I'm assuming that the title "He walked by NIght" was the original title, then it was changed at some point. Can anyone tell me when and why?
I'm using this public domain film as part of a series of DVD releases and I'm trying to gather some facts about its history.
Thanks
Sean Gerard
Sorry, I'm not sure about that. I didn't realize it changed its title.
shareI am unaware that the film's title was changed. Nothing was metioned about that in my film noir class.
shareThis really wasn't film noir. It was a semidocumetary, a smaller and less celebrated genre of the time. In a sense, it's the spiritual grandfather of CSI, and certainly the inspiration for Dragnet (Jack Webb was in the cast, and the opening is a template for the Dragnet opening).
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Great but Forgotten movies: http://greatbutforgotten.blogspot.com
It has enough "film noir" characteristics to be included in the genre. A movie doesn't have to check off every single box to be film noir.
share1. The only real description or facts the police have about the killer that shot the police at first were that "he walked by night."
2. The guy was a thief that stole things at night and then took them to his buddy who rented them out. So, he walked by night and stole stuff.
I'm not aware of the production history, but as the film was presenting itself as a "noir" (unlike earlier noir films, before it became a recognized genre), the title includes much of the imagery of noir.
As Raymond Chandler wrote in one of his novels:
"The street was dark, with more than night."
"Sometimes you have to take the bull by the tail, and face the truth." G. Marx
The title was changed to "He Slept by Day" but after thinking about it awhile the producers decided that title wouldn't draw enough people to the theaters, so they changed it back to the original title.