Richard Basehart
Roy Martin/Roy Morgan
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Synopsis
The shooting of a patrolman begins a difficult search for a technically skilled burglar with no obvious criminal record. He monitors police radio traffic and adapts whenever investigators gain ground. Detectives must assemble small pieces of evidence to find a man who understands their methods and seems able to disappear into the city.
Cast
Inspirations
The screenplay loosely draws on the Los Angeles crime spree of Erwin Walker. During production, Jack Webb's discussions with police adviser Marty Wynn helped inspire Dragnet. The film combines the appearance of a police documentary with the shadow-heavy photography of John Alton.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.
Availability checked on September 10, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Richard Basehart — CBS Television · Public domain
- Scott Brady — MCA-TV · Public domain
- Roy Roberts — Film screenshot (Warner Bros.) · Public domain
- Jack Webb — NBC Television · Public domain
