Simply A Masterpiece

Excellent but underrated film

Absolutely Fantastic

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

He Walked by Night is a pretty dull murderer hunt type film, given life only by it's killer. The film being based on facts, that seems rather wrong no? Praising the guy who committed countless crimes and shot cops. All the cops involved had zero character, a guy getting out a cigarette every time he is in a scene is not a replacement for having personality. The face sketching scene was ridiculous and the cops taking forever to try and catch him at his home once they knew where he lived, was pathetic. Without the enigmatic and intriguing characterization of Roy, with which they would not of had that information as he was a loner, there is nothing here. So essentially the only good thing about this movie is mostly made up, might as well have made up the whole thing.

Not a little masterpiece as some of its fans would claim, "He Walked by Night" is just standard cheapie police-procedural: a manhunt for a cop killer, with the police techniques spelled out as if for an audience of simpletons. What distinguishes it from dozens of similar movies is the very energetic light-and-shadow work by cinematographer John Alton. Alton's brief must have been, in the first place, to disguise the low-budget deficiencies of the production (unable to shoot sound on location, unable to build elaborate sets); and he succeeds in covering them up, but then he keeps going, and going . . . until the film becomes a black-and-white graphic-arts explosion. (The editing is a let-down though, merely smooth and adequate, not up to the mark of the photography.) The sound design (although it wasn't called that back then) is sharp and inventive too, especially the noises and voices at a crowded streetside investigation late at night, and the echo after the concluding gunshot.A promising young actor named Richard Basehart, still new to films, plays the killer at the center of it all, and he holds us right from the start; but as it soon becomes apparent the film isn't going to explore his character, it turns into a hollow exercise. There's a scarily intense self-surgery - no on-screen gore, but we can read every detail in Basehart's face. The other actors are a drab bunch, especially the ones playing cops, with the exception of Jack Webb, who takes advantage of his colleagues' mopishness to indulge in some shameless scene-stealing: it's petty theft - he ought to be ashamed. Dependable Whit Bissell plays a shopkeeper, dependably.

Film-Noir can take Varied Forms and Still be a True Film-Noir. This is One of those that Veered into the Police Procedural Genre. That by No Means makes this any Less of a Mean Film-Noir. John Alton's Famous Noir Photography with its Night Shoots, Diagonals, and Relentless Looming Shadows Dominate the Mundane, and now Frankly Dated but at the Time Cutting Edge Police Tech Inclusions.Richard Basehart's Cold Demeanor and Sweaty Presentation is also a Standout Noir Killer. The Scenes in His Lair are Outstandingly Sharp and Disturbing. A Self Surgical Procedure will have You Wincing. The Movie is Claustrophobic with its Crowded Police Station, Dingy Apartment, and the Climax in the L.A. Sewer System was so Effective it has been Imitated ever since.Brutal, Influential, and a Searing Criminal Crime Spree as Suspenseful here as Any in the Post War Fascination with Filming such Things Grabbed from the Headlines. A Fine Supporting Cast Including Jack Webb, using this Movie as On the Job Training, Whit Bissell, and Scott Brady.Overall, this is a DO NOT MISS Movie. But Beware of Vastly Inferior Public Domain Copies.

Fascinating film. It surely inspired the video game LA Noire.Many of the sights in the game are seen in this film, eg the library. There are several shots of Hollywood police station, well known to LAN gamers. The intrigue would fit well into LA's case book. I swear some of the louche fish the cops pick up in their dragnet also act in LAN! I'm sure you get to drive some of the cars too! The end is fabulous to watch, as the killer is surrounded and the noose is pulled tight. He has no chance, the manpower deployed is overwhelming. And that's reassuring, because he's the scariest type of all, a total socio-path who will kill anyone at all.Great acting all round, with beautiful noire photography. A great shot shows you exactly why they call them "slugs". Do watch the beautiful copy at the Internet Archive. It's crisp and clear and does justice to this absorbing film.