He Walked by Night (1948)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Alfred L. Werker

Writers:

Crane Wilbur (story)
Crane Wilbur (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 August 1949 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Savage! ... Searing! ... True!

Plot:

This film-noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a resourceful criminal who shoots and kills a cop.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Criminal | Electronics | Murderer | Murder

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Richard Basehart	...	Roy Martin / Roy Morgan
Scott Brady	...	Sgt. Marty Brennan
Roy Roberts	...	Capt. Breen
Whit Bissell	...	Paul Reeves
James Cardwell	...	Sgt. Chuck Jones (as Jimmy Cardwell)
Jack Webb	...	Lee

Also Known As:

The L.A. Investigator (USA) (working title)
Twenty-Nine Clues (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:16 (1952) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #13565) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Central Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bryan Foy Productions

Trivia:

This film served as something of a template for "Dragnet," which debuted on radio the following year, right down to the "this is the city" style opening narration, and the fact that a disclaimer appears at the beginning informing the audience that the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Goofs:

Continuity: A revolver ejects its spent casings only if the shooter does so manually, which Richard Baseheart didn't do, therefore the police could not have even had them to compare with the fired casings from the automatic. An even bigger blunder was the photo comparing the two fired shells, they were clearly marked .380 auto, an entirely different round than the .38 special or .45 auto that the police claimed were fired from the same gun. So now there were three different guns used to create this technical error.

Quotes:

Narrator: And so the tedious quest went on. Sergeant Brennan wore out his shoes and his patience going from police station to police station, checking photos until his eyes were blurry, for policework is not all glamor and excitement and glory. There are days and days of routine...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

One of the most influential, yet overlooked, movies of all time.

Most hardcore film buffs probably don't know that "He Walked By Night" is one of the most influential and important movies ever made. Literally. It is an accurate account of the 1947 manhunt for the most cunning criminal in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department. "He Walked By Night" is a turning point in the detective movie, displaying the real-life police procedures used in searching for a criminal, which include teamwork and technology, and showing far more realistic characters than other flicks did. Other movies of this era showed phony, daring detectives engaging in shoot-em-ups with criminals while wooing a woman. "He Walked By Night" captures reality in a stark and startling way, with excellent black-and-white photography from John Alton. Though Scott Brady was probably too young (24) as the lead detective in this movie, his realistic performance is a welcomed relief from the over-the-top camp performances from actors in other detective movies, such as Dick Powell's in "Murder My Sweet" and Alan Ladd's in every one of his detective movies.

The realistic technique of this movie was so innovative, that Jack Webb (who has his first good-sized role in this movie) used this technique in making his 1940s radio show "Dragnet." When he brought "Dragnet" to television in 1951, the style of the show influenced countless other shows, launching realistic police drama in television. This realistic style is very noticeable in TV shows today, such as "Law and Order," and "NYPD Blue."

As influential as "He Walked By Night" was, it is also a finely acted, finely directed, well-written, and intense police movie. It is being re-released on DVD under "The Great Cops Movies," so don't miss it.