The Naked City (1948) Movie Review
The Naked City. Directed by Jules Dassin, written by Albert Maltz and Malvin Wald from the story by Malvin Wald. Starring Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart, Don Taylor and Ted de Corsia. Cinematography by William H. Daniels. 96 minutes, 1948.
The real reason I reviewed this was so it would help with search engine traffic. Actually it’s a classic, but not really Film Noir. It’s not got a cynical take on the world. The Naked City was the first film to show the police, not a private detective or private citizen closing a case. Previously, Sherlock Holmes, Sam Spade, Miss Marple, Peter Wimsey, Philip Marlowe, or some such person would solve a crime. TNC shows police detectives doing all the footwork that it takes to put pieces together and close a case. All police procedurals are children of TNC. The Dragnet radio program comes right from this movie, and all the TV shows about police are indebted to it.
The movie opens somewhat unusually in that there is a voice-over from the producer introducing the picture. (My kids thought the DVD commentary was on.) Even for those who don’t mind voice-over, this one gets annoying. But that is one minor drawback to a great movie. A woman is killed and the police are called. The movie follows the police around as they try to find out “who done it.” Barry Fitzgerald plays the lead detective. Don Taylor plays a new detective who does most of the hoofing around town. It turns out that the murdered woman was involved in some illegal activity and that leads to some complicated tangles for the cops to unravel.
The Naked City gives you a sense of how big New York City is, unlike police dramas today. Apparently, today it only takes 10 minutes to get from police or FBI headquarters to anywhere in New York or Los Angeles. There were no computers, the police had to go to a different office or different building and get files or mimeograph copies of files and carry them around.
Filmed in New York City. This was a big deal in 1947 as previously there was no way to control the sounds coming into the microphones and the city was just too loud. However, the film fully deserves the Oscar for cinematography. It is beautiful, and filming on location adds a strong sense of place and a feel that gives the movie a deeper dimension.
The Criterion Collection version of this movie is fantastic to look at, but the sound comes through the just the center speaker and the sub-woofer with a surround sound system. Why not make the sound come through the better quality left and right speakers with the sub-woofer? I know the movie is in mono, but most center speakers lack tonal quality. The commentary is interesting and there are two experts discussing the film in separate docs. One of the comments made is that this is just before TV came and changed the pace of the city, so this is really, unintentionally, a last look at the way New York City was for 100 years. Overall a great movie and a look into a different time.
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