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Universal International Pictures
Not part of a collection.
The soul of a city. Her glory stripped! Her passion bared!
After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.
CinemaSerf
Nov 20, 2024 · via TMDB
There's quite an affecting documentary feel to this film as "Lt. Muldoon" (Barry Fitzgerald) investigates the drowning of model "Jean" in what should have been the safety of her New York apartment. This cop is no slouch and is quickly dragging his newbie sidekick "Jimmy" (Don Taylor) all over the place in search of clues. Suspicion initially falls on the woman's close friend "Niles" (Howard Duff) but the police are pretty convinced that her maid, and also possibly her best pal "Ruth" (Dorothy Hart), may know more than they're letting on too. When they discover a bottle of sedatives, that some of her jewellery has gone missing and then a corpse floating in the East River the men must wade through a mire of lies, deceit and mis-information from witnesses who seem determined that the truth will never out. Fitzgerald is entirely convincing in this drama. He leads the process with a gritty determination and a plausible eye for not just the detail but the practical. He knows his city and he knows how to best to get results - sometimes using less conventional methods as he and his team start to hone in on the criminal and their MO. Taylor also does well here marrying the rookie approach to his task with a fresh angle less available to his less flexible boss. Hart, too, contributes well but it's really the procedural approach to the crime that sets this apart from standard mysteries. The writing reads as if it is based on real life experiences and also on an understanding of the value of the emerging use of scientific processes and team policing to narrow the field and get to the perpetrators. It takes it's time, but it never drags and there are clues for us watching to piece together too as this untrustworthy bunch look to self preservation more than to solving the killing. This takes a different approach to thriller story-telling and though I found the score a bit intrusive at times, I did enjoy it.
griggs79
Nov 14, 2024 · via TMDB
By being filmed on the streets of New York, _Naked City_ is a film that earnestly attempts to bring a sense of realism to the noir genre. This ambitious attempt, however, falls short of the mark, lacking the grit and charm that define true noir, and becomes painfully melodramatic. Its effort at authenticity is marred by its excessive voiceover, as Brian Cox's character in _Adaptation._ warned: "And God help you if you use voiceover in your work, my friends. God help you. That's flaccid, sloppy writing." The narration feels like a lazy shortcut that detracts from the visual storytelling instead of enhancing it. This one's all talk, no grit.
JPV852
Aug 29, 2020 · via TMDB
Entertaining crime-drama featuring some great NYC locales and the performance from Barry Fitzgerald was fun. Not a great film noir so can't say it's a classic in my book, but still a well done film from the 1940s. **3.75/5**
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Barry Fitzgerald
Lt. Dan Muldoon
Howard Duff
Frank Niles
Dorothy Hart
Ruth Morrison
Don Taylor
Jimmy Halloran
Frank Conroy
Captain Donahue
Ted de Corsia
Willy Garzah
House Jameson
Dr. Lawrence Stoneman
Anne Sargent
Mrs. Halloran
Adelaide Klein
Mrs. Batory
Tom Pedi
Detective Perelli
Enid Markey
Mrs. Hylton
Jean Adair
Little Old Lady (Uncredited)
Beverly Bayne
Mrs. Stoneman (Uncredited)
Ralph Bunker
Hoffman (Uncredited)
Walter Burke
Pater Backalis (Uncredited)
G. Pat Collins
Charles Meade (Uncredited)
Curt Conway
Det. Nick (Uncredited)
Russ Conway
Ambulance Doctor (Uncredited)
Grace Coppin
Miss Livingston (Uncredited)
William Cottrell
Bisbee (Uncredited)
Paul Ford
Henry Fowler (Uncredited)
Kathleen Freeman
Stout Young Woman on an Elevated Train (Uncredited)
Bruce Gordon
Cop at Williamsburg Bridge (uncredited)
Raymond Greenleaf
City Editor (uncredited)
James Gregory
Patrolman Albert Hicks (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton
Cop (uncredited)
Robert H. Harris
Druggist (uncredited)
Percy Helton
Street Cleaner (uncredited)
Bern Hoffman
Wrestler (uncredited)
Edwin Jerome
Publisher (uncredited)
Nicholas Joy
Mr. McCormick (uncredited)
George Lynn
Detective Fredericks (uncredited)
John Marley
Managing Editor (uncredited)
Carl Milletaire
Young Man Who Confesses to Dexter Murder (uncredited)
Arthur O'Connell
Sgt. Shaeffer (uncredited)
David Opatoshu
Sgt. Dave Miller (uncredited)
Lee Shumway
Patrolman (uncredited)
John Randolph
Ed Garzah (uncredited)
Molly Picon
Soda-Selling Shopkeeper (uncredited)
John DeCuir
Art Direction
William H. Daniels
Director of Photography
Bud Westmore
Makeup Artist
Jules Dassin
Director
Frank Skinner
Original Music Composer
Miklós Rózsa
Original Music Composer
Albert Maltz
Screenplay
Rest Stop
Frigid
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Pigs
Double Indemnity
Blondie's
Rope
The Third Man
Dancer in the Dark
Mulholland Drive
Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future
Mississippi Burning
Laura
Queen Bee
Zodiac
Passport to Darkness
The Challenge
The French Connection
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
A Time to Kill
Watchmen
Blow-Up
25th Hour
An American Crime
Like Mother Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes
West Side Story
The Talented Mr. Ripley
American Satan
Angel Face
Felon
A Hard Day
Arlington Road
State of Grace
Midsummer's Equation
Inland Empire
Alphaville
Darkness at Noon
Four Brothers
Paid in Full
Reminiscence
The Devil's Rejects
Vaigai Express
Street Kings
The Lookout
Live Free or Die Hard
They Made Me a Fugitive
The Bricklayers
Secret Window
Lemming
Mord am Meer
Get Shorty
The Man Who Knew Too Much
8MM
A Strange Adventure
Harikrishnans
Dancing Man
Runway 34
Brooklyn
Big Bang Love, Juvenile A
Man on a Ledge
Wallander: The Secret
Lucid Dream
Murder in Monaco
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Premium Rush
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Turks & Caicos
Untraceable
Rising Sun
Time Out for Murder
You Kill Me
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
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Lady in White
In the Name of the Law
The Life Before Her Eyes
Daybreak
2:22
Donovan's Echo
The Anchor
The Star Chamber
The Crooked Web
Seven Doors to Death
Thunder in the Night
King of the Underworld
The Nines
The Countess
Alleluia
Amok
Perfect Stranger
Murder Without Tears
The Saviour
Carmín Tropical
The Last Prosecco
Seven Years of Night
The Killers
Psycho III
The Lost Samaritan
A Dangerous Profession
Death Laid an Egg
Mr. Bricks: A Heavy Metal Murder Musical
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I Was a Communist for the FBI
Secret of the Blue Room
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Man With Two Lives
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My Gun Is Quick
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White Noise 2: The Light
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The Midnight Man
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Don't Look Back
Doctor Mordrid
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Living To Die
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Moon of the Wolf
No Escape
Killa Season
Mary Loss of Soul
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Tiny Little Lies
Dard Divorce
International Prostitution : Brigade criminelle
Taken Heart
New York Chinatown
Siew Lup
Der zweite Mann
Pendulum
Seattle's Loch Ness: The Lake Washington Sea Monster
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Ghost
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Gobsmacked
A un paso de la soledad
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Oveja de mi rebaño
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Violent World News
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The Black Book
The Glass Key
Awake
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Fallen Angel
Reminiscence
16 Blocks
The Verdict
Night Train to Lisbon
Crooked House
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
The Seven-Ups
A Walk Among the Tombstones
The Late Show
Night Watch
The Drowning Pool
A Kiss Before Dying
Foul Play
Killer's Kiss
The International
Nick of Time
All the Devils Are Here
Surviving the Game
The Vanishing
Marlowe
The Mirror Crack'd
Inside Man
Overdrive
Murder at the Embassy
Thick as Thieves
The Two Jakes
The Woman in the Window
The Virtuoso
Striking Distance
Righteous Kill
Thirteen at Dinner
Cause for Alarm!
Murder!
Suburbicon
The Caveman's Valentine
Hangman
Fear in the Night
No Mercy
The Big Fix
Mar 3, 1948
New York City, New York
Mar 4, 1948
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Chikara: The Renaissance Dawns
2002
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1971
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
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2008 · 14 wins
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1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
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1981 · 11 wins
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