The Naked City (1948)

Amid a semi-documentary portrait of New York and its people, Jean Dexter, an attractive blonde model, is murdered in her apartment. Homicide detectives Dan Muldoon and Jimmy Halloran ... See full summary »

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Albert Maltz (screenplay), Malvin Wald (screenplay),

Stars:

Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barry Fitzgerald	...	Det. Lt. Dan Muldoon
Howard Duff	...	Frank Niles
Dorothy Hart	...	Ruth Morrison
Don Taylor	...	Jimmy Halloran
Frank Conroy	...	Captain Donahue
Ted de Corsia	...	Garzah (as Ted De Corsia)
House Jameson	...	Dr. Stoneman
Anne Sargent	...	Mrs. Halloran
Adelaide Klein	...	Mrs. Batory
Grover Burgess	...	Mr. Batory
Tom Pedi	...	Detective Perelli
Enid Markey	...	Mrs. Hylton
Mark Hellinger	...	Narrated By (voice)

Storyline

Amid a semi-documentary portrait of New York and its people, Jean Dexter, an attractive blonde model, is murdered in her apartment. Homicide detectives Dan Muldoon and Jimmy Halloran investigate. Suspicion falls on various shifty characters who all prove to have some connection with a string of apartment burglaries. Then a burglar is found dead who once had an elusive partner named Willie. The climax is a very rapid manhunt sequence. Filmed entirely on location in New York City.

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | detective | murder | police | semi documentary | 

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Taglines:

RAW LIFE! REAL LIFE! RECKLESS LIFE! (re-release print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die nackte Stadt

Filming Locations:

City Morgue, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hellinger Productions, Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Mark Hellinger, who narrates the movie, died of a heart attack before the film was released into theaters. Following Hellinger's death, executives at Universal Studios were ready to scrap the movie. They had no idea how to market it, and feared it would be a box office failure. But Hellinger's family reminded the studio that Hellinger's contract for the film included a "guarantee of release" clause from Universal. Having no choice, Universal released the film in theaters, and were surprised when it became a hit, and received two Oscars.

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Goofs

In the scene where New York's East Side is being introduced, a set of headlights can be seen appearing and disappearing near the center of the shot.

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Quotes

Willie Garza: Thought you were off the liquor. Liquor is bad. Weakens your character. How can a man like me trust a liar like you? I can't.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are spoken by producer/narrator Mark Hellinger. No credits are seen on the screen.

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Connections

Referenced in Strongbad_email.exe (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Sobre las Olas (Over the Waves)"
(1887) (uncredited)
Written by Juventino Rosas
Background music for the girls on swings

User Reviews

The merging of Film Noir with a realistic police drama

This film is in many ways a good example of Film Noir--since it portrays a murder and its investigation, has a classic Noir-style ending and has some very "dark" story elements. However, unlike traditional Film Noir, the dialog and lighting are much more like a traditional film--less snappy dialog and more of an emphasis on conventional police work. This is NOT really a bad thing, as the film still was very entertaining but with a lighter and almost documentary feel to it and with a greater emphasis on the police work instead of on the sleazy Noir villains. In fact, since the film focused on the police and the day to day aspects of the investigation, it helped to usher in a style of film making that would be very popular in the 1950s on TV and in theaters (such as the show DRAGNET or the movie HE WALKED BY NIGHT).

The film itself stars Barry Fitzgerald. This is a VERY unusual casting decision but it did work very well. Normally, Fitzgerald is known for cute supporting roles, like the ones he played in GOING MY WAY and THE QUIET MAN. Here, however, he's a detective who coordinates the investigation. I liked it this way because he was far from the macho cop but more like a REAL policeman--experienced, smart and not about to resort to a fist fight with his foes--avoiding the usual movie clichés to say the least! In addition, the rest of the cast also seem more like real policemen when compared to other films of the time. The criminals, likewise, seem real and aren't obviously "bad" like they usually are in crime films--again a big plus.

So overall, this is a very realistic and engaging crime film with elements of Noir but certainly NOT the traditional style for the genre (the familiar Noir dialog, lighting, film angles, femme fatales, etc. are missing because they wouldn't be appropriate). It may disappoint some die-hard Noir fans, but for me it was quite acceptable and a good change of pace.