While the City Sleeps (1956)

A serial killer has been killing beautiful women in New York and the new owner of a media company offers a high ranking job to the first of his senior executives who can get the earliest scoops on the case.

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Casey Robinson (screenplay), Charles Einstein (novel)

Stars:

Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dana Andrews	...	Edward Mobley
Rhonda Fleming	...	Dorothy Kyne
George Sanders	...	Mark Loving
Howard Duff	...	Lt. Burt Kaufman
Thomas Mitchell	...	Jon Day Griffith
Vincent Price	...	Walter Kyne
Sally Forrest	...	Nancy Liggett
John Drew Barrymore	...	Robert Manners (as John Barrymore Jr.)
James Craig	...	'Honest' Harry Kritzer
Ida Lupino	...	Mildred Donner
Robert Warwick	...	Amos Kyne
Mae Marsh	...	Mrs. Manners
Ralph Peters	...	Gerald Meade
Sandra White	...	Judith Felton (as Sandy White)
Larry J. Blake	...	Tim - Police Desk Sergeant (as Larry Blake)

Storyline

Death of media magnate Amos Kyne is causing power struggle between his executives. In the meantime New York women become prey of a serial killer. Reporter Edward Mobley is in that circumstances faced with almost impossible missions: to catch the killer, to prevent the media empire from falling into the wrong hands and to save his romantic relationship from break-up.

---

Plot Keywords:

homosexual subtext | mama's boy | comic book influence | psychotronic film | murder | 

---

Taglines:

The story of these big-time newspaper people is more sensational than any crime they cover. It will keep you on the edge of your seat... and your nerves.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

News Is Made at Night

Filming Locations:

RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,652

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bert E. Friedlob Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Thomas Mitchell shares screen time with Ida Lupino. They previously worked together in Out Of The Fog (1941) where he plays her father.

---

Goofs

When the murderer opens the envelope that came with the flowers outside the door of Nancy's apartment, he uses a knife to cut open the envelope. When he puts the card back in the envelope, he licks the envelope flap and closes it...it was not cut.

---

Quotes

Ed Mobely: Get your things off. It's your wedding day, you wanna look nice.

---

Connections

Referenced in Maniac (1980)

User Reviews

Not As Good As Advertised

Maybe I was expecting too much from this picture. It's billed as a film noir, but I thought the mood was all wrong for a film noir. More like a melodrama bordering on a drama but for the presence of John Barrymore, Jr. It had a great cast with lots off recognizable names and the director was Fritz Lang.

I just thought it wasn't up to the lofty standard set by Lang in earlier films like 'M" and "The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse", but truth be told, these pictures were made many years before this one. Too much dialogue here, and this picture dearly needed an injection of excitement to break the tedium of the love stories in the sub-plot.

I like Dana Andrews, Thomas Mitchell, George Sanders, et al. A big boost was provided by Ida Lupino, always professional, as a sleep-around newspaper columnist. I also felt Barrymore tended toward ham in his portrayal of the psycho killer. My overall impression is of a master director who was losing his fastball, which is a shame. It could have been so much better.

5/10 - Website no longer prints my star rating.