He Walked By Night (USA, 1948) 79 min B&W DIR: Alfred L. Werker, Anthony Mann. PROD: Bryan Foy, Robert Kane. SCR: John C. Higgins, Crane Wilbur. STY: Crane Wilbur. MUSIC: Leonid Raab. DOP: John Alton. CAST: Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, Roy Roberts, Jack Webb, Whit Bissell. (Eagle-Lion Films)
A trend in the late 1940s, the “docudrama” noirs were largely police procedurals, favouring authentic shooting locations over sets, lending a gritty realism. Although the direction is credited solely to Alfred Werker, everybody now refers to this movie as an Anthony Mann film, as he was the uncredited co-director. Like Mann’s previous “docu-noir” T-Men, this film is devoid of romance; workmanlike in its documentation of catching a cop killer. Martin (Richard Basehart) is a chameleon-like thief whose only consistent behaviour is a knack for electronics, as he systematically changes his identities. The detectives (led by Scott Brady) meet factory boss Reeves (the great character actor Whit Bissell), who sells Morgan radio parts, and they set a trap to snare the killer. However, once again Morgan weasels his way out of the place, and he escapes into an underground drainage system.
CSI fans will marvel at how sophisticated the police work was even 50 years ago, evidenced in the lengthy scene where the police makes a composite of Martin’s face by descriptions from various witnesses. Dragnet fans will get a kick out of seeing Jack Webb (in one of his earliest roles) as a forensics technician– just as tight-lipped, humourless and down-to-business as Joe Friday!!
The use of authentic locations (apartments, factories, call centers), which lends a proper “you are there” feeling, blends beautifully with the (presumably) studio footage, in which DP John Alton makes great use of lighting in a controlled environment, such as the opening scene, which is drenched in dry ice. (Alton elevates the scene to larger-than-life mythic status, much like his work in the ending of The Big Combo.) In a sequence foreshadowing The Third Man, the exciting chase through the maze-like sewer ducts becomes an essay on the use of available light. This title has been around for years on various PD video labels, so you should have no trouble finding it. (My first viewing was from a Madacy VHS tape.)