They Raid by Night

They Raid by Night (1942)

Genres - Drama, War, Action, Adventure  |   Sub-Genres - Combat Films  |   Release Date - Jun 19, 1942 (USA - Unknown), Jun 19, 1942 (USA)  |   Run Time - 80 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
  • AllMovie Rating
    2
  • User Ratings (0)
  • Your Rating

Share on

Review by Bruce Eder

Spencer Gordon Bennet's They Raid By Night is so threadbare as a production, that it seems as though it's a dozen years older than it really is -- with static camera work and total absence of music over extended dialogue sequences, it plays like a production from 1930 rather than 1942. And since the crew obviously didn't forget all that had been learned in that dozen years, the fault obviously lies with the low budget of the production and an incredibly rushed shooting schedule -- production company PRC may have designated this as a "special," but they were clearly so intent on getting it into theaters as early as possible, that much of the attention to detail that normally goes into a feature film also went by the boards. Perhaps they just thought that director Bennet, whose career went back to the silents, could bring it in successfully, and in terms of finishing it, he did just that. As to notable attributes, the only one to be found in They Raid By Night other than its creakiness is the presence in the cast of June Duprez. The English actress, who had risen to stardom in Alexander Korda's The Thief of Bagdad (1940), was living considerably reduced circumstances in Hollywood following the latter movie's premiere, and this was one of a tiny handful of low-budget productions that she was forced to participate in to pay the bills. Though beautiful as ever, and given second billing, she does not look either comfortable or convincing in her role here.