He Walked by Night
He Walked by Night is a
1948 black-and-white film noir directed by
Alfred L. Werker. Parts of the film, however, were directed by western/film noir director
Anthony Mann. The film, shot in semi-documentary style, inspired one of the films actors Jack Webb to create the radio and later television program
Dragnet, which the film clearly resembles. The film was released by
Eagle-Lion Films Inc. The film is notable for the camerawork by
cinematographer John Alton. The killer in the film is based on real-life criminal
Erwin Walker.
On a
Los Angeles, California street, a cop is shot dead by an unknown assailant. Two police men, Sergeants Marty Brennan (Brady) and Chuck Jones (Cardwell) are assigned to catch the killer. The killer (Basehart), a brilliant mystery man with no known criminal past, is hiding in a
Hollywood bungalow and listening to police calls on his custom radio in an attempt to avoid capture. The only relationship the man seems to have is with his little dog. The killer uses the Los Angeles sewer system as a mean to escape police. At one point he performs surgery on himself to remove a bullet. The police finally get a break in the case when they gather witnesses together and create a
composite sketch of the killer. That eventually leads them straight to him.
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Richard Basehart as Roy Martin/Roy Morgan
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Scott Brady as Sgt. Marty Brennan
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Roy Roberts as Capt. Breen
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Whit Bissell as Paul Reeves an electronics dealer
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James Cardwell as Sgt. Chuck Jones (as Jimmy Cardwell)
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Jack Webb as Lee
*The Police Radio room scene was also used in film
High Sierra.
