As the story begins, a policeman on his way home sees a man lurking in the darkness, he becomes suspicious. To his amazement, the man surprises him pulling a gun and shoots him. The incident marks the beginning of a dragnet in which all police resources will concentrate in apprehending the criminal that killed one of their peers.
Roy Martin, as he calls himself, is a young man with an unusual ability for everything electric. He likes to put things together, then tries to interest Paul Reeves, a businessman with an important clientele to lease the things Martin brings him. All goes well until the time he makes a tactical mistake. He leaves an equipment for television that turns out to have been stolen from the same man that Reeves has called to peddle the item.
What the LAPD doesn't know is that Roy Martin has a way for evading the enemy. He has discovered the system under the Los Angeles streets for the heavy flash floods it experiences to make his getaway. He is a slippery man with superior intelligence to outsmart the police. Ultimately, the police gets a break that will put an end to Roy's crime spree.
Albert Werker directed the impressive "He Walked by Night", a 1948 film noir that went to be imitated by a lot of people in Hollywood. It also became the model of the television show "Dragnet" that came later, in which Jack Webb, who is prominently featured, explored some of the principles originated in the breakthrough film. Anthony Mann was also on board to help with the direction, and it shows, although he is not given credit for the work he did. Crane Wilbur and John Higgins wrote the screenplay in a semi-documentary style. It is a tribute to all the creators the film has survived long after it was first released. The best thing in the film is John Alton's black and white cinematography that captures the Los Angeles of that era in all its splendor.
Richard Basehart made a cool Roy Martin. This was Mr. Basehart's third picture and he showed a great potential as the criminal that was able to outsmart the police. The supporting players, Scott Brady, Whit Bissell, James Cardwell, and Roy Roberts, among them, do a good job under Mr. Werker's direction.
Roy Martin, as he calls himself, is a young man with an unusual ability for everything electric. He likes to put things together, then tries to interest Paul Reeves, a businessman with an important clientele to lease the things Martin brings him. All goes well until the time he makes a tactical mistake. He leaves an equipment for television that turns out to have been stolen from the same man that Reeves has called to peddle the item.
What the LAPD doesn't know is that Roy Martin has a way for evading the enemy. He has discovered the system under the Los Angeles streets for the heavy flash floods it experiences to make his getaway. He is a slippery man with superior intelligence to outsmart the police. Ultimately, the police gets a break that will put an end to Roy's crime spree.
Albert Werker directed the impressive "He Walked by Night", a 1948 film noir that went to be imitated by a lot of people in Hollywood. It also became the model of the television show "Dragnet" that came later, in which Jack Webb, who is prominently featured, explored some of the principles originated in the breakthrough film. Anthony Mann was also on board to help with the direction, and it shows, although he is not given credit for the work he did. Crane Wilbur and John Higgins wrote the screenplay in a semi-documentary style. It is a tribute to all the creators the film has survived long after it was first released. The best thing in the film is John Alton's black and white cinematography that captures the Los Angeles of that era in all its splendor.
Richard Basehart made a cool Roy Martin. This was Mr. Basehart's third picture and he showed a great potential as the criminal that was able to outsmart the police. The supporting players, Scott Brady, Whit Bissell, James Cardwell, and Roy Roberts, among them, do a good job under Mr. Werker's direction.