Hit-and-Run Driver (1935) User Reviews

Actually entertaining

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 14 March 2004]

Part of MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" series of the 1940s--they were all short films (about 20-25 minutes) showing crimes and how the criminal was brought to justice by police work. This one, obviously, deals with a hit and run driver. Driving drunk one night he accidentally hits two people and drives off leaving them to die. There are no witnesses and the two victims are in comas. We see very quickly, yet realistically, how the police gather enough evidence to identify the man and get him. Well-done on no budget with some very good acting from a no name cast. Worth seeing. You'll probably only see this between movies on TCM but it's worth catching. They have a great print and it's very interesting.

Remorse but also an attempt to cover up the crime

[Paularoc · 6/10 · 24 March 2013]

Crime Does Not Pay Series No. 5. As usual, there were no acting credits for this short. The MGM reporter introduces this entry by telling the audience, among other things, that 37,000 people are killed in automobile accidents in one year alone. We then see a man driving erratically and run into a young couple on a deserted road. The man gets out of the car and the young man he hits begs for his help. Instead of this, the driver gets back into his car and drives off. The police doggedly investigate the hit and run including making an impression of a tire track. In the end, the young driver bitterly regrets what he did especially after learning the man he hit died and the young woman he hit is blind. His remorse seems to be heartfelt but nonetheless he must pay for his callous indifference and panic that caused him to commit this crime. A highlight of the short was to see Jonathan Hale from the Saint films playing Captain James. Very watchable but not among the best in this series.

Guilt will give you away.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 17 October 2015]

It is written on the eyes of the culprit here, a basically decent young man who ran into a couple on a dangerous curve, killing the girl and putting the other young man in critical condition. Through the investigation of detective Jonathan Hale, what transpired that night is revealed. Several confrontations with him makes Hale sure that the man is guilty. Hale can see in the man's eyes which give it away. But what he doesn't have is a clear case, and that's where some surprise witnesses and clues reveal the truth. never let the tension build up as the corporate world is destroyed around him, giving a great psychological look into the human mind that could have been prevented had he just admitted the truth in the first place is crime does not pay series explains that the crime is worse because of what he didn't do as opposed to what he did do. a timely story, this can not only be blamed on the person that commits the hit and run but the automobile companies as well.which means every fear of consequences destroys peoples basic decencies, and rather than take responsibility for their own actions they pretend to forget the things that they were responsible for did not happen. But as we see to headlines today, the truth is always reveals and that's where the importance of the story comes into effect.

This film is somewhat similar to an episode of the current . . .

[pixrox1 · 6/10 · 13 June 2021]

. . . television show FORENSICS FILES. Most of the elements of that present-day nail-biter are readily identifiable in HIT-AND-RUN DRIVER. Murder car tread marks? Check. Plaster casts of said mud disturbances? Check. Trace evidence from the death vehicle? Check. Swapped out tires? Check. Shady body shop repair man? Check. Suspicious alibis? Check. The Truth will out? Check. Perhaps FORENSICS owes CRIME DOES NOT PAY royalties.

good crime

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 12 June 2021]

A couple is hit by a car. The police investigates the hit-and-run. It's a "Crime Does Not Pay" short from MGM. It's a careful procedural. It walks each step one by one. It's pretty good for this type of shorts.

The Accidental Criminal

[boblipton · 5/10 · 13 June 2021]

When a guy's car strikes two people and injures them badly, he panics and drives away. But hit-and-run is a crime, and even hick cops have science labs with men in white coats peering at fuming beakers. This will bring the criminal to justice and ensure that CRIME DOES NOT PAY.

The fifth entry in what would become MGM's long-running crime series isn't about hard-hearted criminals or Nazi spies like some of them are, but about an ordinary Joe who panics. The difference in attitudes about people who commit a crime and have twinges of conscience versus career criminals (or Nazis) may strike the modern audience as a bit odd.

One of the better ones....and a lot like CSI 1935!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 4 July 2013]

"Hit-and-Run Driver" is among the better shorts from the "Crime Does Not Pay" series--and that's saying a lot because these MGM shorts were exceptionally well made. I think my biggest reason for liking this one in particular is that it depends so much on real forensics and excellent police work--sort of like making it like CSI 1935!

The film begins with a drunk young man driving like a nut along a mountain road. He loses control and his car goes careening into a couple. To make things worse, the driver leaves them--too afraid of the consequences to stay and help. What follows is a wonderful example of police procedures and forensic work--very realistic and also amazingly thorough considering how long ago the case occurred. In the end, naturally, crime did NOT pay and they were able to get a confession out of the jerk. Well written, very well acted (particularly by the perpetrator) and entertaining from start to finish--very compactly and very deftly made. This is still VERY entertaining when seen today.