The Naked City (1948)

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Malvin Wald (story) and
Albert Maltz (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

4 March 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Soul of a City - HER GLORY STRIPPED! HER PASSIONS BARED! (re-release print ad - many caps)

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

New York | Detective | Murder | Police | Investigation

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean Adair	...	Little old lady (uncredited)
Celia Adler	...	Dress shop proprietress (uncredited)
Janie Alexander	...	Little girl (uncredited)
Joyce Allen	...	Shop girl (uncredited)
Beverly Bayne	...	Mrs. Stoneman (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Detective (uncredited)
Harris Brown	...	Harvey (building superintendent) (uncredited)
Ralph Bunker	...	Medical Examiner Hoffman (uncredited)
Walter Burke	...	Pete Backalis (uncredited)
Alexander Campbell	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Retta Coleman	...	Crippled girl (uncredited)
G. Pat Collins	...	Charles Meade (parole officer) (uncredited)
Curt Conway	...	Det. Nick (fingerprint man) (uncredited)
Russ Conway	...	Ambulance doctor (uncredited)
Grace Coppin	...	Miss Livingston (uncredited)
William Cottrell	...	Bisbee (uncredited)
Harold Crane	...	Man (uncredited)
Sarah Cunningham	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Johnny Dale	...	Mr. Stillman (uncredited)
Denise Doyle	...	Girl child (uncredited)
Paul Ford	...	Henry Fowler (uncredited)
Andre D. Foster	...	Jeweler (uncredited)
Kathleen Freeman	...	Stout girl on elevated train (uncredited)
Pearl Gaines	...	Mrs. Hylton's maid (uncredited)
Earle Gilbert	...	Banker (uncredited)
Bruce Gordon	...	Cop at Williamsburg Bridge (uncredited)
Raymond Greenleaf	...	City editor (uncredited)
William E. Green	...	Man (uncredited)
James Gregory	...	Ptl. Albert Hicks (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Cop (uncredited)
Robert H. Harris	...	Druggist (uncredited)
Stevie Harris	...	Billy Halloran (uncredited)
Bern Hoffman	...	Wrestler (uncredited)
Cavada Humphrey	...	Mother (uncredited)
Edwin Jerome	...	Publisher (uncredited)
Reggie Jouvain	...	Boy child (uncredited)
Nicholas Joy	...	Mr. McCormick (uncredited)
Joseph Karney	...	Wrestler (uncredited)
Kermit Kegley	...	Qualen (uncredited)
Albert Kelley	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
David Kermen	...	Patrolman (uncredited)
Joe Kerr	...	Ned Harvey (uncredited)
Judson Laire	...	Publisher (uncredited)
Charles Latorella	...	Boy child (uncredited)
Maureen Latorella	...	Girl child (uncredited)
Perc Launders	...	Police photographer (uncredited)
Marion Leeds	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Judith Suzanne Locker	...	Girl child (uncredited)
George Lynn	...	Det. Fredericks (uncredited)
John Marley	...	Managing Editor (uncredited)
Diana Pat Marlow	...	Girl child (uncredited)
Norma Jane Marlow	...	Girl child (uncredited)
Margaret McAndrew	...	Girl child (uncredited)
Marsha McClelland	...	Girl child (uncredited)
John McQuade	...	Det. Dace Constantino (uncredited)
Carl Milletaire	...	Young man (uncredited)
Virginia Mullen	...	Martha Swenson (uncredited)
John Joseph Mulligan	...	Boy child (uncredited)
Blanche Obronska	...	Mother (uncredited)
Arthur O'Connell	...	Sgt. Shaeffer (uncredited)
David Opatoshu	...	Sgt. Dave Miller (uncredited)
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Smiling man departing subway (uncredited)
Molly Picon	...	Soda-selling shopkeeper (uncredited)
John Randolph	...	Police dispatcher (uncredited)
Anthony Rivers	...	Ed Garzah (uncredited)
Amelia Romano	...	Shop girl (uncredited)
Clifford Sales	...	Boy child (uncredited)
Carole Selvester	...	Girl child (uncredited)
Richard W. Shankland	...	Blind man (uncredited)
George Sherwood	...	Patrolman (uncredited)
Gregg Sherwood	...	(uncredited)
Lee Shumway	...	Patrolman (uncredited)
Ralph Simone	...	Old gentleman (uncredited)
Hester Sondergaard	...	Miss Owens (Stoneman's nurse) (uncredited)
Mildred Stronger	...	Girl child (uncredited)
Elliott Sullivan	...	Wrestlers' trainer (uncredited)
Charles P. Thompson	...	Ticket taker (uncredited)
Mervin Williams	...	Records clerk (uncredited)
Victor Zimmerman	...	Patrolman (uncredited)

Directed by
Jules Dassin

Writing credits
Malvin Wald		(story)
Albert Maltz		screenplay
Malvin Wald		screenplay

Produced by
Jules Buck	....	associate producer
Mark Hellinger	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa
Frank Skinner

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(as William Daniels)

Film Editing by
Paul Weatherwax

Art Direction by
John DeCuir		(as John F. DeCuir)

Set Decoration by
Oliver Emert
Russell A. Gausman

Costume Design by
Grace Houston		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Carmen Dirigo	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Gilbert Kurland	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Frank	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Leslie I. Carey	....	sound
Vernon W. Kramer	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Albert Anderson	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Den Hokins	....	grip (uncredited)
Lew Schwartz	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Roy Tripp	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joy Thorpe	....	wardrober

Music Department
Milton Schwarzwald	....	musical director
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Mary Chaffee	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Connie Earl	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Thanks
William O'Dwyer	....	thanks (as Mayor of New York)

Production Companies

• Hellinger Productions
• Universal International Pictures (UI)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical)
• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1948) (UK) (theatrical)
• Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Roan Group, The (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Kino Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal (1949) (France) (theatrical) (as Universal Films S.A.)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (cut) | Norway:16 | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

City Morgue, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Hellinger Productions

Trivia:

Film debut of James Gregory and John Randolph.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene with the police and Mr. and Mrs. Batory at the waterfront, the sun goes up then down.

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")