A step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.A step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.A step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
14K
YOUR RATING
- Albert Maltz(screenplay)
- Malvin Wald(screenplay)
- Stars
- Albert Maltz(screenplay)
- Malvin Wald(screenplay)
- Stars
Ted de Corsia
- Willy Garzah
- (as Ted De Corsia)
Mark Hellinger
- Narrator
- (voice)
Jean Adair
- Little Old Lady
- (uncredited)
Celia Adler
- Dress Shop Proprietress
- (uncredited)
Janie Alexander
- Girl
- (uncredited)
Joyce Allen
- Shopgirl
- (uncredited)
Beverly Bayne
- Mrs. Stoneman
- (uncredited)
- Albert Maltz(screenplay)
- Malvin Wald(screenplay) (story)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMost of the street scenes were shot on location in New York without the public's knowledge. Photographer William H. Daniels and his uncredited assistant Roy Tripp filmed people on the streets using a hidden camera from the back of an old moving van. Occasionally, a fake newsstand with a hidden camera inside was also set up on the sidewalk to secretly film the actors. Director Jules Dassin hired a juggler to distract the crowds and also hired a man to occasionally climb up on a light post and give a patriotic speech, while waving an American flag to get the crowd's attention.
- GoofsWhen Garzah is running along a street in New York, the car holding the camera (in the passenger window) is visible in the store windows, keeping pace with the actor as he stops and starts.
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits are spoken by producer/narrator Mark Hellinger. No credits are seen on the screen.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Movie Orgy (1968)
- SoundtracksSobre las Olas (Over the Waves)
(1887) (uncredited)
Written by Juventino Rosas
Background music for the girls on swings
Review
Featured review
The star of this film is...
...New York! This film is presented as a quasi-documentary (it is not). Though the story is fictional, the setting is entirely real - 1948 New York City. And that is the biggest appeal of the picture (I was born and raised there so I may be biased). Some interior shots appear to have been filmed on a sound stage, but the bulk of it is on location. For example, there is a scene filmed in lower Manhattan near Rivington and Norfolk streets. It show's a bustling, thriving "family" neighborhood with well dressed folks and kids playing in the neighborhood. It looks nothing like that now - just a place to pass through to get to somewhere else (though there is a school there now - check google maps and find the intersection - you can see the same building in the opening shot for that scene).
Story-wise, it's a pretty solid film especially considering how dated movies from this period can be. There appears to be a real attempt to make the movie as accurate as possible and goes out of its way to include the methods used in solving modern crimes such as forensics - probably a novelty at the time. The acting is solid throughout. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with the idea of a narrator - on the one hand, it lends authenticity to the documentary feel, but on the other, it can take you "out" of the picture at times. Overall, very worth watching. I give it a thumbs up (can I do that here?)
Story-wise, it's a pretty solid film especially considering how dated movies from this period can be. There appears to be a real attempt to make the movie as accurate as possible and goes out of its way to include the methods used in solving modern crimes such as forensics - probably a novelty at the time. The acting is solid throughout. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with the idea of a narrator - on the one hand, it lends authenticity to the documentary feel, but on the other, it can take you "out" of the picture at times. Overall, very worth watching. I give it a thumbs up (can I do that here?)
helpful•60
- lord_cadbury
- Feb 29, 2012
Details
Box office
- 1 hour 36 minutes
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