Powerful

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This 1938 film was released in the US by Warner Brothers and I assume it was made by their British division originally (due to British laws, several of the big US studios had British divisions making films as well). Regardless, it has nothing much to do with the more famous 1940 film by Warner.The film finds Shorty Matthews (Emlyn Williams) getting out of prison at the same time an inmate is being executed. This is significant because Short is rather ambivalent towards the man's plight--and soon he'll be in a similar position. This occurs when Shorty goes to visit an old girlfriend and he finds her dead. Instead of handling it like a guy with a brain, he runs--and ends up making everyone think he's the killer. Instead of going to the police, this guy spends the rest of the movie avoiding the police dragnet and trying to figure out who is the real killer. The film has a few minor flaws. I guess I could accept that Shorty was stupid but perhaps not too unusual for avoiding the police. However, the ending, while really cool to watch, really didn't make a lot of sense. But, the film has a lot of tension and some nice performances. Overall, the good far outweighs the bad and the film is worth your time.

As the Sydney nights draw in and winter approaches there are times I just want a good, solid movie to keep me entertained for 90 minutes. A story which ticks over, a touch of drama, actors who know their roles and the odd laugh is appreciated but not mandatory.There aren't many laughs in this movie but it ticks all the other boxes. Shorty is just out of prison and barely finishes his first cup of tea before he is up for murder. If he can remain at large maybe the real murderer will surface. Unfortunately his record marks him down as guilty until proved innocent. The only people who believe him are dancing girl Molly and the foppish Mr. Hoover who steals the last 20 minutes.You can glimpse into an older period where life was more simple, movies relied on plot over action and murderers hung from the gallows.Emlyn Williams as Shorty plays a good bad guy. The age of this movie makes him look as if he has been on the run for a few days. The limited use of Ernest Thesiger as Mr Hoover is well timed as the character would lose its impact if he was introduced earlier.Well worth a watch.

They Drive by Night is directed by Arthur Woods and collectively written by Paul Gangelin, Derek Twist and from his own novel; James Curtis. It stars Emlyn Williams, Ernest Thesiger and Anna Konstam. Music is by Bretton Byrd and cinematography by Basil Emmott.Just released from Pentonville Prison, Shorty Matthews (Williams) visits a lady friend and finds her murdered in her own bed. Pannicking and believing the police will have him marked for the crime, Shortie goes on the run in the hope that the real killer will be caught...It's still something of a lost British treasure is Arthur Woods' They Drive By Night, it's a film that has gained justifiable high regard by those who have managed to track it down for viewing. Essentially a innocent man on the run picture at its plot core, it's the surrounding meat on the bones that lift it to classic suspense noir status.The Thrill Of Evil.It's a picture of persistent rain that lashes the streets and highways, the wind an aural accomplice of some magnitude. A tale infused with grim snack bars, gambling dens, abandoned buildings or artisan abodes that are inhabited by either crafty cockney's, spivs, macho truckers or camp fetishist maniacs! And of course our protagonist is up against it from the off, wherever he turns he seems destined to be the victim of fate and circumstance.Sex In Relation To Society.As a portrait of pre Second World War British society it's gloomy and unrelentingly bleak, with Woods (sadly to die in the War) and Emmott achieving a stunning sense of time and place by way of dim lights and contrasts that ensures moody atmospherics go hand in hand with the machinations of the story. This can very much be seen as a forerunner (influence) to some of the great British noirs that followed a decade later.Studies In Murder.Some scenes get under the skin and stay there, while others surprisingly enchant the soul; such is their beauty. Lead cast performances are mightily strong, with Thesiger the star as he enters the tale late in the day and turns in a creepy show that startles in the way that calmness of evil is portrayed. While Thesiger's facial features are used to maximum potential by the astute director.Only real problem here is the musical score by Bretton Byrd. Too often the music is ill fittingly jolly, it immediately conjures up images (to those familiar with 1930s British comedy movies) of the films made by the great Will Hay. Sure enough on examination we find that Byrd did indeed provide the music for four Hay movies in the 30s, and it sadly shows in a film that doesn't deserve such jollification.Musical problem aside, this is a ripper of a movie, worthy of better exposure and definitely of major interest to anyone interested in the early steps of British film noir. 8.5/10

Nice crime thriller that almost seems like a lost Hitchcock film. Moody lighting contributes to the noirish atmoshpere. Ernest Thesiger turns in one of his creepiest performances.