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Reviews
He Walked by Night (1948)
Here's a version of the real story
I've seen this film two or three times, and I keep wondering Why did "Roy" do any of the things he did? What was his motivation? Strangely, we aren't even offered a guess by anyone in the film.
Intrigued by the statement that the film is "based on a true story," I did some research. Apparently the real-life Roy was named Erwin Walker -- aka "Machine Gun" Walker. Honest.
Walker was indeed a World War II vet, a former Glendale PD radio dispatcher, and a brilliant student at Cal Tech. The true story is even better than the film: Walker wasn't killed by police, and managed to evade the death penalty with a plea of insanity. Better yet, he was subsequently released, and has lived, somewhere, among us.
You can read a first-person account of Walker here (as long as the link remains good): http://www.epinions.com/content_3817054340 .
Gabriel Over the White House (1933)
A fascinating look back at depression era desperation and hope.
This film -- for those of you who can stop grinding your own axes and pay attention for awhile -- is not about an evil dictator at all. There are clear, obvious and repeated references to divine intervention here: The president is guided by a higher power, in order to find solutions to the crises facing America (and the world) in the depths of the depression. I'm not even a bit religious, but I found this sincere film interesting and very worthwhile.