He Walked by Night 1949
7.1 / 10
He Walked by Night
Roy Morgan aka Roy Morgan (Richard Basehart) is a burglar and former war-time Radio & Electronics Engineer who listens in to radio police calls, allowing him to stay one step ahead of the cops.
Roy Morgan aka Roy Morgan (Richard Basehart) is a burglar and former war-time Radio & Electronics Engineer who listens in to radio police calls, allowing him to stay one step ahead of the cops.
Videos & Photos
All 1 Videos & 10 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Roy Martin / Roy Morgan
... Police Sgt. Marty Brennan
... Police Captain Breen
... Paul Reeves
... Police Sgt. Chuck Jones
... Lee Whitey
User reviews
See All 2 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by John Chard
Lone bandit evades police clutches. This is a true story... It's known to the Police Department of one of our largest cities as the most difficult homicide case in its experience. Principally because of the diabolical cleverness, intelligence and cunning of a completely unknown killer.....The record is set down here factually-as it happened. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Cracking little noir picture this one. Richard Baseheart is Davis Morgan, a cold and calculated thief and murderer. He is not only unknown to the police, but also to the Los Angeles underworld. Something which made him a terrifying ghost on the streets. Based on the real life case of cop-killer come thief Erwin Walker, who in 1946 struck terror into the heart of LA, He Walked By Night zips along at a frenetic pace but maintains all the darkness requisites of the Film Noir genre. Directed by Alfred Walker (aided by one uncredited Anthony Mann) and also starring Jack Webb (who used the piece as inspiration for the popular "Dragnet" TV series), the picture has excellent use of shadows and a brilliant finale down in the Los Angeles drainage system. Where the sound of guns and running feet is just ferocious. Baseheart is suitably chilling as a man coming unhinged by the day, whilst a home surgery sequence shows Baseheart to have had no small amount of ability. It's notable with Morgan's character that it's people he just doesn't like, there's a very telling scene with his dog that is sweet but at the same time saying so much about the man himself. This film reminded me very much of Edward Dmytryk's similarly fine 1952 film, The Sniper. So much so I'd say that as a double bill they be perfect for each other. With added plot worth in the form of early police forensics (check out the photo fit technique) and a largely unknown support cast adding a raw reality to proceedings, He Walked By Night comes highly recommended to fans of the Noir and Crime genres. 8/10
Release Date:
Feb 06, 1949 (United States)
Run Time:
1hr 19`
MMPA Rating:
NR
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
He Walked by Night
Lone bandit evades police clutches. This is a true story... It's known to the Police Department of one of our largest cities as the most difficult homicide case in its experience. Principally because of the diabolical cleverness, intelligence and cunning of a completely unknown killer.....The record is set down here factually-as it happened. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Cracking little noir picture this one. Richard Baseheart is Davis Morgan, a cold and calculated thief and murderer. He is not only unknown to the police, but also to the Los Angeles underworld. Something which made him a terrifying ghost on the streets. Based on the real life case of cop-killer come thief Erwin Walker, who in 1946 struck terror into the heart of LA, He Walked By Night zips along at a frenetic pace but maintains all the darkness requisites of the Film Noir genre. Directed by Alfred Walker (aided by one uncredited Anthony Mann) and also starring Jack Webb (who used the piece as inspiration for the popular "Dragnet" TV series), the picture has excellent use of shadows and a brilliant finale down in the Los Angeles drainage system. Where the sound of guns and running feet is just ferocious. Baseheart is suitably chilling as a man coming unhinged by the day, whilst a home surgery sequence shows Baseheart to have had no small amount of ability. It's notable with Morgan's character that it's people he just doesn't like, there's a very telling scene with his dog that is sweet but at the same time saying so much about the man himself. This film reminded me very much of Edward Dmytryk's similarly fine 1952 film, The Sniper. So much so I'd say that as a double bill they be perfect for each other. With added plot worth in the form of early police forensics (check out the photo fit technique) and a largely unknown support cast adding a raw reality to proceedings, He Walked By Night comes highly recommended to fans of the Noir and Crime genres. 8/10
This is actually quite a decent little murder mystery featuring the usually pretty uncharismatic Richard Basehart as a petty thief who kills a cop. The police chief allocates two detectives - Scott Brady and James Cardwell - with the seemingly impossible task of tracking down the criminal for a crime that nobody saw/heard etc... They start off by trawling the usual suspects and gradually begin to piece it together and to see the light. It's tensely directed with lots of help from Leonid Raab's score; some suitably eerie lighting and Crane Wilbur's adaptation of his own story is a bit more complex giving the investigator's characters a little more substance than usual. Although the ending does rather let it down somewhat, it still makes for quite an entertaining 80 minutes.
Cast & Crew of
He Walked by Night
Directors & Credit Writers
Cast
... Roy Martin / Roy Morgan
... Police Sgt. Marty Brennan
... Police Captain Breen
... Paul Reeves
... Police Sgt. Chuck Jones
... Lee Whitey
... Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
... Pete Hammond
... Dunning
... Milk Customer
... Nurse Scanion (uncredited)
... Witness in Pajamas and Robe (uncredited)
AB
Alma Beltran... Miss Montalvo (uncredited)
... Detective with Capt. Breen (uncredited)
... Witness (uncredited)
GC
George Chan... Chinese Suspect (uncredited)
... Patrolman (uncredited)
... Assistant Bureau Chief (uncredited)
... Dispatcher (uncredited)
... Young Hoodlum (uncredited)
Produced By
Videos & Photos of
He Walked by Night
Videos ( 1)
Photos ( 10 )
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