After reading some of the comments, I understand the importance of "He Walked by Night," but I'm afraid I was bored by it. It was done documentary-style and certainly has some interesting aspects to it: it has a noir feel to it, it shows 1948 routine police work, it's based on a true story, it shows what's under Los Angeles, there are glass milk bottles, and before he started playing bald and paunchy policemen, Scott Brady was a hunk.
The film's star is a very young Richard Basehart as a diabolical burglar who thinks nothing of murdering one cop and paralyzing another. The fascinating thing is that one of his escape routes is underneath the L.A. streets, where there are a system of tunnels to keep the city from flooding during the rains. These are captured beautifully in the movie. Jack Webb has a small role in this, and according to one of the other posters, this film gave him the idea for Dragnet. I'm afraid I wasn't a big fan of Dragnet's either.
I have to go along with Bette Davis on this one. Realism is fine, but good drama is larger than life. This was too real and too dull for me, but if you're a fan of crime drama, this is for you.
The film's star is a very young Richard Basehart as a diabolical burglar who thinks nothing of murdering one cop and paralyzing another. The fascinating thing is that one of his escape routes is underneath the L.A. streets, where there are a system of tunnels to keep the city from flooding during the rains. These are captured beautifully in the movie. Jack Webb has a small role in this, and according to one of the other posters, this film gave him the idea for Dragnet. I'm afraid I wasn't a big fan of Dragnet's either.
I have to go along with Bette Davis on this one. Realism is fine, but good drama is larger than life. This was too real and too dull for me, but if you're a fan of crime drama, this is for you.