Crime

Mystery

Thriller

The Naked City

Universal International Pictures

United States of America

English

Barry Fitzgerald

Howard Duff

Dorothy Hart

Don Taylor

Frank Conroy

Ted de Corsia

House Jameson

Anne Sargent

Adelaide Klein

Grover Burgess

Tom Pedi

Enid Markey

Mark Hellinger

Jean Adair

Celia Adler

Janie Alexander

Joyce Allen

Beverly Bayne

Ralph Brooks

Harris Brown

Ralph Bunker

Walter Burke

Alexander Campbell

Retta Coleman

G. Pat Collins

Curt Conway

Russ Conway

Grace Coppin

William Cottrell

Harold Crane

Sarah Cunningham

Johnny Dale

Denise Doyle

Arthur 'Weegee' Fellig

Paul Ford

Andre D. Foster

Kathleen Freeman

Pearl Gaines

Earle Gilbert

Bruce Gordon

William E. Green

Raymond Greenleaf

James Gregory

Chuck Hamilton

Robert H. Harris

Percy Helton

Bern Hoffman

Cavada Humphrey

Edwin Jerome

Nicholas Joy

Joe Kerr

Judson Laire

Perc Launders

Marion Leeds

George Lynn

John Marley

John McQuade

Carl Milletaire

Virginia Mullen

Arthur O'Connell

David Opatoshu

Lee Shumway

Hester Sondergaard

John Randolph

Jules Dassin

Malvin Wald

Albert Maltz

Miklós Rózsa

Frank Skinner

William H. Daniels

Paul Weatherwax

Jules Buck

John DeCuir

Oliver Emert

Russell A. Gausman

Grace Houston

Bud Westmore

Leslie I. Carey

Vernon W. Kramer

Lew Swartz

Entertaining crime-drama featuring some great NYC locales and the performance from Barry Fitzgerald was fun. Not a great film noir so can't say it's a classic in my book, but still a well done film from the 1940s. **3.75/5**

By being filmed on the streets of New York, _Naked City_ is a film that earnestly attempts to bring a sense of realism to the noir genre. This ambitious attempt, however, falls short of the mark, lacking the grit and charm that define true noir, and becomes painfully melodramatic. Its effort at authenticity is marred by its excessive voiceover, as Brian Cox's character in _Adaptation._ warned: "And God help you if you use voiceover in your work, my friends. God help you. That's flaccid, sloppy writing." The narration feels like a lazy shortcut that detracts from the visual storytelling instead of enhancing it.

This one's all talk, no grit.

CinemaSerf

There's quite an affecting documentary feel to this film as "Lt. Muldoon" (Barry Fitzgerald) investigates the drowning of model "Jean" in what should have been the safety of her New York apartment. This cop is no slouch and is quickly dragging his newbie sidekick "Jimmy" (Don Taylor) all over the place in search of clues. Suspicion initially falls on the woman's close friend "Niles" (Howard Duff) but the police are pretty convinced that her maid, and also possibly her best pal "Ruth" (Dorothy Hart), may know more than they're letting on too. When they discover a bottle of sedatives, that some of her jewellery has gone missing and then a corpse floating in the East River the men must wade through a mire of lies, deceit and mis-information from witnesses who seem determined that the truth will never out. Fitzgerald is entirely convincing in this drama. He leads the process with a gritty determination and a plausible eye for not just the detail but the practical. He knows his city and he knows how to best to get results - sometimes using less conventional methods as he and his team start to hone in on the criminal and their MO. Taylor also does well here marrying the rookie approach to his task with a fresh angle less available to his less flexible boss. Hart, too, contributes well but it's really the procedural approach to the crime that sets this apart from standard mysteries. The writing reads as if it is based on real life experiences and also on an understanding of the value of the emerging use of scientific processes and team policing to narrow the field and get to the perpetrators. It takes it's time, but it never drags and there are clues for us watching to piece together too as this untrustworthy bunch look to self preservation more than to solving the killing. This takes a different approach to thriller story-telling and though I found the score a bit intrusive at times, I did enjoy it.

The Naked City (1948) - Trailer

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The Naked City

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Cast

Barry Fitzgerald

Howard Duff

Dorothy Hart

Don Taylor

Frank Conroy

Ted de Corsia

House Jameson

Anne Sargent

Adelaide Klein

Grover Burgess

Box office

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