Night Ride (1937) User Reviews

Gritty Little Quckie

[richardchatten · 6/10 · 5 September 2019]

The young John Paddy Carstairs turns in a surprisingly gritty little drama about hauliers on the road; it's obviously tiny budget enhanced by fast editing making good use of the optical wipes that abound in British films of the thirties, and vivid night scenes shot by veteran cameraman Desmond Dickinson.

Elizabeth Kent is a fox as the high maintainance Bad Girl, while the worst performance is ironically by comedy Italian Julian Vedey, who supplied the original story.

poverty stricken quota quickie

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 1 October 2005]

Back in the 1930s distributors would agree to purchase films at so many pence per foot.The producer would therefore make the film as cheaply as possible.His profit being the difference between the cost of producing the film and the amount received from the distributor.I think that the producer of this film must have done quite well as precious little seems to have been spent on actors sets or writers.Wally patch a popular character actor is virtually a leading player in this film.The sets are very basic.Lorries seem to be continuously driven around a studio set.|The premise upon which the climax is set seems to me to be one of the most stupid conceit ever devised.The crooked hauliers are unable and unwilling to deliver pumping equipment to a flooded mine with trapped miners.They set out though to stop the rival firm from taking the equipment and possibly getting a new contract.What is even more ridiculous is that although they are not prepared to send lorries out in the fog to deliver equipment,they are prepared to send out lorries to stop the other firms lorries.Now you try and work that out!The only consolation to the viewing public is that it is unlikely that you will ever see this on TV.The only way to see it is by buying it from a company in America.

Nice v Nasty

[peterwburrows-70774 · 7/10 · 26 February 2021]

I was almost tempted to give it 8 but the ending was too yucky. Acting was good and it breezed along. The haves and the have nots and those willing to sell out for the almighty dollar. Entertaining is the name of the game!

Haulage-themed thriller ruined by budget and acting

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 20 August 2016]

NIGHT RIDE really is the definition of a 'quota quickie'. It's a thrill-fuelled drama set in the world of the haulage business, a topic which isn't as dull as it sounds: both THE WAGES OF FEAR and HELL DRIVERS brought the subject to life in a vibrant and exciting way, and both films are acknowledged classics.

Sadly, this poverty-row production was ahead of its time and doesn't hold a candle to either of those movies. It was directed by the prolific John Paddy Carstairs on the cheap, and most of the action takes place in a single small set. The plot isn't a bad one, but the film lacks emotional impact and thrills. It sees truck drivers Jimmy Hanley and Wally Patch falling foul of their ruthless employer so deciding to set up their own rival business with a cafe owner.

What follows is less than exciting, a drama which manages only a few decent set-pieces (the dangerous fog ride is one of them). Hanley and Patch are both solid actors but they're not at their best here. Hanley is a bit stolid while Patch doesn't get much of a chance to shine, although he's still the best thing in it. One of the worst things about the production, aside from the insipid romantic flirtings, is the performance of British actor Julian Vedey who plays an over the top Italian character steeped in stereotype. It's a performance that belongs in a farce or pantomime, and it ruins the movie.

Hell Drivers

[Prismark10 · 2/10 · 6 May 2017]

This 1930s quota quickie stars Jimmy Hanley as nice guy truck driver Dick Benson who with his pal Alf Higgins (Wally Patch) stop to give a stranded woman a lift one night and then later gets involved in an accident with young lady's car who turns out to be their boss's daughter and they soon get the sack.

They set up their own haulage company with financial backing from Tony Spinelli (Julian Vedey) an Italian restaurant owner. They quickly find success but their former boss is losing business from the new upstarts and begins a deliberate sabotage campaign to undermine them.

Dick meanwhile quickly loses interest in the business now that he has some money and starts to get romanced by the woman who got them the sack.

This a very low budget film, it is all just a few sets, some stage shooting and that is it. The film starts of well enough but then loses it way. It seems the script was quickly written and makes little sense.

The climax is Dick and Tony delivering equipment in the fog to help rescue stranded miners in a flooded mine as their rivals plan to thwart them.

Not a good ride at all!

[JohnHowardReid · 2/10 · 4 November 2015]

A good example of just how bad British quota quickies were in the late 1930s. True, the movie starts off with a bit of promise but on the entry of that stage caricature Italian, Julian Vedey (who also wrote the original story), the film takes a nosedive. Alas, director John Paddy Carstairs does nothing to help. In fact, with his laughable compositions and actor-indulgent takes, he's a distinct negative. Even his laudable efforts to create a rousing climax are incredibly inept. Of course, part of the blame must also be sheeted home to Ralph Bettinson who wrote the scenario. The movie's photography is credited to Desmond Dickinson, normally a highly talented, wholly professional cameraman -- but not in this movie. Admittedly, the camera-work's not exactly bad, but it's not good either. I could have done better myself! And I'm no professional. Just an amateur.

Worth watching

[lucyrf · 8/10 · 12 August 2020]

Haulage firm movies are a genre - didn't Bogart and Raft set up on their own?

This story starts well with Hanley and Patch picking up a girl with a suitcase on a lonely road, only to crash into a rude rich girl in an expensive car who's weaving all over the road. The three stop off at the kind of downmarket caff that barely exists any more, run by a stage Italian and his ten children (or possibly 15, some of them may be triplets).

Hanley and Patch get the sack, and decide to go into business with Spinelli, with Joan, their hitch-hiker, as secretary. They flourish, and their original employer becomes quite friendly. Even his daughter - the rude girl from the original accident - has a change of heart and Hanley falls for her. There are some wonderful scenes in the Wilsons' Art Deco mansion complete with cocktail bar. You can tell she's a vulgar trollop - she has a cigarette dispenser that spins round while playing a tune. But I love to see people in evening suits fox-trotting.

Hanley storms out of his own firm and goes over to the Wilsons in full evening dress, hoping to accept Mr W's offer of a buyout. But Miss W now has her eye on a rich twit called Claude, and Hanley trails back to the office where he has a chance to redeem himself by helping Spinelli transport some vital equipment to save some miners in a caved-in shaft (including Mervyn Johns).

Good 30s fashions from the girls, too!