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The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Complete with V.O. narrative, this Dragnet-style police procedural describes the pursuit of a killer, and is based on the real-life crime spree of Erwin Walker (played by Richard Basehart). The story is set in Los Angeles in the late 1940s.This is not a whodunit. We see the killer's face early in the film. The plot is more of a cat-and-mouse game between the cops and the criminal, with the criminal usually two steps ahead of the cops. Midway through, this cat-and-mouse game plays out nicely in night scenes with minimal dialogue. Roughly two-thirds of the plot involves police making efforts to find the guy; the other third involves the criminal in his activities and his attempts to evade capture. One thing that detracts from the story is that although this criminal was a killer, most of the crimes recounted in the plot involve robbery and burglary, and that renders the story less intense."He Walked By Night" is one of the first, if not the first, films to use composite drawings as a procedure to identify the perp. The film also has the distinction of being the production that led to the Jack Webb TV series "Dragnet" in the 1950s. Webb plays a small part in this film as a lab technician.Lots of shadows and stark B&W lighting yield interesting noir visuals. But the film stock is poor. Best visuals occur toward the end where the plot is set in a series of underground storm drains. The visual effects of flashlights, together with echoes in these cavernous tunnels, render some of the most evocative scenes in the film.Music is intermittent and nondescript. Acting is acceptable. The V.O. narrative is overbearing and annoying at times. It's obvious that the story is told, and the script is written, from the POV of the L.A. police department, not from Hollywood scriptwriters. As such, the overall tone is cold and clinical.A story that's based mostly on robberies and burglaries, and an annoying V.O. narrative, combine to make the film less intense and more dated than contemporary films. Yet "He Walked By Night" has some significant distinctions that make it important historically. And the script is interesting because the events really happened. It's worth at least one viewing, especially for viewers who like true-life crime stories.

Allegedly based on a true story. Base in LA of yesterday...not today.More or less directed like an episode o Dragnet. I used to love Dragnet when I was a kid and they had it in re runs on local TV.Unfortunately this movie feels very dated.The plot:In the Post-World War II, in Los Angeles, a criminal shoots and kills a police officer in the middle of the night. Without any leads, the chief of the LAPD assigns Sgt. Chuck Jones and Sgt. Marty Brennan to investigate the murder and apprehend the culprits. When the dealer of electronics devices, Paul Reeves, is caught selling a stolen projector, the police identifies the criminal, and connects him to other unsolved robberies. Using the witnesses of his heists, they draw their face, but the true identity of the smart and intelligent criminal is not disclosed. The perseverance of Sgt. Marty Brennan in his investigation gives a clue where he might live.

Richard Basehart is chilling as a radio operator-turned rogue in this noir that is literally cloaked in shadows.Rather than be caught with lock-picking tools, Roy pumps a patrolman full of lead. The cop tries valiantly to fight back and a whole detail of gumshoes work the streets of LA to find this reptilian thief.The cops use a mild-mannered businessman as the bait to catch Roy, leaving him woefully vulnerable to injury or worse. Basehart is chilling in a couple of claustrophobic scenes with the sap.Basehart gets milk deliveries to feed his poor dog, and that turns out to be his undoing. The film ends jarringly abruptly, like the victim's life.Grim, harsh, and powerful.

The film starts with Roy (Richard Basehart) killing a policeman. No-one deserves to die but this policeman was on his way home so what was he doing interfering with someone else's business, especially as we are told his dying words were "he seemed such a nice kid". Well, what was he doing stopping him then? Anyway, the film follows the police department's search for the killer. They have little to work on and Roy is quite a prolific offender.This started off with one of those annoying narration intros by someone who sounds like he is a cartoon character narrating "Whacky Races". The cast are good with Richard Basehart standing out in the lead role. There are many memorable scenes including the beginning sequence where Roy shoots the jobsworth policeman, the scene where Roy removes the bullet from where he has been shot - you can feel the pain, and the end sequence from when Roy is in his house and he senses the police closing in which includes a memorable chase through the sewers. I can't remember any music being played during the film and this adds to the realism and tension in every scene.It's a good film that's worth watching again and it's based on a true story.