Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

He Walked by Night

  • 19481948
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 19m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
6K
YOUR RATING
Richard Basehart in 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.
Play trailer2:13
1 Video
49 Photos
  • Crime
  • Film-Noir
  • Thriller
This film-noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a resourceful criminal who shoots and kills a cop.This film-noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a resourceful criminal who shoots and kills a cop.This film-noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a resourceful criminal who shoots and kills a cop.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
6K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Alfred L. Werker
    • Anthony Mann(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • John C. Higgins(screenplay)
    • Crane Wilbur(screenplay)
    • Harry Essex(additional dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Richard Basehart
    • Scott Brady
    • Roy Roberts
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Alfred L. Werker
    • Anthony Mann(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • John C. Higgins(screenplay)
    • Crane Wilbur(screenplay)
    • Harry Essex(additional dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Richard Basehart
    • Scott Brady
    • Roy Roberts
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 109User reviews
    • 47Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:13
    Trailer

    Photos49

    1 sheet
    Richard Basehart and Whit Bissell in He Walked by Night (1948)
    Richard Basehart and Florence Stephens in He Walked by Night (1948)
    He Walked by Night (1948)
    Richard Basehart in He Walked by Night (1948)
    Frank Cady and Kenneth Tobey in He Walked by Night (1948)
    Roy Roberts and Jack Webb in He Walked by Night (1948)
    Richard Basehart in He Walked by Night (1948)
    Richard Basehart in He Walked by Night (1948)
    John McGuire in He Walked by Night (1948)
    Billy Mauch in He Walked by Night (1948)
    He Walked by Night (1948)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Basehart
    Richard Basehart
    • Roy Martinas Roy Martin…
    Scott Brady
    Scott Brady
    • Police Sgt. Marty Brennanas Police Sgt. Marty Brennan
    Roy Roberts
    Roy Roberts
    • Police Capt. Breenas Police Capt. Breen
    Whit Bissell
    Whit Bissell
    • Paul Reevesas Paul Reeves
    James Cardwell
    James Cardwell
    • Police Sgt. Chuck Jonesas Police Sgt. Chuck Jones
    Jack Webb
    Jack Webb
    • Lee Whiteyas Lee Whitey
    Dorothy Adams
    Dorothy Adams
    • Paranoid Housewifeas Paranoid Housewife
    • (uncredited)
    Jane Adams
    Jane Adams
    • Nurse Scanionas Nurse Scanion
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Bailey
    Jack Bailey
    • Witness in Pajamas and Robeas Witness in Pajamas and Robe
    • (uncredited)
    Alma Beltran
    Alma Beltran
    • Miss Montalvoas Miss Montalvo
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Bice
    Robert Bice
    • Detective with Capt. Breenas Detective with Capt. Breen
    • (uncredited)
    Chief Bradley
    • Chief Bradleyas Chief Bradley
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Cady
    Frank Cady
    • Pete Hammondas Pete Hammond
    • (uncredited)
    Dolores Castelli
    • Witnessas Witness
    • (uncredited)
    George Chan
    George Chan
    • Chinese Suspectas Chinese Suspect
    • (uncredited)
    Garrett Craig
    Garrett Craig
    • Patrolmanas Patrolman
    • (uncredited)
    John Dehner
    John Dehner
    • Assistant Bureau Chiefas Assistant Bureau Chief
    • (uncredited)
    Ann Doran
    Ann Doran
    • Dispatcheras Dispatcher
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Alfred L. Werker
      • Anthony Mann(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • John C. Higgins(screenplay)
      • Crane Wilbur(screenplay) (original story)
      • Harry Essex(additional dialogue)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Kansas City Confidential
    7.3
    Kansas City Confidential
    Woman on the Run
    7.2
    Woman on the Run
    Too Late for Tears
    7.3
    Too Late for Tears
    T-Men
    6.9
    T-Men
    The Hitch-Hiker
    6.9
    The Hitch-Hiker
    Raw Deal
    7.2
    Raw Deal
    D.O.A.
    7.2
    D.O.A.
    The Big Combo
    7.3
    The Big Combo
    The Man Who Cheated Himself
    6.8
    The Man Who Cheated Himself
    Impact
    7.0
    Impact
    Detour
    7.3
    Detour
    Pitfall
    7.1
    Pitfall

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Technical advisor for the film was Sgt. Marty Wynn of the Los Angeles Police Dept. During the course of shooting, he fell into conversation with Jack Webb, then the star of radio's "Jeff Regan, Private Investigator", who had a small part in the film. Wynn suggested that Webb do a radio series based on actual police files. Thus was born the idea for "Dragnet," which debuted on NBC radio about four months after this film was released.
    • Goofs
      When Martin flees from his bungalow into the sewer system, the first shot shows him running with a flashlight and a bag in his hand. This is the same shot as used earlier on in the film after he started robbing liquor stores. (In this later scene, he did not have a bag when he fled the bungalow nor when he entered the sewers.)
    • 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 police work is not all glamour and excitement and glory. There are days and days of routine, of tedious probing, of tireless searching. Fruitless days. Days when nothing goes right, when it seems as if no one could ever think his way through the maze of baffling trails a criminal leaves. But the answer to that is persistence and the hope that sooner or later something will turn up, some tiny lead that can grow into a warm trail and point to the cracking of a case.

    • Connections
      Edited into The Big Combo (1955)

    User reviews109

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Not influenced by Carol Reed
    Watching this movie, which is very good if dated, I thought of The Third Man, too. But it was made BEFORE the Carol Reed film, so can hardly be said to have borrowed heavily from it. In fact, I wondered if Reed had been influenced by Werker! The Third Man is an incomparably better film, one of my Desert Island movies. But He Walked By Night was a competent and at times really interesting flick. The scene where the robbery victims collaborate on building the villain's face was excellent.

    Another enjoyable aspect was spotting so many familiar faces. I caught a very brief glimpse of Kenneth Tobey and half a dozen other performers whose faces, if not their names, were very familiar . . . like the nutty lady talking to "milkman" Scott Brady.
    helpful•12
    0
    • derlang
    • Jan 29, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 1949 (Canada)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
      • Cantonese
    • Also known as
      • The L.A. Investigator
    • Filming locations
      • United States Post Office Hollywood Station - 1615 Wilcox Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Bryan Foy Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 19 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Richard Basehart in He Walked by Night (1948)
    Top Gap
    By what name was He Walked by Night (1948) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies Coming This Summer
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in June
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.