BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

MartinHafer 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.

Charlot47 Taut British noir. set mostly after dark and indoors, about an innocent man on the run for a crime he did not commit (Emlyn Williams), the girl who helps him (Anna Konstam with a blonde perm), not quite a tart but with a heart of gold, and a creepy serial killer (Ernest Thesiger). Interesting for its inversion of the usual values of 1930s British films, in which the lower classes tend to be either comic or villainous or both. Here the murderer has the accent, the education, the aesthetic taste and the comfortable house while virtually all the other characters share the camaraderie of the working class, which includes a disinclination to say too much to the police.A number of similarities with Hitchcock films of the period, in particular "Young And Innocent", which also has a falsely accused man and a girl who believes in him trying to find the real murderer in a transport café and a dance hall.

F Gwynplaine MacIntyre The 1938 British noir suspenser 'They Drive by Night' is one of the best films I've ever seen. First, let's address that title: is this movie related to the same-named 1940 Humphrey Bogart movie? Yes, but very distantly. The 1938 'They Drive by Night' was produced by Warner Brothers' British unit, and offered for distribution Stateside. Jack L Warner declined to release this film in the States (he must have been insane!) ... but he was impressed by its title, and he ordered one of his American production units to make a film with that title. Of all the Hollywood studios, Warners were the most efficient at cannibalising their own material: the American 'They Drive by Night' is partially a warmed-over remake of the earlier Warners film 'Bordertown'. Both "Drive by Night"s depict the culture of long-distance lorry drivers ... but the British film captures that dark world much more believably.'They Drive by Night' (the British one) is occasionally compared to Hitchcock's 'Frenzy' (both films deal with a sex maniac who uses his necktie to strangle women, and both depict an innocent man caught in the middle), but 'They Drive by Night' more closely resembles the novel by Arthur La Bern on which 'Frenzy' was based. (Unlike Hitchcock's film, the source novel takes place shortly after World War Two.) Emlyn Williams gives a standout performance as Shorty, a petty criminal who has just been released from prison, and who goes straight away to look up an old girlfriend. When he gets to her walk-up bedsit, he discovers she's just been killed by a sex murderer ... and the circumstances of the murder make Shorty the logical suspect. In Hitchcockian fashion, he tries to stay one jump ahead of the police while seeking the real killer.SPOILER ALERT. The scene in which Shorty tries to waken his sleeping girlfriend ... only to discover that she's actually dead, and THEN to discover that she's been murdered ... is one of the most powerful sequences ever captured on film. As the horror of the situation sinks in, Shorty stands silently ... and far away, elsewhere in London, we hear a church clock chiming the hour. Pure brilliant, that is.That wizened old ham actor Ernest Thesiger gives one of his ripest performances in this film ... and it's giving nothing away to reveal that Thesiger plays the murderer. He makes his first appearance late in the film, but the first time we see him he's lovingly updating his scrapbook of newspaper cuttings concerning the Necktie Strangler. Later, confronted by some damp kittens, he fusses over them ridiculously. ('Oh, the little imps!') My only complaint against Thesiger's performance is that the character he plays in this film is so swishy and effeminate (just as Thesiger was, in real life), I couldn't believe that he had any sexual interest in women ... even as murder victims.'They Drive by Night' was directed by Arthur Woods, whose extremely promising career ended far too soon. (He was killed in action during the war.) I've no doubt that, if Woods had made films for only ten years more, he would be recognised as indisputably one of the very greatest film directors. I rate this fast-paced noir thriller 10 points out of 10 ... but it really ought to be rated an eleven!

Film-Fan "They Drive By Night" is difficult to find (as are many pre World War II British titles) but well worth the effort. What starts out as a standard crime drama takes a startling turn into horror in the final reel.Ernest Thesiger (best known as Dr.Pretorius in 1935's "Bride of Frankenstein") adds the most interesting element to the film and to share any more would ruin the fun.Emlyn Williams as ex-con Shorty Matthews carries the film. Pity this poor fellow...he has the worst luck in the world. Upon release from prison, his intention is to return to the arms of his girlfriend. Unfortunately, someone has murdered her that very day. Naturally, police think he is the killer.Shorty takes to the road, hitchhiking rides with truck drivers, hoping to stay free long enough for the police to find the real killer. One of the uncredited stars of this film has to be rain! The constant pouring rain accentuates Shorty's troubles as he tries to clear his name and (excuse the pun) adds buckets of atmosphere to the movie.Don't confuse the British "They Drive by Night" with the later US version starring Humphrey Bogart. The only thing they have in common is the presence of truck drivers.