JPV852
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
The Naked City
- Crime
- Mystery
- Thriller
3/4/1948
96
NR
The soul of a city. Her glory stripped! Her passion bared!
The Naked City portrays the police investigation that follows the murder of a young model. A veteran cop is placed in charge of the case and he sets about, with the help of other beat cops and detectives, finding the girl's killer.
- Director:
- Writers:
Videos
Cast
Barry FitzgeraldLt. Dan Muldoon- Howard DuffFrank Niles
Dorothy HartRuth Morrison- Don TaylorJimmy Halloran
- Frank ConroyCaptain Donahue
- Ted de CorsiaWilly Garzah
- House JamesonDr. Lawrence Stoneman
- Anne SargentMrs. Halloran
- Adelaide KleinMrs. Batory
Grover BurgessMr. Batory- Tom PediDetective Perelli
- Enid MarkeyMrs. Hylton
- Mark HellingerNarrator (voice)
- Jean AdairLittle Old Lady (Uncredited)
- Celia AdlerDress Shop Proprietor (Uncredited)
- Janie AlexanderGirl (Uncredited)
Reviews
griggs79
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.