(Released: 2003 by MGM Home Entertainment)
Another looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia
Um, sounds a lot like DRAGNET, doesn’t it?
Let’s continue with the unusually exhaustive narration, over various sights and sounds of the city, courtesy of the film’s uncredited narrator Reed Hadley:
Did he say just TWO million???? Moving on…
“Because of that vast area, and because of a population made up of people from every state in the union, Los Angeles is the largest police beat in the country… and one of the toughest.
“Here, in Communications [Division], are the ears and voice of the Police. The lights on the computer board flash 24 hours a day. Citizens reporting a prowler. A lost child. A man molesting a woman. An auto accident. A wild party. Spend an hour or two here, and you’ll think the whole city has gone berserk.
“This is the case history of a killer, taken from the files of the Detective Division. The facts are told here as they happened. The story starts here, in Hollywood Division Headquarters, at 1:00 of a June morning last year.
WHEW! You said a MOUTHFULL, Mister Hadley!
That narration alone takes up the FIRST 3:18 of the film!
Somewhere, amid all of this ongoing narration, which pretty much runs for the 1:19:03 length of the film, is the story of the aforementioned diabolically clever, intelligent, and cunning killer… and, to the utter shock of fans of a particular mid-sixties Sci-Fi television series, that killer turns out to be Richard Basehart!
Unthinkable, but true! Basehart’s character “Roy Martin” kills the aforementioned “Officer Robert Rowlins” in cold blood – shooting him, when the officer asks Martin to produce some ID, and then ramming his auto into the officer’s patrol car for deadly good measure.
You need only review everything above to see how deftly Webb used this film as the basis for his empire. It’s all there. Opening narration about the City of Los Angeles. True story. Names changed to protect the innocent. Determined, no-nonsense cops relentlessly pursue their quarry, highlighting the latest advances in police technology. Sounds like most – if not ALL – episodes of DRAGNET, wouldn’t you say? Other Items of Note:
Richard Basehart’s character is described by the Police as being 5’10” to 5’ 11”.
Then again, given how clever he was in the film, it just might have been one heck of a disguise!
In some nice attention to detail, gunshots that occur within the drains are uncomfortably LOUD, given the confined space’s effect on the amplification and echoing of sound.
And the ending of “He Walked by Night” is as brief and stark as any I’ve ever seen. More so than even the iconic “Little Caesar” (1930), whose title character at least got to utter “Mother of mercy…” before his maker came calling! As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS and PROS.
The CONS:
An Absolute Lack of Extra Features: I didn’t think it were possible for a standard DVD release from a major studio (as opposed to a “Public Domain quickie”) to fall short of the release of “The Thing from Another World” (See THIS REVIEW) in the area of Extra Features – and not be a product of “The Warner Archive Collection”. But, incredible as it may seem, this one DOES!
This release of “He Walked by Night” does not even include a TRAILER! Even Warner Archives springs for THAT! This is a MAJOR CON, and this film deserves better! It might as well have been an old VHS tape, for all it offers!
As I’ve said for “The Thing from Another World”, 2003 was NOT all that early in the history of the DVD package. By that time, more should have been offered. The Film: A stark, tight (if overly-narrated) crime drama which, if indeed it is based on a true LAPD case, is all the more compelling.
The Cast:
• Richard Basehart as “Roy Martin / Roy Morgan”. • Scott Brady as “Police Sgt. Marty Brennan”.
• Roy Roberts as “Police Captain Breen”.
• James Caldwell as “Police Sgt. Chuck Jones” (…Not THAT “Chuck Jones”).
• Jack Webb as “Lee Whitey”.
• Whit Bissell as “Paul Reeves”
Influences on Future Productions: One word: DRAGNET!
Overall:
Two of its stars (Basehart and Webb) would become prominent figures of that new medium, each starring in seminal examples of their respective genres – Sci-Fi and Police drama. 
And its influence on DRAGNET, one of the best known television Police dramas of all time, must be seen to be fully appreciated. The lack of Extra Features for this set is, frankly, APPALING! Indeed, can it even BE called a “set”, if nothing is offered beyond the movie itself?
Finally, with regard to the copious narration, unceasing almost to the point of laughter, ongoing throughout the film… After years of self-described “looong DVD Reviews”, imagine finding a film on DVD that “gives back” some of that long-windedness – in spades!
…I may have just tasted some of my own medicine!
5 comments:
TCM once showed this movie back-to-back with Naked City. I was surprised by the abruptness of the ending. I wasn't expecting a "mother of mercy" speech; I was expecting a discarded newspaper in the street with a headline about the killer getting killed in a shoot-out with LAPD, and the narrator intoning, "There are two million stories in the City of Angels. This has been one of them."
Whit Bissell played an admiral in an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, "The Peacemaker," in 1965.
Whit Bissell and Richard Basehart were both in Irwin Allen's made-for-TV movie "City Beneath the Sea" (1971), although, IIRC, they did not appear in any scenes together.
Anon:
Abrupt ending, to be sure!
Not unlike Universal sci-fi/horror films that similarly end (JUST STOP, actually) with the killing of the “monster”. Jack Arnold’s “Tarantula” (1955) is a prime example of this. The giant spider is destroyed by napalm rockets – at a point that seems to be JUST OUTSIDE THE TOWN! The resulting fire rages (and would seem to be a just as great a danger as the spider)… and it just ENDS! (Gotta love that!)
Perhaps, Richard Basehart’s character was considered “the monster” of the film, and MGM wrapped this one as Universal would have! …But, now that you mention it, I can’t shake the thought of Basehart delivering a “Mother of Mercy! Is this the end of…” speech!
And, yes… Of course, there were common appearances of Basehart and Bissell in other Irwin Allen productions! I’ve always figured that “The Peacemaker” secured the role of General Kirk for Bissell. Special Points for bringing it up! Always glad to have an Irwin Allen Fan on board!
Indeed, if you are the same “Anon” who commented on the “John Wayne Triple Feature” and “Roman Numerals” posts, I’ll say thanks and that I’ve enjoyed your comments. Next time, don’t be so “Anon”.
That’s one good thing about Blogger “Comment Moderation – On”. You become aware of someone commenting on your older posts – and can respond.
Joe.
According to both Wikipedia and imdb, this movie was indeed the ancestor of "Dragnet" (but we were all already pretty sure of that, anyway). Jack Webb befriended the technical advisor, Sgt. Marty Wynn, and was invited to look through LAPD files, which, of course, he used for his radio and TV series. "He Walked By Night" was based on the true story of Erwin Walker, who went on a crime spree in 1946. Walker was a former employee of the Glendale Police Department (although he may have been a civilian employee, not a cop). Comparisons to the recent Christopher Dorner rampage are irresistible. The movie never reveals the killer's motivation; maybe the cause was never found out IRL, ether.
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