Cry of the City (1948)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Robert Siodmak

Writers:

Henry Edward Helseth (novel)
Richard Murphy (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 September 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance

Plot:

Police Lieut. Candella, longtime friend of the Rome family, walks a tightrope in the case of cop-killer Martin Rome.

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | Murder | Wounded | Escape | Killer

Awards:

1 nomination

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
June Storey	...	Miss Boone, Nurse
Tito Vuolo	...	Papa Roma
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Martin Begley	...	Bartender (scenes deleted)
Dan Sheridan	...	Detective (as Michael Sheridan)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:12 (re-rating) (2005) | UK:A (original rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #12957) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:(Banned) (1949) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Vito Scotti's first film.

Soundtrack:

Baby Face

The great sinner

This Robert Siodmak may seem derivative as another film noir.But he does not follow the rules.First the two leads are cast against type.We would expect Mature as Rome and Richard Conte as Candella.It increases the interest because we do not know how their characters will evolve.Then ,and it was extremely unusual at the time,there is no female central character;gorgeous Debra Paget appears in the first sequences ("she must be an angel") and only returns at the end of the movie in the church.No central female character ,but plenty of them ,and all are interesting: a nurse and her mom,a street gal (Shelley Winters),a mannish (lesbian?) female crook-the scene in the subway is very suspenseful-,and finally Rome's mom.A true mom,who still believes in her children ,but who begins to lose her illusions; fortunately there is a younger son,and the cop keeps a close watch on him.This mother is very different from the terrifying over possessive one Siodmak had introduced in his overlooked " Christmas holiday" (1944)