He Walked By Night (1948)



He Walked By Night (1948) Front Cover DVD

Click image for larger view

He Walked By Night (1948) Back Cover DVD

Click image for larger view



On a Los Angeles street, Officer Rawlins, a patrolman on his way home from work, stops a man he suspects of being a burglar and is shot and mortally wounded. The minor clues lead nowhere. Two police detectives, Sergeants Marty Brennan (Scott Brady) and Chuck Jones (James Cardwell), are assigned to catch the killer, Roy Morgan (Richard Basehart), a brilliant mystery man with no known criminal past, who is hiding in a Hollywood bungalow and listening to police calls on his custom radio in an attempt to avoid capture. His only relationship is with his little dog.

Roy consigns burgled electronic equipment to Paul Reeves (Whit Bissell), and on his fifth sale is nearly caught when he shows up to collect on his property. Reeves tells police that the suspect is a mystery man named Roy Martin. The case crosses the paths of Brennan and Jones, who stake out Reeves' office to arrest and question Roy. He suspects a trap, however, and in a brief shootout shoots and paralyzes Jones. Jones wounds Roy, who performs surgery on himself to remove the bullet and avoid going to a hospital, where his gunshot wound would be reported to the police. With his knowledge of police procedures, Roy changes his modus operandi and becomes an armed robber. During one robbery he fires his semi-automatic pistol, and the police recover the ejected casing. Lee (Jack Webb), a forensics specialist, matches the ejector marks on the casing to those recovered in the killing of Officer Rawlins and the wounding of Sgt. Jones, connecting all three shootings to one suspect.

Captain Breen (Roy Roberts) uses this break to gather all of the witnesses to the robberies. They assist Lee in building a composite photo of the killer. Reeves then identifies Roy from the composite. However, Roy hides in Reeves' car and attempts to intimidate him into revealing details of the police investigation. He barely eludes a stakeout of Reeves' house. Because the police do not realize that Roy has inside knowledge of their work, the case goes nowhere. Breen takes Brennan off the case in an attempt to shake him up. Jones convinces his partner to stop viewing the case personally and to use his head. Plodding, methodical follow-up by Brennan, using the composite photograph, results in information that Roy, whose actual name is Roy Morgan, worked for a local police department as a civilian radio technician before being drafted into the Army. Brennan tracks him down through post office mail carriers and disguises himself as a milkman to get a close look at Morgan and his apartment.

The police surround and raid the apartment that night, but Morgan, forewarned by the barking of his dog, escapes through the attic and uses the Los Angeles storm drainage tunnel system as a means of escape. The film continues with a dragnet and chase through the drainage tunnels. Roy is finally cornered by the police in a passage blocked by the wheel of a police car. As the police shoot tear gas at Roy, he staggers and attempts to fire at them. He is then shot down and killed.

The final scene is notable for its resemblance to the final scene in The Third Man in which Orson Welles' character is chased through the sewers of Vienna. No known connection between the films has been established.

Cast

Richard Basehart as Roy Martin/Roy Morgan
Scott Brady as Sgt. Marty Brennan
Roy Roberts as Captain Breen
Whit Bissell as Paul Reeves an electronics dealer
James Cardwell as Sgt. Chuck Jones
Jack Webb as Lee

Click Here for a video clip of this movie to view the quality of the video before you purchase.

The cost of this item is $9.99. This is good quality picture and sound. This DVD comes with artwork, label and case. See provided images above, these images are of the actual items.

This product is NOT a commercially released DVD, it is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media (burned). If your DVD drive or player was made prior to 2001, it may not support DVD-R discs. The following chart has been compiled from various industry sources, vendors and customer feedback to help you determine compatibility.

Click here for link to DVD-R Media Compatibility Chart.

If the disc does not play on your disc player I will refund your purchase price plus $5.00 for your expense to return the items. If you should receive a bad disc, the defective disc will be replaced.

Free shipping with tracking only within the U.S. These DVDs will only be shipped to U.S. addresses.

Please allow up to 7 days for production and shipping as this item is made on demand not ahead of time.

PLEASE NOTE: We only accept PayPal. So please be aware of this before you buy. If you do not have a PayPal account you can sign-up for free, there is no charge or fee to purchase using PayPal. Make sure you supply your current shipping address when you sign-up.


If you have any questions please comment in the Newt's Products Feedback Form. Thank You.



Return to Newt's Classic Movie Store