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He Walked by Night

  • 1948
  • Approved
  • 1h 19m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
6.9K
YOUR RATING
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
99+ Photos
Film NoirHeistCrimeThriller

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.

  • Directors
    • Alfred L. Werker
    • Anthony Mann
  • Writers
    • John C. Higgins
    • Crane Wilbur
    • Harry Essex
  • Stars
    • Richard Basehart
    • Scott Brady
    • Roy Roberts
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    6.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Alfred L. Werker
      • Anthony Mann
    • Writers
      • John C. Higgins
      • Crane Wilbur
      • Harry Essex
    • Stars
      • Richard Basehart
      • Scott Brady
      • Roy Roberts
    • 120User reviews
    • 60Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:13
    Trailer

    Photos176

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    Top cast65

    Edit
    Richard Basehart
    Richard Basehart
    • Roy Martin…
    Scott Brady
    Scott Brady
    • Police Sgt. Marty Brennan
    Roy Roberts
    Roy Roberts
    • Police Capt. Breen
    Whit Bissell
    Whit Bissell
    • Paul Reeves
    James Cardwell
    James Cardwell
    • Police Sgt. Chuck Jones
    Jack Webb
    Jack Webb
    • Lee Whitey
    Dorothy Adams
    Dorothy Adams
    • Paranoid Housewife
    • (uncredited)
    Jane Adams
    Jane Adams
    • Nurse Scanion
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Bailey
    Jack Bailey
    • Witness in Pajamas and Robe
    • (uncredited)
    Alma Beltran
    Alma Beltran
    • Miss Montalvo
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Bice
    Robert Bice
    • Detective with Capt. Breen
    • (uncredited)
    Chief Bradley
    • Chief Bradley
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Cady
    Frank Cady
    • Pete Hammond
    • (uncredited)
    Dolores Castelli
    • Witness
    • (uncredited)
    George Chan
    George Chan
    • Chinese Suspect
    • (uncredited)
    Garrett Craig
    Garrett Craig
    • Patrolman
    • (uncredited)
    John Dehner
    John Dehner
    • Assistant Bureau Chief
    • (uncredited)
    Ann Doran
    Ann Doran
    • Dispatcher
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Alfred L. Werker
      • Anthony Mann
    • Writers
      • John C. Higgins
      • Crane Wilbur
      • Harry Essex
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    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 tough case.

    • Connections
      Edited into The Big Combo (1955)

    User reviews120

    Review
    Review
    Featured review

    Fascinating to look at

    HE WALKED BY NIGHT (1948) has such a raw, bare-bones feel to it, a real "you are there" aura. A cheerless loner (Cold as an ice bomb Richard Basehart) kills a policeman. The search of the killer begins. This little B-film has so many unforgetable scenes, they drive in one after the other. (The police picking up every vagrant in the city searching for the cop killer, the look on the targeted cop's wife's face when she gets the bad news) My favorite scene is one that does not move the plot along, but creates such an uncomfortable mood. In it, Basehart tries to fish a bullet out of his arm at his sink as his dog yaps and whines in the background.

    Well worth catching.
    • boris-26
    • Nov 25, 2001
    • Permalink

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    FAQ16

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    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(exterior of post office where Marty questions letter carriers)
    • Production company
      • Bryan Foy Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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

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