Cry of the City (1948)Police Lieut. Candella, longtime friend of the Rome family, walks a tightrope in the case of cop-killer Martin Rome. Director:Robert Siodmak |
|
| 0Share... |
Cry of the City (1948)Police Lieut. Candella, longtime friend of the Rome family, walks a tightrope in the case of cop-killer Martin Rome. Director:Robert Siodmak |
|
| 0Share... |
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Victor Mature | ... |
Lt. Candella
|
|
| Richard Conte | ... |
Martin Rome
|
|
| Fred Clark | ... |
Lt Collins
|
|
| Shelley Winters | ... |
Brenda Martingale
|
|
|
|
Betty Garde | ... |
Miss Pruett
|
|
|
Berry Kroeger | ... |
W.A. Niles
|
|
|
Tommy Cook | ... |
Tony Rome
|
| Debra Paget | ... |
Teena Riconti
|
|
|
|
Hope Emerson | ... |
Rose Given
|
|
|
Roland Winters | ... |
Ledbetter
|
|
|
Walter Baldwin | ... |
Orvy
|
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
|
|
Martin Begley | ... |
Bartender
(scenes deleted)
|
|
|
Dan Sheridan | ... |
Detective
(as Michael Sheridan)
|
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him? Written by Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Victor Mature and Richard Conte deliver strong performances in this engrossing, uplifting story of the struggle between a cop and a criminal. Both men are presented as products of the city's Italian working class, and the film manages to make much of their divergent paths without being pedestrian or pedantic. The supporting characters are finely drawn and add an intriguing dimension to a plot-line that, otherwise, could have come off as time-worn and predictable. Hope Emerson is of particular interest as a disgruntled masseuse of rich old ladies. The movie is a marvelous example of the excellence that could emerge from 40's morality and is missing from much of modern filmmaking.