He Walked by Night (1948)

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

Director:

Alfred L. Werker

Writers:

Crane Wilbur (story), Crane Wilbur (screenplay),

Stars:

Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, Roy Roberts

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Basehart	...	Roy Martin / Roy Morgan
Scott Brady	...	Police Sgt. Marty Brennan
Roy Roberts	...	Police Captain Breen
Whit Bissell	...	Paul Reeves
James Cardwell	...	Police Sgt. Chuck Jones (as Jimmy Cardwell)
Jack Webb	...	Lee Whitey

Storyline

In the Post-World War II, in Los Angeles, a criminal shots and kills a police officer in the middle of the night. Without any leads, the chief of the LAPD assigns Sgt. Chuck Jones and Sgt. Marty Brennan to investigate the murder and apprehend the culprits. When the dealer of electronics devices, Paul Reeves, is caught selling a stolen projector, the police identifies the criminal, and connects him to other unsolved robberies. Using the witnesses of his heists, they draw their face, but the true identity of the smart and intelligent criminal is not disclosed. The perseverance of Sgt. Marty Brennan in his investigation gives a clue where he might live.

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Plot Keywords:

police | criminal | electronics | police officer | murder | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Chinese

Release Date:

9 August 1949 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The L.A. Investigator

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryan Foy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Part of the film was directed (uncredited) by Anthony Mann.

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Goofs

After examining the bullet casings, Lee tells Capt. Breen that the same gun was used to shoot Officer Rawlins and Detective Jones. But Roy actually used a revolver to kill Rawlins and a .45 automatic to shoot Jones.

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Quotes

Narrator: [Referring to the composite sketch] They showed that picture to the inmates of jails and prisons, to men with a wide acquaintance among the cat burglars and the violence boys, informers, con men, and sharpshooters - those on the fringe of crime and those deep in the rackets. Many wanted to help - nobody could! No one in the Underworld recognized that mysterious face. He was as unknown as if he had lived in the 16th Century.

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Connections

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

User Reviews

Alton's Camera, Basehart's Acting Highlight This Noir

Not as good as hyped, this film noir, however, is still interesting and suspenseful. It's full of good film noir photography with lots of nighttime shots with many shadows, not only outdoors but indoors and even in the Los Angeles sewer system! I recommended getting the Anthony Mann DVD pack so you get the best picture quality. With all that darkness, you need to see this on a good transfer.

Mann is an uncredited director for this film, or at least a co-director. John Alton, the cinematographer who worked with him on a couple of other film noirs, did the camera-work and he was one of the best.

Richard Basehart plays a convincing no-conscience killer. He as very interesting to watch all the way through. It also was entertaining to see a young Jack Webb play a forensics-type cop. This was his pre-Dragnet television show period but this was a good vehicle for his cop work. In fact, this movie even had a Dragnet feel to it with some kooky minor characters, such as the lady talking to the milkman/cop.

This movie dragged a big in the middle but overall was entertaining enough to recommend, especially to film noir fans. Just make sure you see this with a good print.