He Walked by Night

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He Walked by Night

1949,

1h 19m,

Crime/

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

82%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

250+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Roy Morgan (Richard Basehart) is a burglar who listens in to radio police calls, allowing him to stay one step ahead of the cops. After Morgan kills a police officer, Sergeants Brennan (Scott Brady) and Jones (James Cardwell) have little success in putting the clues of the case together. But when Jones is wounded in a shoot-out with Morgan, Brennan employs all facets of detective work, including forensics and informants, to find the elusive and clever criminal.

Nick Schager

Slant Magazine

May 1, 2006

The credits indicate Alfred L. Werker only, but this thriller is of a piece with the noir circle of T-Men and Raw Deal, courtesy of an uncredited Anthony Mann.

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

Feb 4, 2024

8/10

He Walked by Night is an effective film that is still enjoyable to watch today. It’s also historically important because it helped establish many conventions for police procedurals ...

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Pat Padua

Washington City Paper

Oct 18, 2023

The iconic locations are shot with a gritty beauty by cinematographer John Alton, whose chiaroscuro lighting defines the subgenre. Watch for a young Jack Webb as a tireless investigator...

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Feb 1, 2023

The film finds a particularly vivid median between the emerging docudrama tenor and Alton’s gloriously Expressionistic imagery.

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Nell Dodson Russell

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Jan 14, 2022

One character in the audience yawned audibly at intervals throughout the film. He finally put the guy on my right to sleep. Or could it have been the picture?

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Josephine O'Neill

Daily Telegraph (Australia)

Apr 4, 2019

Producer Bryan Foy, using the crisp documentary way of telling a true story, gives his characters an easy treatment, and leavens his action with economic touch of humor.

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Albus G

Apr 3, 2019

This is a tiring, un-suspenseful walk through the Hollywood backlots. You can see everything in the film is artificial. The buildings, the open man-sized curb grates our villain conveniently keeps using to escape, the hundreds of miles of drainage canal for water (which somehow has a painted wooden ceiling with obvious seams in it) -- all of them are noticeable Hollywood contrivances. It's fine to shoot a movie this way if the audience doesn't know it's being shot that way, but this one is just too cheesy and too obvious. Anyone can run around on the Hollywood backlots and have a movie filmed -- and that's what we have here. Less than a B picture.

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Luke W

Jun 3, 2017

Excellent B-movie noir from the 50s with strong script and convincing performances. Shot in documentary style this movie offers the fans of the film noir cinema one of the best images of the genre. And I thought that the underground sewers scene from The Third Man was unique.

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Draco L

May 18, 2017

Film Noir lovers will find lots to appreciate in this overlooked gem. The cinematography is especially good and worthy of your viewing if you are a fan of the genre. The story holds together well, although the voiceover narration is annoying and unnecessary. If you're a fan of Dragnet, you'll like spotting Jack Webb in the film. In fact, this picture was the inspiration for that TV classic.

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Poe W

May 3, 2017

A well told crime story without the embellishments.

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Alfred L. Werker

Director

Richard Basehart

Roy Martin

Scott Brady

Sgt. Marty Brennan

Roy Roberts

Capt. Breen

Whit Bissell

Paul Reeves

Jack Webb

Lee

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Synopsis

Roy Morgan (Richard Basehart) is a burglar who listens in to radio police calls, allowing him to stay one step ahead of the cops. After Morgan kills a police officer, Sergeants Brennan (Scott Brady) and Jones (James Cardwell) have little success in putting the clues of the case together. But when Jones is wounded in a shoot-out with Morgan, Brennan employs all facets of detective work, including forensics and informants, to find the elusive and clever criminal.

Director: Alfred L. Werker
Producer: Robert T. Kane, Bryan Foy
Screenwriter: John C. Higgins, Crane Wilbur
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Eagle-Lion Films Inc., Bryan Foy Productions
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 6, 1949, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 11, 2016
Runtime: 1h 19m

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