User reviews

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.

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.

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.

"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.