The Naked City (1948)

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Albert Maltz (screenplay) &
Malvin Wald (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

4 March 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Soul of a City - HER GLORY STRIPPED! HER PASSIONS BARED! (re-release print ad - many caps)

Plot:

Amid a semi-documentary portrait of New York and its people, Jean Dexter, an attractive blonde model...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | New York City | Murder | Police | Semi Documentary

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean Adair	...	Little Old Lady (uncredited)
Celia Adler	...	Dress Shop Proprietress (uncredited)
Janie Alexander	...	Little Girl (uncredited)
Joyce Allen	...	Shopgirl (uncredited)
Beverly Bayne	...	Mrs. Stoneman (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Detective (uncredited)
Harris Brown	...	Harvey - Building Superintendent (uncredited)
Ralph Bunker	...	Medical Examiner Hoffman (uncredited)
Walter Burke	...	Pete Backalis (uncredited)
Alexander Campbell	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Retta Coleman	...	Crippled Girl (uncredited)
G. Pat Collins	...	Charles Meade - Parole Officer (uncredited)
Curt Conway	...	Det. Nick - Fingerprint Man (uncredited)
Russ Conway	...	Ambulance Doctor (uncredited)
Grace Coppin	...	Miss Livingston (uncredited)
William Cottrell	...	Bisbee (uncredited)
Harold Crane	...	Man (uncredited)
Sarah Cunningham	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Johnny Dale	...	Mr. Stillman (uncredited)
Denise Doyle	...	Girl Child (uncredited)
Paul Ford	...	Henry Fowler (uncredited)
Andre D. Foster	...	Jeweler (uncredited)
Kathleen Freeman	...	Stout Girl on Elevated Train (uncredited)
Pearl Gaines	...	Mrs. Hylton's Maid (uncredited)
Earle Gilbert	...	Banker (uncredited)
Bruce Gordon	...	Cop at Williamsburg Bridge (uncredited)
William E. Green	...	Man (uncredited)
Raymond Greenleaf	...	City Editor (uncredited)
James Gregory	...	Albert Hicks (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Cop (uncredited)
Robert H. Harris	...	Druggist (uncredited)
Stevie Harris	...	Billy Halloran (uncredited)
Bern Hoffman	...	Wrestler (uncredited)
Cavada Humphrey	...	Mother (uncredited)
Edwin Jerome	...	Publisher (uncredited)
Reggie Jouvain	...	Boy Child (uncredited)
Nicholas Joy	...	Mr. McCormick (uncredited)
Joseph Karney	...	Wrestler (uncredited)
Kermit Kegley	...	Qualen (uncredited)
Albert Kelley	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
David Kermen	...	Patrolman (uncredited)
Joe Kerr	...	Ned Harvey (uncredited)
Judson Laire	...	Publisher (uncredited)
Charles Latorella	...	Boy Child (uncredited)
Maureen Latorella	...	Girl Child (uncredited)
Perc Launders	...	Police Photographer (uncredited)
Marion Leeds	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Judith Suzanne Locker	...	Girl Child (uncredited)
George Lynn	...	Det. Fredericks (uncredited)
John Marley	...	Managing Editor (uncredited)
Diana Pat Marlow	...	Girl Child (uncredited)
Norma Jane Marlow	...	Girl Child (uncredited)
Margaret McAndrew	...	Girl Child (uncredited)
Marsha McClelland	...	Girl Child (uncredited)
John McQuade	...	Det. Dace Constantino (uncredited)
Carl Milletaire	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Virginia Mullen	...	Martha Swenson (uncredited)
John Joseph Mulligan	...	Boy Child (uncredited)
Arthur O'Connell	...	Sgt. Shaeffer (uncredited)
Blanche Obronska	...	Mother (uncredited)
David Opatoshu	...	Sgt. Dave Miller (uncredited)
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Smiling Man Departing Subway (uncredited)
Molly Picon	...	Soda-Selling Shopkeeper (uncredited)
John Randolph	...	Police Dispatcher (uncredited)
Anthony Rivers	...	Ed Garzah (uncredited)
Amelia Romano	...	Shopgirl (uncredited)
Clifford Sales	...	Boy Child (uncredited)
Carole Selvester	...	Girl Child (uncredited)
Richard W. Shankland	...	Blind Man (uncredited)
George Sherwood	...	Patrolman (uncredited)
Gregg Sherwood	...	(uncredited)
Lee Shumway	...	Patrolman (uncredited)
Ralph Simone	...	Old Gentleman (uncredited)
Hester Sondergaard	...	Miss Owens - Stoneman's Nurse (uncredited)
Mildred Stronger	...	Girl Child (uncredited)
Elliott Sullivan	...	Wrestlers' Trainer (uncredited)
Charles P. Thompson	...	Ticket Taker (uncredited)
Mervin Williams	...	Records Clerk (uncredited)
Victor Zimmerman	...	Patrolman (uncredited)

Directed by
Jules Dassin

Writing credits
Albert Maltz		(screenplay) &
Malvin Wald		(screenplay)
Malvin Wald		(from a story by)

Produced by
Jules Buck	....	associate producer
Mark Hellinger	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa		(music by) (as Miklos Rozsa)
Frank Skinner		(music by)

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(director of photography) (as William Daniels)

Film Editing by
Paul Weatherwax		(film editor)

Art Direction by
John DeCuir		(art direction) (as John F. DeCuir)

Set Decoration by
Oliver Emert		(set decorations)
Russell A. Gausman		(set decorations)

Costume Design by
Grace Houston		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Carmen Dirigo	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	make-up

Production Management
Gilbert Kurland	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Frank	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Leslie I. Carey	....	sound
Vernon W. Kramer	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Albert Anderson	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Arthur 'Weegee' Fellig	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Den Hokins	....	grip (uncredited)
Lew Schwartz	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Roy Tripp	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joy Thorpe	....	dress shop

Music Department
Milton Schwarzwald	....	musical director
George Bassman	....	music director (uncredited)
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Mary Chaffee	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Connie Earl	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Thanks
William O'Dwyer	....	thanks (as Mayor of New York)

Production Companies

• Hellinger Productions (as A Mark Hellinger Production)
• Universal International Pictures (UI)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (as A Universal-International release)
• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1948) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal (1949) (France) (theatrical) (as Universal Films S.A.)
• Nova Film (1950) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Roan Group, The (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Kino Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Mayor of New York City  deep gratitude to
• Police Commissioner of New York City  deep gratitude to

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | Norway:16 | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG | UK:PG (video rating) (2009) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1948) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

City Morgue, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Hellinger Productions

Trivia:

Shot in eighty-four days during the summer of 1947.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: 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.

Quotes:

Muldoon:No, the picnic is over, you've told your last lie. You're knee deep in stolen jewlery. You're involved the the Dexter Murder. You've been trying to obstruct justice all along the line. Now you're gonna tell me what I want to know or so help me if it's the last thing I do in this department, I'll get you twenty years. Now that's the truth Sonny Boy, and you know I'm not bluffing. Who's Henderson? Who's Henderson?
Frank Niles:Stoneman! It's Doctor Stoneman.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strongbad_email.exe (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Sobre las Olas (Over the Waves)

Wears well after all these years

After a half century, Naked City still stands out as one of the best on-location movies filmed in New York City. It wasn't all that unique -- quite a few movies were filmed on location in the city back then. (A 1950 movie called "Side Street," which actually has a more interesting plot, also was filmed entirely on location and aped the narration bookends.) What makes this one different is the use of locations, which has never been better. Also this one had very strong performances, particularly from Barry Fitzgerald. Dig the way he steals every scene he's in.