and John Mills. Filmed during the Second World War and set in Scotland during the war, its plot concerns Nazi spies trying to kidnap an inventor.

<i>The Good Companions</i> (1933 film) 1933 British comedy film

The Good Companions is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville starring Jessie Matthews, John Gielgud and Edmund Gwenn. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by J.B. Priestley.

<i>Jacks the Boy</i> 1932 film

Jack's the Boy is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, Francis Lister and Peter Gawthorne. It became well known for its song "The Flies Crawled Up the Window", sung by Hulbert, which was released as a record and proved a major hit. The film was released in the U.S. as Night and Day.

<i>The Night of the Party</i> 1934 British film

The Night of the Party is a 1934 British mystery thriller film directed by Michael Powell and starring Leslie Banks, Ian Hunter, Jane Baxter, Ernest Thesiger and Malcolm Keen. In the United States it was released as The Murder Party. It was made at the Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush. The art direction was by Alfred Junge, later a regular contributor to the films of Powell and Pressburger.

<i>Convoy</i> (1940 film) 1940 British film by Pen Tennyson

Convoy is a 1940 British war film, produced by Ealing Studios, directed by Pen Tennyson and starring Clive Brook, John Clements and Edward Chapman. Convoy was Tennyson's last film before he was killed in an aircraft crash, while serving in the Royal Navy.

<i>Friday the Thirteenth</i> (1933 film) 1933 film

Friday the Thirteenth is a 1933 British drama film directed by Victor Saville and starring Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale and Muriel Aked.

<i>Dr. ODowd</i> 1940 British film by Herbert Mason

Dr. O'Dowd is a 1940 British drama film directed by Herbert Mason, produced by Sam Sax for Warner Bros and starring Shaun Glenville, Peggy Cummins, Felix Aylmer and Irene Handl. Set in Ireland, it focuses on Marius O'Dowd, an Irish doctor, who works to restore his relationship with his son after his daughter-in-law dies under O'Dowd's care. The film was the onscreen debut for Peggy Cummins, who was only thirteen at the time. It was well received by critics, and Cummins' role was the subject of particular praise. The film is currently missing from the BFI National Archive, and is listed as one of the British Film Institute's "75 Most Wanted" lost films.

<i>A Stitch in Time</i> (1963 film) 1963 British film by Robert Asher

A Stitch in Time is a 1963 comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom, Edward Chapman, Jeanette Sterke and Jerry Desmonde. It was produced by Hugh Stewart and Earl St. John. The film is set in a children's hospital and features an early role for Johnny Briggs.

<i>They Drive by Night</i> (novel) 1938 novel by James Curtis

They Drive By Night is the second novel by British author James Curtis published in 1938. It is a crime thriller set in 1930s London and the North of England dealing with working-class themes in a Social realism style.

<i>Broken Blossoms</i> (1936 film) 1936 British film by John Brahm

Broken Blossoms is a 1936 British drama film directed by John Brahm and starring Emlyn Williams, Arthur Margetson, Basil Radford and Edith Sharpe. Director Bernard Vorhaus was technical supervisor.

<i>Gangway</i> (film) 1937 film

Gangway is a 1937 British musical film directed by Sonnie Hale and starring Jessie Matthews, Barry MacKay, Nat Pendleton and Alastair Sim. Its plot involves a young reporter goes undercover to unmask a gang of criminals who are planning a jewel heist. AKA as Sparkles in Australia and on Australian release 78rpm records. Jessie Matthews was nicknamed SPARKLE in the film.

<i>Never Back Losers</i> 1961 British film by Robert Tronson

Never Back Losers is a 1961 British 'B' crime film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Jack Hedley, Jacqueline Ellis and Patrick Magee. It was written by Lucas Heller based on the 1929 novel The Green Ribbon by Edgar Wallace. It was one of the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series, produced at Merton Park Studios in the early 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Danzigers</span> American producers of 1950s British films/TV

Edward J. Danziger (1909–1999) and Harry Lee Danziger (1913–2005) were American-born brothers who produced many British films and TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s.

<i>A Little Bit of Fluff</i> (play)

A Little Bit of Fluff is a British farce written by Walter W. Ellis which was first staged in 1915 and went on to have a long original run. Starring Ernest Thesiger, it ran at the Criterion Theatre, London, between 1915–1918, for a total of 1241 performances.

References

  1. "They Drive by Night (1939)". Archived from the original on 18 January 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 "London Books". www.london-books.co.uk.
  3. 1 2 "BFI Screenonline: They Drive By Night (1939)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  4. Chapman, Llewella. "'The highest salary ever paid to a human being': Creating a Database of Film Costs from the Bank of England". Journal of British cinema and television, 2022-10. Vol. 19, no. 4. Edinburgh University Press. p. 470-494 at 490.
  5. Halliwell's The Filmgoer's Companion (1977), Leslie Halliwell (Hill & Wang)