Tonight's Movie: He Walked By Night (1948) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

When I first watched HE WALKED BY NIGHT (1948) over 15 years ago I called it "a terrific little police procedural."

Since that first viewing, via a Kino VHS tape, I've seen the movie multiple times, including a 2014 screening at UCLA and another UCLA screening at the 2017 Festival of Preservation.

It's become one of my favorite films of the '40s, a quintessential "L.A. movie." Watching it again this week thanks to a brand-new Kino Lorber Blu-ray release, I couldn't help thinking how far the print had come since my very first viewing.

The Blu-ray, from a new HD master from a 16bit 4K scan of the 35mm fine grain, shows off John Alton's stunning black and white cinematography to perfection. The climactic chase scene, with flashlights bobbing up and down as cops race through storm drains, is one of always a visual thrill, and never more so than on this Blu-ray.

The film's basic plot focuses on L.A. police detectives (headed by Scott Brady and Roy Roberts) on the trail of a cop killer (Richard Basehart).

They're aided by a young criminologist played by Jack Webb, who found inspiration for DRAGNET while making this film.

The supporting cast is a who's who of character actors, headed by Whit Bissell as a businessman duped by Basehart. Some of the familiar faces include Kenneth Tobey, Ann Doran, John Dehner, Dorothy Adams, Byron Foulger, Thomas Browne Henry, James Cardwell, Rory Mallinson, Jane Adams, Harry Harvey, and Frank Cady. The movie is narrated by Reed Hadley.

This 79-minute film was directed by Alfred L. Werker and the uncredited Anthony Mann.

It's an engaging film from start to finish, which has merited my repeat viewings, and as mentioned, John Alton's photography is a standout. As I wrote after the 2017 screening, "At the time it was made this Eagle-Lion film may have been seen as just another movie to fill a theater schedule, but it has scenes which are, quite simply, great art."

This Blu-ray release is a Kino Lorber Special Edition with a cardboard slipcase and reversible cover art. It includes an impressive trailer gallery for 15 additional films available from Kino Lorber. Most importantly, the disc has not one but two commentary tracks. The first is a brand-new commentary by Imogen Sara Smith; the second is a commentary originally recorded by Alan K. Rode and Julie Kirgo for a 2017 ClassicFlix release.

I've listened to the Rode-Kirgo commentary and found it tremendously enjoyable; they point out all sorts of familiar faces, including favorite Doran as the dispatcher, and there are many bits of interesting info. I had no idea that Whit Bissell was a close friend of Fredric March! Knowing the quality of her past work, I'm sure the Smith commentary will be equally interesting.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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