On the Night of the Fire

On the Night of the Fire, released in the United States as The Fugitive, is a 1939 British thriller, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Ralph Richardson and Diana Wynyard. The film is based on the novel of the same name by F. L. Green. It was shot on location in Newcastle upon Tyne and was released shortly after the outbreak of World War II. It is regarded as an early example of British film noir, with the kind of subject matter and filming style which fell completely out of favour during the war years when British studios felt that cinemagoers would want either light entertainment and escapism or topical patriotic propaganda pieces and would not be taken up again until the later 1940s.

Struggling Tyneside barber Will Kobling Richardson is in financial trouble. One evening, opportunistically and on impulse, he steals 100 from a local factory where a window has been accidentally left open. He hopes the money will represent a new start for him and wife Kit Wynyard. His hopes are soon dashed when Kit confesses to being heavily in debt to local draper Pilleger Henry Oscar, who has been pressuring her to pay up. Most of the stolen cash has to go on settling Kits debt.Pilleger banks the money, only to receive a visit from the police to inform him that the serial numbers of the notes match those stolen from the factory. He professes himself an innocent party, claiming not to know which of his many customers the illgotten cash came from, and the police have to let the matter drop. Pilleger comes up with a scheme to blackmail Kobling, promising silence in return for a payment ofper week. Kobling is horrified to contemplate the extra financial burden being placed on him indefinitely, but sees no option but to consent. ........

Source: Wikipedia