HE WALKED BY NIGHT

Richard Basehart

HE WALKED BY NIGHT (1948). Director: Alfred L. Werker.

A cop is murdered in L.A. and the hunt is on. There's no mystery as to the identity of the killer; it's a man variously known as Roy Martin or Roy Morgan, played well by Richard Basehart [Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea]. This police procedural follows Sgt. Brennan (Scott Brady) and his stern captain Breen (Roy Roberts of The Gale Storm Show) as they follow the trail to an electronics dealer named Paul Reeves (Whit Bissell, who also gives an excellent performance as a man innocently caught up in this murderous drama). Jack Webb, later of Dragnet fame, has a small role as a police technician who gives the cops some clues. The climax tales place in the same storm drains that figure in the finale of the giant ant thriller, Them, made six years later. This is well done and generally well-acted, with crisp cinematography, but the cinema verite approach strips the film of needed drama and intensity, and the characters are all one-dimensional. It holds the attention, but reminds one of a TV episode. Still, the film has its admirers.

Verdict: This could have used some giant ants. **1/2.

DARK CITY

Lizabeth Scott and Charlton Heston

DARK CITY (1950). Director: William Dieterle.

"We're a great pair. I haven't got a voice and you have no ear."

Danny Haley (Charlton Heston), who has a shady past, participates in a poker game which he thinks is honest but ultimately fleeces a former soldier, Arthur Winant (Don DeFore) of a five thousand dollar check that doesn't belong to him, causing Winant to commit suicide. As Haley dodges questions from Captain Garvey (Dean Jagger) and words of love from smitten songstress Fran (Lizabeth Scott), a mysterious figure with a big ring is murdering all the men who were in the card game. Trying to track down the killer, Haley even becomes involved with Winant's widow, Victoria (Viveca Lindfors) and her little boy, Billy (Mark Keuning). Heston was introduced in this picture and has a certain intensity and ability, even if one couldn't say he was exactly a brilliant performer. Scott and Lindfors are both more than adequate if not incredibly impressive; both have been better. DeFore, Jagger, Ed Begley, Harry Morgan and especially Jack Webb [in a role very different from what he played on Dragnet] give the most notable performances. The characters could all have used a little more dimension, but at least this holds the attention and has a nice ending.

Verdict: Not prime film noir but not without interest. ***.