Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

He Walked by Night is a pretty dull murderer hunt type film, given life only by it's killer. The film being based on facts, that seems rather wrong no? Praising the guy who committed countless crimes and shot cops. All the cops involved had zero character, a guy getting out a cigarette every time he is in a scene is not a replacement for having personality. The face sketching scene was ridiculous and the cops taking forever to try and catch him at his home once they knew where he lived, was pathetic. Without the enigmatic and intriguing characterization of Roy, with which they would not of had that information as he was a loner, there is nothing here. So essentially the only good thing about this movie is mostly made up, might as well have made up the whole thing.

"He Walked By Night" (1948) fully deserves its good reputation as a classic noir, thanks mainly to its chilling performance by Richard Basehart and a great deal of atmospherically low-key location filming in Los Angeles by ace cameraman, John Alton. "He Walked by Night" is also one of Hollywood's rare movies with no romance. Absolutely none at all! In fact, not even a hint of one. It's Mr. Whit Bissell, not some well endowed Hollywood starlet, who shines in the support case. Anthony Mann is reputed to have directed some scenes in this movie, but I have no idea what they were, as it was not an assignment that he claimed in his credits."He Walked by Night" is currently available on an Alpha DVD. I would give this DVD a mark of least eight out of ten.

This film-noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a resourceful criminal who shoots and kills a cop.What makes this film interesting: During production, one of the actors, Jack Webb, struck up a friendship with the police technical adviser, Detective Sergeant Marty Wynn, and was inspired by a conversation with Wynn to create the radio and later television program "Dragnet".But also, this is the fictional version of a true story that is not well-remembered today. A Los Angeles police officer went on a crime spree, and had some bizarre ideas about war and death rays. The film is rather tame in comparison.

This is more than just a formula crime drama, but clearly the blue print for the long running TV Police Drama "Dragnet". Focusing on the enormous law enforcement system in the most populated city in the USA, audiences get a peak into the (then) innovative techniques of solving violent crime. The villain here is a loner with an affinity for electronics, a field still in its early stage. A large TV set (in 1948) is still somewhat of a novelty that wasn't necessarily manufactured, but rather "built" by an expert. To create a phantom drawing of the criminal, an overlay slide projector is used to replace the sketch artist. For a post WWII audience, all of these methods border on science fiction. - With the cooperation of many victims, clues are collected to identify and catch the bad guy. - As this film was produced in the middle of the "Hayes Code Era", no one needed to worry about the outcome. In those days it was understood that crime doesn't pay, and anyone who repeatedly murdered in cold blood, will be brought to justice, one way or another...usually the most obvious way. - An above average entry in the 1940s Film Noire Genre, but certainly unique in the innovative story telling a la Jack Webb.