ABSTRACT
Jenny Price's work recalls multiple film noirs set in Los Angeles (L.A). Films from Double Indemnity to Kiss Me Deadly promote the city as lifeless. Despite the plethora of films showcasing the Los Angeles River and drainage system, the underground infrastructure showcased in Chinatown seems to be ignored by most film critics studying film noir and the city. The film, He Walked by Night, shows the actual system of storm drains to reinforce the sewers as a constructed space Roy Martin has further adapted. Shot by John Alton, the low-ceilinged and low-lit round and square drains serve as sinister frames for Roy's escape attempt. They foreground how trapped Roy has become—both literally and figuratively. But they also remind that the urban space of L.A. has become transformed twice, first from a natural fertile basin to concrete, and now from a drainage system to an escape route.
