They Drive by Night (1939)

Film details

Featuring

Emlyn Williams Anna Konstam Allan Jeayes
Director

Arthur Woods
Country

United Kingdom
Year

1939
Genre

Thriller
Type

Film
Category

Fiction

Synopsis

"Shorty" Matthews, recently released from prison, goes to visit a female friend, Alice, only to find her in bed strangled. Panicking, he runs from the house, but not before he is spotted by the landlady. Being an ex-prisoner, he is convinced that the police will not believe that he simply found her, and he flees London. He hitches a lift with a truck driver and heads north, but the police are on his trail. Shorty therefore returns to London where he thinks he will be safer. With the help of dance hall hostess Molly, another friend and former co-worker of Alice's, Shorty sets out to find the real killer himself, believing that he must have been one of Alice's customers at the dance hall.

Cast & Credits

Cast
- - Albert Owen "Shorty" Matthews
    
    Emlyn Williams
  - Molly O'Neil
    
    Anna Konstam
  - Wally
    
    Allan Jeayes
  - Walter Hoover
    
    Ernest Thesiger
  - landlady
    
    Jennie Hartley
  - Charlie, café proprietor
    
    Ronald Shiner
  - Murray
    
    Holles, Anthony
  - bus conductor
    
    Hartnell, Billy
  - Mrs Wally
    
    Kitty De Legh
  - Detective Pryor
    
    Joe Cunningham
  - Marge
    
    Yolande Terrell
  - Pauline
    
    Julie Barrie
  - [police detective at billiard hall]
    
    Bernard Miles
  - [flowerseller]
    
    Iris Vandeleur
Credits
- Direction:
  - Director
    
    Arthur Woods
  Production:
  - Presents
    
    Warner Brothers First National Productions
  - Executive Producer
    
    Jackson, Jerome J.
  - Studio
    
    Teddington Studios
  Writing:
  - Screenplay and Dialogue
    
    Paul Gangelin
  - Screenplay and Dialogue
    
    James Curtis
  - Screenplay and Dialogue
    
    Derek Twist
  - Based on the novel by
    
    James Curtis
  Photography:
  - Photography
    
    Basil Emmott (uncredited)
  Editing:
  - Editor
    
    Leslie Norman (uncredited)
  Design:
  - Art Director
    
    Peter Proud (uncredited)
  - Art Director
    
    Michael Relph (uncredited)
  Music:
  - Music Director
    
    Bretton Byrd
  Sound:
  - Sound
    
    Leslie Murray (uncredited)
  - Sound
    
    H.C. Pearson (uncredited)
  Consultant:
  - Dialogue Director
    
    Anthony Hankey