MovieChat Forums > He Walked by Night Discussion > This film was way ahead of its time!

This film was way ahead of its time!

posted 16 years ago by Tecun_Uman
8 replies | jump to latest

I see so many future movies in this film, and so many different directors. I love the long scenes without dialog. I like the detailed science. The film noir qualities. The incredible scenes of people running through the dark sewers with a flshlight illuminating the area in front of them. The clausterphobic shots of Roy Martin being paranoid that they were on to him. It is just a briliant film!

[–] edwstraker 15 years ago

I agree. Last night I watched the DVD I bought. Not a wasted, over extended scene. Tight. Re the ending: I am so polluted by modern films I was waiting for an "epilogue" that didn't come. There wasn't one and for good reason.

[–] tom_jeffords 14 years ago

I agree, very original. It's almost a pilot for Dragnet, but the use of forensic science makes it a forerunner of Quincy ME and CSI. According to the trivia section it has the first scenes shot in LA's gigantic sewer system.

[–] darryl-tahirali 10 years ago

It's almost a pilot for Dragnet, - tom_jeffords

I'm sure you know that Jack Webb was inspired to create Dragnet based on his experience on He Walked by Night.

------------------
"We hear very little, and we understand even less." - Refugee in Casablanca

[–] WarpedRecord 11 years ago

It is indeed a terrific film, with stunning visuals and crisp dialogue. The scenes with the flashlight in the tunnel are mesmerizing. 8/10 stars from me.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] DracTarashV 10 years ago

The film greatly benefits from its lead actor's terrific performance, which has stood the test of time in my eyes. But the entire thing was ahead of its time indeed. Stupendous film.

Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

[–] LTUM 10 years ago

i was gonna make a thread with this exact title!!!!

awesome. and i agree, it was

------------------
Once there was a Hushpuppy, and she lived with her Daddy in the bathtub.

[–] darryl-tahirali 10 years ago

This film was way ahead of its time! - Tecun_Uman

And just a little ahead of its time is the famous hunt through the LA sewers. The following year, a chase through a city's sewer system formed the climax of The Third Man, a much more prominent film, and the police chasing Orson Welles's Harry Lime through the Vienna sewers has become an iconic film moment.

But fans of He Walked by Night know that that had happened first the year before.

------------------
"We hear very little, and we understand even less." - Refugee in Casablanca