The Naked City (1948)

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Albert Maltz (screenplay)
Malvin Wald (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 March 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Drama

Tagline:

The Most Exciting Story of the World's Most Exciting City!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

No Opening Credits | Narration | Detective | Semi Documentary | Investigation

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. July 24

4:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Barry Fitzgerald	...	Det. Lt. Dan Muldoon
Howard Duff	...	Frank Niles
Dorothy Hart	...	Ruth Morrison
Don Taylor	...	Det. Jimmy Halloran
Frank Conroy	...	Capt. Donahue
Ted de Corsia	...	Willie Garzah aka Willie the Harmonica
House Jameson	...	Dr. Stoneman
Anne Sargent	...	Mrs. Halloran
Adelaide Klein	...	Mrs. Paula Batory
Grover Burgess	...	Mr. Batory
Tom Pedi	...	Det. Perelli
Enid Markey	...	Mrs. Edgar Hylton
Mark Hellinger	...	Narrator (voice)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | UK:A (cut) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

City Morgue, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Hellinger Productions

Trivia:

A young Stanley Kubrick was sometimes present on the set taking photographs for Look magazine

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the scene near the end where Garza 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.

Quotes:

Muldoon: What can you tell me about Mr. Niles' Business?
Perelli: He ain't got a business. It's a dodge. No credit rating. Dropped from his university club for non-payment of dues. Still owes a food and liquor bill of hundred and ten dollars and eighty three cents.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strongbad_email.exe (2004) (V)

One of the 8,000,000 Stories of New York City

In New York, the model Jean Dexter is found dead in the bathtub of her apartment apparently after committing suicide. However, the coroner realizes that she was actually murdered with a simulation of suicide, and the experienced Homicide Lieutenant Detective Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald) initiates his investigations with Detective Jimmy Halloran (Don Taylor) and his team, and the prime suspect becomes Jean's friend Frank Niles (Howard Duff), who he an alibi but tells many lies in his statement.

The director Jules Dassin from the masterpiece "Du Rififi Chez Les Hommes" and "Night and the City" presents "The Naked City" totally filmed in locations of New York City and with actors interacting with common people on the streets like in the Italian Neo-Realism. The introduction is unique, with the credits narrated by the producer Mark Hellinger like in a documentary, and I do not recall any other movie with this characteristic. The screenplay discloses a great detective story, very well acted with Barry Fitzgerald playing a cynical and smart lieutenant and Don Taylor an inexperienced and family man detective. In the conclusion, the narrator tells that this is one of the 8,000,000 stories of the naked city, in a time where New York City had only this population (against more than 20 million inhabitants of the present days). My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Cidade Nua" ("Naked City")