He Walked by Night

"Savage TRUTH! Stronger than Fiction!"

1949 1h 19m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 109

ThrillerCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Roy Martin aka Roy Morgan 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.

“Savage TRUTH! Stronger than Fiction!”

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Where to watch · US

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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
Jack Webb
Lee Whitey
Reed Hadley
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Frank Cady
Pete Hammond

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alfred L. Werker
Writers: Crane Wilbur, John C. Higgins, Crane Wilbur
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

77 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alfred L. Werker, shot by John Alton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Leonid Raab. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alfred DeGaetano shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Richard Basehart and Scott Brady and Roy Roberts carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Savage TRUTH! Stronger than Fiction!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0040427 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alfred L. Werker directs. John Alton behind the camera. Leonid Raab scores. Alfred DeGaetano cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
277 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Alfred L. Werker, shot by John Alton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Leonid Raab. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Alfred DeGaetano shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Richard Basehart and Scott Brady and Roy Roberts carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Savage TRUTH! Stronger than Fiction!".
8IMDB entry: tt0040427 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "police", "cop-killer", "film noir", "man hunt".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Alton
Original score: Leonid Raab
Editing: Alfred DeGaetano
Makeup / hair: Joe Stinton
Runtime: 79 min · 1h 19m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: He Walked by Night (1949)

Also by

Alfred L. Werker

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-05-30
★ 8/10
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
CinemaSerf2022-07-09
★ 6/10
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.