They Drive by Night

 

(1938)
Directed by Arthur B. Woods
Written by Paul Gangelin, Derek Twist, screenplay by James Curtis from his novel.
Starring Emlyn Williams, Anna Konstam, Ernest Thesiger
IMDB Entry

No, this isn't the buddy film starring Humphrey Bogart and George Raft, but rather a British film from a couple of years earlier.

They Drive by Night was what one of what was termed a "quota quickies." In order to support the UK film industry, the government passed laws to require a certain amount of films to be made in the UK, with a mostly UK cast and a UK screenwriter. The result were often cheaply made films. many of which never made it across the pond.

In this, Shorty Mathews (Emlyn Williams) has just been released from prison. When he goes to see and old girlfriend of his, he finds her murdered in her rooming house.  Fearing he will be arrested, he leaves London on a bus and gets involve working as a lorry driver.  But after meeting another old girlfriend, Molly O'Neill (Anna Konstam), he decides to return to London to find the killer.  Meanwhile, Walter Hoover (Ernest Thesiger) believes in his innocence. 

The acting is serviceable, and Williams is good as a man falsely accused. There are the hints of Hitchcock, most notably in The Thirty-Nine Steps, but clearly this is not in the same class. It's also not up to the Bogart and Raft American film.

The most familiar name in the cast is Ernest Theisinger, who played Dr. Pretorius in The Bride of Frankenstein. He actually seems to be younger that he appeared there. Fans of Doctor Who might spot William Hartnell as a bus conductor who takes pity on Shorty.

While the film is far from a classic, it's still a nice bit of entertainment.