Actor George Rose is one of those nearly legendary guys--whose fascinating, colorful career as a performer is almost totally forgotten today. One only need check IMDB to see the array of his credits-- bearing in mind that much of his activity-- from Shakespeare to Gilbert and Sullivan--- was accomplished on stage, and therefore not listed here. A few years after his Naked City appearance, Mr. Rose was chosen by John Gielgud (with whom he had worked often in England) to play the Gravedigger in the legendary 1964 Richard Burton production of HAMLET (in a cast which featured several other "Naked City" luminaries: Hume Cronyn, George Voskovec, William Redfield and Clement Fowler (!) in the role of Rosencrantz; the performance is available on DVD).
So Mr. Rose was no "Second Fiddle" actor.
One of the great things about Naked City--in addition to being shot on the streets of New York City, early '60's-- is the fact that the series often drew on NYC's Finest theatrical/stage performers, who were not often afforded the wider exposure of major films. So the producers apparently cooked up this off-beat comedy episode, tailor-made for the talents of Mr. Rose.
The thin plot-line....that of a jaded, world-weary "Everyman" who toils in the NYC Subway system as a token clerk, and a.) dearly loves his 2 grandsons, with whom he lives, b.) hates authority figures, especially cops, and c.) has a MAJOR, ongoing love-affair with THE BOTTLE, provides just enough of a framework for a full-blown, comic Tour-de Force by Mr. Rose.
Viewers must keep in mind that "Go Fight City Hall" is essentially an excursion into the world of FARCE-- the sort of thing you might have encountered in any number of Off-Broadway productions of the day. Don't expect it to make too much dramatic sense.
The REAL FUN BEGINS during the final third of the episode with what feels like an old-school Vaudeville routine, as Mr. Rose teams up with the famous Yiddish comedian JOSEPH BULOFF---- as the anonymous "Man in Tuxedo" (actually, he gives his real name at one point). Mr. Rose, in another drunken fantasy "Crusade", assumes Mr. Buloff- an ordinary waiter in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, is really Soviet nuclear physicist "Dr. Fleiss" and ABDUCTS him.
They end up on an all-night ferry boat trip through New York harbor, a minimalist setting for one of the ZANIEST old-style comedy routines you'll ever witness--- ESPECIALLY when they BREAK THE FOURTH WALL and actually WAVE TO THE CAMERA and the Viewers at Home! It's insane.
"Go Fight City Hall"-- whatever its plot deficiencies--- PRESERVES FOR ALL TIME the performances of two classic, old-style actor-comedians, whose theatrical legacy might otherwise be totally forgotten. The fact that Mr. Rose met an unfortunate, violent death 25 years later makes this show all the more important...and touching. LR
So Mr. Rose was no "Second Fiddle" actor.
One of the great things about Naked City--in addition to being shot on the streets of New York City, early '60's-- is the fact that the series often drew on NYC's Finest theatrical/stage performers, who were not often afforded the wider exposure of major films. So the producers apparently cooked up this off-beat comedy episode, tailor-made for the talents of Mr. Rose.
The thin plot-line....that of a jaded, world-weary "Everyman" who toils in the NYC Subway system as a token clerk, and a.) dearly loves his 2 grandsons, with whom he lives, b.) hates authority figures, especially cops, and c.) has a MAJOR, ongoing love-affair with THE BOTTLE, provides just enough of a framework for a full-blown, comic Tour-de Force by Mr. Rose.
Viewers must keep in mind that "Go Fight City Hall" is essentially an excursion into the world of FARCE-- the sort of thing you might have encountered in any number of Off-Broadway productions of the day. Don't expect it to make too much dramatic sense.
The REAL FUN BEGINS during the final third of the episode with what feels like an old-school Vaudeville routine, as Mr. Rose teams up with the famous Yiddish comedian JOSEPH BULOFF---- as the anonymous "Man in Tuxedo" (actually, he gives his real name at one point). Mr. Rose, in another drunken fantasy "Crusade", assumes Mr. Buloff- an ordinary waiter in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, is really Soviet nuclear physicist "Dr. Fleiss" and ABDUCTS him.
They end up on an all-night ferry boat trip through New York harbor, a minimalist setting for one of the ZANIEST old-style comedy routines you'll ever witness--- ESPECIALLY when they BREAK THE FOURTH WALL and actually WAVE TO THE CAMERA and the Viewers at Home! It's insane.
"Go Fight City Hall"-- whatever its plot deficiencies--- PRESERVES FOR ALL TIME the performances of two classic, old-style actor-comedians, whose theatrical legacy might otherwise be totally forgotten. The fact that Mr. Rose met an unfortunate, violent death 25 years later makes this show all the more important...and touching. LR