He Walked By Night (1948) Film Review in Commemoration of Its 70th Anniversary
He Walked By Night is a classical American motion picture of the film noir genre. It hit theaters in 1948, a few years following the end of the principal fighting of World War II. This year marks its 70th anniversary. It depicts some of the real-life acts of William Erwin Walker, a troubled man who died in 2008.
It stars award-winning actor Richard Basehart as Roy Morgan, a criminal spending much of his time in hiding, fearing the ever-seeking police force. He has put himself in this uncomfortable position by mortally shooting a police officer.
Making a narrow escape, he continues to conduct business with a middleman who rents out electrical equipment. The middleman’s name in the movie is Paul Reeves (played by an equally youthful Whit Bissell). The equipment Morgan is loaning to Reeves has been stolen, and it’s this dirty business which ends up being his downfall.
Interestingly, Basehart and Bissell would go on to hold key supporting roles in two Irwin Allen sixties shows: Basehart to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Bissell to The Time Tunnel.
A man comes in pretending to rent out a piece of equipment only to find it is the very machine which had been stolen from him. Morgan conducts much of his “business” under the cover of darkness, hence the film’s title. His actions include returning to Reeves’ home late one evening, directing him to a spot in the house where the police can’t watch, and demanding money.
In an attempt to further confuse the local Los Angeles, Morgan deliberately begins pulling off even more crimes throughout the city. The police begin to be overwhelmed, but the character Lee (played by Jack Webb) who works in the forensics department, informs the investigating officers that the bullets fired off at all the recent hold-ups and robberies were fired from the same gun which killed the police officer.
Jack Webb’s is not a main character, but his character’s persistence is undoubtedly what leads to the identification of the prime suspect in the shooting, Roy Morgan. Jack Webb had a genuine interest in law enforcement and true stories of crime. He would go on to produce several relevant TV series in the late sixties/early seventies including Adam-12 and Emergency!
However, Webb’s most phenomenal creation was the Dragnetfranchise. It has a radio show, TV series, and a few film adaptations to its name. The common phrase “dragnet” is even used and the procedure is seen in action in He Walked By Night. According to some sources, Webb met Detective Sergeant Marty Wynn via their work together for the 1948 feature film. It was Marty Wynn who originally prompted Jack Webb to create the Dragnet radio show.
Another entertaining face to see briefly in He Walked By Night was that of a rather young John Dehner, a talented actor seen in numerous sixties TV series. On to the film itself, the shadows seem over accentuated. But many of the scenes are supposed to be happening at night. So that is reconcilable.
Since it’s based loosely on actual events and people, it does have a certain documentary type of feel in some respects. The story is narrated, but again this aspect was not uncommon to films of this era. (For instance, the 1953 movie The War of the Worlds film included a splendid narrative.) Narration often made the picture more dramatic. The movie itself feels like an episode of Dragnet but with something more sinister afoot.
The viewer can in some ways sympathize with Roy Morgan, a man who’s too smart for his own good in some ways. But the audience member can never forget the ruthless murder of the police officer in the beginning of the movie, and neither do his brother policemen.
The scenes depicting the usage of the drains and the underground network which they provide are simply intriguing. This system would end up being Morgan’s ultimate downfall. The climax of the film is really quite suspenseful. It closes violently and abruptly which is something I’d ordinarily be upset with. But seeing as how it can be taken for a documentary in some cases, I was satisfied with the ending, tragic though it was.
Richard Basehart gave a stunning performance as he almost always did throughout his career. A versatile character actor, he could transition from evil characters to benevolent ones quite well.
He went on to play Ishmael in Moby Dick (1956), a young man with an open mind. And on the extreme opposite of the spectrum, he played the historical figure Adolf Hitler, a narrow-minded man who committed unspeakable atrocities, in Hitler (1962). Besides that, Basehart’s performance of Roy Morgan in He Walked By Night remains a unique and enticing one.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on OIAI’s home site here.
