This film-noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a resourceful criminal who shoots and kills a cop.This film-noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a resourceful criminal who shoots and kills a cop.This film-noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a resourceful criminal who shoots and kills a cop.
- Awards
- 1 win
- Paranoid Housewife
- (uncredited)
- Nurse Scanion
- (uncredited)
- Witness in Pajamas and Robe
- (uncredited)
- Miss Montalvo
- (uncredited)
- Detective with Capt. Breen
- (uncredited)
- Chief Bradley
- (uncredited)
- Pete Hammond
- (uncredited)
- Witness
- (uncredited)
- Chinese Suspect
- (uncredited)
- Patrolman
- (uncredited)
- Assistant Bureau Chief
- (uncredited)
- Dispatcher
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTechnical advisor for the film was Sgt. Marty Wynn of the Los Angeles Police Dept. During the course of shooting, he fell into conversation with Jack Webb, then the star of radio's "Jeff Regan, Private Investigator", who had a small part in the film. Wynn suggested that Webb do a radio series based on actual police files. Thus was born the idea for "Dragnet," which debuted on NBC radio about four months after this film was released.
- GoofsA revolver ejects its spent casings only if the shooter does so manually, which Richard Baseheart didn't do, therefore the police could not have even had them to compare with the fired casings from the automatic. An even bigger blunder was the photo comparing the two fired shells, they were clearly marked .380 auto, an entirely different round than the .38 special or .45 auto that the police claimed were fired from the same gun. So now there were three different guns used to create this technical error. In addition, when Jack Webb shows his blow-up photos, all three ejector markings are in the precise same location on the cartridge head, a statistical impossibility. In fact, all three are blow-ups of one photograph.
- Quotes
Narrator: And so the tedious quest went on. Sergeant Brennan wore out his shoes and his patience going from police station to police station, checking photos until his eyes were blurry. For police work is not all glamour and excitement and glory. There are days and days of routine, of tedious probing, of tireless searching. Fruitless days. Days when nothing goes right, when it seems as if no one could ever think his way through the maze of baffling trails a criminal leaves. But the answer to that is persistence and the hope that, sooner or later, something will turn up, some tiny lead that can grow into a warm trail and point to the cracking of a tough case.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Big Combo (1955)
The shooting sets off a manhunt that takes more than a month. Captain Roy Roberts and Detective Scott Brady lead the investigation which takes both men into some unexpected places in trying to track down the culprit.
This was Richard Basehart's breakthrough role in He Walked By Night. He plays a really diabolical stone cold killer in this one who apparently has no liking for humans. His only companion in the world is a dog.
This clever little noir thriller is done in the documentary style that seemed to be in vogue after World War II. I'm also sure that the final chase scene through the storm drain must have inspired Carol Reed to put it in The Third Man where the idea got more notice.
The lack of really big name stars gives this film a realistic approach. Look for Jack Webb in a supporting role as a police lab technician. I Don't doubt he got the idea for Dragnet from working on He Walked By Night.
- bkoganbing
- Aug 4, 2006
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- The L.A. Investigator
- Filming locations
- United States Post Office Hollywood Station - 1615 Wilcox Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(exterior of post office where Marty questions letter carriers)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 19 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1