They Drive by Night: Starring Emlyn Williams and Ernest Thesiger (1938 Movie)

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They Drive by Night is a 1938 British black-and-white, crime thriller, directed by Arthur B. Woods starring Ronald Shiner as Charlie, the café proprietor. It was produced by Warner Brothers - First National Productions. The film is based on the novel of the same name by James Curtis. The picture is sometimes confused with the 1940 American film, They Drive by Night, based on the novel The Long Haul by A. I. Bezzerides and featuring George Raft and Humphrey Bogart.

"Shorty" Matthews (Emlyn Williams) having recently been released from prison visits his girlfriend in London only to discover her 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 * Emlyn Williams as Shorty Matthews * Ernest Thesiger as Walter Hoover * Anna Konstam as Molly O'Neill * Allan Jeayes as Wally Mason * Anthony Holles as Murray * Ronald Shiner as Charlie, the café proprietor * William Hartnell as Bus Conductor

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. The film was made by Warner Brothers at the recently purchased Teddington Studios as a quota film under the "Cinematograph Films Act 1927."

William Hartnell has a small role as the Bus Conductor and is credited as "Billy Hartnell". He would later go on to be the first Doctor Who in 1963.

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. 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.

It is often confused with the American film noir starring George Raft and Ida Lupino, director Raoul Walsh's They Drive by Night, based on the novel The Long Haul by A. I. Bezzerides. Since both were Warner Brothers films it is possible the identical titles contributed to the British version's obscurity.

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.

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

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[charliebucketish]

good. wound be nice if i could understand more of the dialog.

[Vandertop]

Fantastic! I'm surprised I havn't seen this one before. Thanks for uploading it. By the way, isn't that Bernard Miles at 0:44:22? (The man wearing the specs).

[gallantrycross]

I think this movie was based on a different book than the Bogart film. They're two completely different movies. Wasn't the Bogart film released as "The Long Haul" in Britain to avoid confusion?

[notAbba]

Mumble, Mumble, Mumble... Mumble your speech all through the movie.

[CDU916]

Very different from the Bogie version...loved the atmosphere. Very enjoyable.

[theuofc]

Marvelous! Thank you for sharing this rare gem.

[o2me2]

Thank you for the great movie. Thumbs up.

[statelybird3]

I'd pretty much given up on ever seeing this flick,since dosen't seem to be available on DVD or VHS,for that matter. I love old film noir flicks, and this one is pretty downbeat, even for the '30's! Thanks to whoever downloaded this!

[hermankatnip]

Ernest Thesiger (Dr Pretorius from Bride of Frankenstein) feeds the kittens 1:09:13