In the mol-ecule of the title compound, C(21)H(14)N(2)O(3), the tetra-hydro-benzo[h]quinoline fused-ring system is buckled owing to the ethyl-ene -CH(2)CH(2)- fragment, the benzene ring and the pyridine ring being twisted by 24.3 (1)°. The ring of the benzodioxol system is bent away from the pyridine ring by 61.4 (1)° in order to avoid crowding the cyanide substituent. Two mol-ecules are linked by a pair of N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds to form a centrosymmetric dimer.