Film Review: The Naked City (1948)

One of brief periods when Hollywood tried to escape traditional patterns and allow some experimentation occurred immediately after Second World War, although mainly limited to the realm of crime films. Together with new style later known as “film noir” came striving to maximum realism that made critics call those new Hollywood crime film “semi-documentary”. One of such works with the greatest imprint on popular culture in later decades was The Naked City, 1948 film directed by Jules Dassin.

Film was produced by Mark Hellinger, former New York City newspaper reporter, who also serves as film’s narrator. The plot takes place in New York City during six hot summer days and begins one night when beautiful fashion model Jean Dexter gets chloroformed and later drowned in bathtub by two men, one of of which would few hour later get killed by his confederate after expressing feelings of guilt over his deed. The crime is investigated by NYPD Lt. Dan Muldoon (played by Barry Fitzgerald), an old and experienced homicide detective who relies on team of subordinates that include young and novice detective Jimmy Halloran (played by Don Taylor). During their quest they discover that the victim lived fast life that apparently included old “sugar daddy” and possible affair with Frank Niles (played by Howard Duff), fiance of her colleague and best friend Ruth Morrison (played by Dorothy Hart). When Niles gets exposed as pathological liar and fraud, he becomes obvious suspect, but investigation also points to string of jewel thefts that might connect victim with both high society and criminal underworld.

Hellinger shows that The Naked City will defy Hollywood conventions of its time at the very beginning, when it dispenses with opening credits (replaced by narration); credits are instead used at the very end, which would in few decades time become proper Hollywood convention. Much more interesting is the use of authentic New York locations, which include streets and scenes during which New Yorkers didn’t know that they were filmed. General plot is accompanied with small vignettes about various details of life in the big city and various ordinary characters whose presence sometimes serves as some sort of Greek chorus. Realistic approach is, on the other hand, somewhat compromised by showing private lives of detectives, especially Halloran whose picture-perfect family at times looks like embodiment of suburban utopia promoted in 1950s television sitcoms. The rest of film is much darker and grittier, with ultimate perpetrator being revealed late in the film and getting his comeuppance at the end of spectacular chase scene on Williamsburg Bridge.

Film is very confidently and economically directed by Jules Dassin, director who was something of a film noir specialist before, as suspected Communist, being forced into exile few years later during McCarthyst persecutions and continuing somewhat successful career in Europe. Dassin’s talent is well-matched by excellent black-and-white cinematography by William Daniels (who would be awarded Oscar) and effective musical score by Miklos Rozsa. Cast is also good, although veteran Irish actor Barry Fitzgerald seems as little bit overwhelming compared with his colleagues and he makes Don Taylor look bland. Hellinger died of heart attack few months before premiere and never saw The Naked City having success at the box office and among the critics. It popularity a decade later led to eponymous television series in which the roles of Muldoon and Halloran being played by John McIntire and James Franciscus. The series used Hellinger’s original closing words “There are eight million stories in naked city. This was one of them.” In 1998 HBO paid homage to the original with two cable films - Justice with the Bullet and A Killer Christmas - in which Muldoon and Halloran were played by Scott Glenn and Courtney B. Vance.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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