In He Walked by Night (1948), the LAPD goes on a man hunt for a highly skilled criminal wacko. It’s a police procedural elevated by the great cinematography of John Alton.
It’s the true life story of Erwin Walker of Glendale and his 1945-46 crime spree. Both Walker and his movie version (Richard Basehart) were radio technology wizards who emerged from WW II military service severely traumatized and guilt-ridden. Both were mild-mannered but very dangerous.
This character is a perfect match for Richard Basehart, with his bland good looks and conventional civility (but often maniacal eyes).
He Walked by Night is primarily a procedural, as the cops figure out the identity of their culprit and then track him down. The film focuses on the then newfangled practices of composite portraits and early scientific forensics. This is a CSI forerunner,
Jack Webb plays the proto-CSI lab tech. He employs a decidedly unsafe but cool way to confirm that a substance is really nitroglycerine. Webb often played a wiseacre in 50s films, before his stone-faced, “just the facts ma’am” Joe Friday in Dragnet. Jack Webb got the idea for Dragnet while talking with the detective consultant on the set of He Walked by NIght.
The cop leading the investigation is played by Scott Brady, the younger and less compelling brother of Lawrence Tierney. Film noir stalwart Whit Bissel flashes here in one of his shadiest roles.
The real star of He Walked by NIght is its cinematographer, the legendary John Alton. Alton throws all his noir artistry at this film: cigarette smoke in a darkened room, characters uplit in the shadows, Venetian blinds, rain-slick streets (in LA?), an inescapable flashlight beam, and tear gas wisping up from manhole cover. One of the highlights is a static shot when Basehart turns on the light to see himself in the mirror above the bathroom sink.
The director’s credit went to Alfred Werker, but Anthony Mann really finished the film. Mann had just directed the film noir T-Men and Raw Deal, and quickly followed He Walked by Night with Border Incident and Side Street. Then, with the great Winchester ’73, Mann launched his famous psychological Westerns.
Mann and Alton teamed up for an especially gripping man hunt sequence, beginning when Basehart seems hopelessly trapped by the cops in his bungalow. The finish is an unsurpassed sewer chase – right up there with the one in The Third Man.
He Walked by Night streams on Amazon (included with Prime), Vudu (free), kanopy and Flix Fling. It also plays regularly on Turner Classic Movies.
