Jules Dassin's "The Naked City"

The Naked City (1948) is an American film noir directed by Jules Dassin and starring Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart, and Don Taylor. The Academy-Award-Winning cinematography was by William H. Daniels. The music is by Miklos Rozsa and Frank Skinner.

The plot concerns the murder of a model who is knocked out by a pair of men with chloroform and then left to drown in her own bathtub. When police arrive on the scene, the medical examiner says the woman was murdered. The search is on for the killers but there are several twists and turns along the journey.

The film was praised for its realism that seems to borrow elements from the Neo Realism movement happening in Italian films.

Jules Dassin (1911 – 2008) was an American film director. He got work as an assistant director at RKO and then moved to M-G-M where he directed short subjects. Dassin directed the film noir classics Brute Force (1947), The Naked City (1948), and Thieves’ Highway (1949). He was blacklisted because of his once being a member of the Communist Party so he left the United States for Europe where remained for the rest of his life. He was married to Greek film actress Melina Mercouri.

Barry Fitzgerald (1888 – 1961) was an Irish stage, film, and television actor. He appeared in many notable films over four decades including Bringing Up  Baby (1938), How Green Was My Valley (1941), Going My Way (1944), None but the Lonely Heart (1944), and The Quiet Man (1952). He was a member of the Abbey Theatre and made his film debut in Juno and the Paycock (1930) directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

 

The Naked City trivia

• Most of the scenes filmed in New York City were filmed without people knowing they were being filmed.
• Producer Mark Hellinger narrated the film; he died of a heart attack before the film was released; he was only 44 years old.
• After Hellinger’s death, Universal was prepared to scrap the picture. Due to a contract he had with the studio, the film had to be released. It became a big hit and won two Academy Awards.
• Stanley Kubrick, on assignment from Look magazine, took pictures on the film’s location.
• The film marked the film debuts of Ted de Corsia, Kathleen Freeman, James Gregory, and Nehemiah Persoff.
• Barry Fitzgerald was 5’3” and the minimum height requirement for policemen at the time of filming was 5’9”.

 

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link below.

To join the discussion on March 6, 2023, 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you’ll receive and invitation with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Discussion questions

1. The film was acclaimed for its realism; did the film seem realistic to you?
2. Some have tagged The Naked City as a film noir. Would you agree with this classification?
3. Producer Mark Hellinger narrated the film. Did you think the narration enhanced the film?
4. What did you think of the performances? Did anyone stand out to you?
5. Did the movie remind you of any other films you’ve seen? 

Richard Conte travels down "Thieves' Highway"

Thieves’ Highway (1949) is an American film noir directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Conte, and Valentina Cortese. Lee J. Cobb, and Barbara Lawrence co-star. 

Nico “Nick” Garcos, a returning war veteran arrives home to find his father, a California fruit farmer, who lost his legs in an accident and was forced to sell his truck. Nick discovers that his father was crippled at the hands of Mike Figlia (Cobb), a corrupt produce dealer in San Francisco. Nick vows revenge. 

Nick goes into business with Ed Kinney (Millard Mitchell), hoping to beat Figlia at his own game. Through a series of suspicious circumstances, Nick’s future at hauling and selling produce is jeopardized. Along the way, Nick meets a streetwalker named Rica (Cortese) who Garcos hired to distract Nick so he can undermine his ability to sell his haul. 

Eventually, Nick gets paid $4,000.00 for his haul by Garcos but while he is out one evening with Rica, he is beaten and robbed by two of Garcos’s stooges. 

Will Nick be able to get his money back and win justice for his father?

 

Valentina Cortese and Richard Conte

Jules Dassin (1911 – 2008) was an American film director. He got work as an assistant director at RKO and then moved to M-G-M where he directed short subjects. Dassin directed the film noir classics Brute Force (1947), The Naked City (1948), and Thieves’ Highway (1949). He was blacklisted because of his once being a member of the Communist Party so he left the United States for Europe where remained for the rest of his life. He was married to Greek film actress Melina Mercouri.

Richard Conte (1910 – 1975) was an American actor who came to prominence in the late 1940s under contract to 20th Century-Fox. He co-starred with James Stewart in Call Northside 777 (1948) and had the lead role in Thieves’ Highway (1949) directed by Jules Dassin (Night and the City 1950), and played Gene Tierney’s husband in Otto Preminger’s Whirlpool (1949). Conte worked constantly and had major roles in Ocean’s 11 (1960) and The Godfather (1972).

Valentina Cortese (1923 - 2019) was an Italian actress. She graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Rome and began her film career in Italian films in 1940. She starred as Fantine and Cosette in an Italian production of Les Miserables (1948). In Europe, she worked with all the top directors including Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, and Francois Truffaut. She signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox and made several American films including Thieves’ Highway (1949), House on Telegraph Hill (1951), and The Barefoot Contessa (1954). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Truffaut’s Day for Night (1973).

Thieves' Highway trivia

• Dana Andrews and Victor Mature were under consideration for the role of Nick.
• Richard Conte was a truck driver before he was "discovered" by Elia Kazan and John Garfield while acting on the stage in 1935.
• The film was filmed in San Francisco's Produce Market.
• Jules Dassin made his film debut as the man in the freight elevator with Figlia.
• Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb, and Kasia Orzazewski all appeared in Call Northside 777.

To watch the movie on YouTube, click the link below.

To join the discussion on January 30, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and a link to the discussion on Zoom

Discussion questions

1. Did this film feel realistic to you? 
2. This film is considered a film noir. Do you agree with that classification? 
3. What did you think of the performances? Had you ever seen the Italian actress Valentina Cortese in an American film before? What did you think of her performance?
4. The film had an impressive supporting cast. Did any of the supporting performances impress you more than the others?
5. Do you think the location shooting helped make the film more realistic? 
6. Would you recommend this film to a friend interested in classic movies?

Burt Lancaster leads with "Brute Force"

Brute Force (1947) is an American film noir directed by Jules Dassin and starring Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, and Charles Bickford. The film also stars Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, and Ella Raines. The screenplay was by Richard Brooks, the cinematography was by William H. Daniels, and the music was by Miklos Rozsa.

After returning from solitary confinement, Joe Collins (Lancaster) plans his escape from Westgate Prison, along with some of his fellow prisoners. Along with his plans for escape, are his plans to get even with Captain Munsey (Cronyn) the sadistic chief of security.

Jules Dassin (1911 – 2008) was an American film director. He got work as an assistant director at RKO and then moved to M-G-M where he directed short subjects. Dassin directed the film noir classics Brute Force (1947), The Naked City (1948), and Thieves’ Highway (1949). He was blacklisted because of his once being a member of the Communist Party so he left the United States for Europe where remained for the rest of his life. He was married to Greek film actress Melina Mercouri.

Burt Lancaster (1913- 1994) was an American actor and producer. He won a Best Actor Academy Award for his performance in Elmer Gantry (1960). Lancaster made his film debut in The Killers (1946). After the release of that film, he was on his way as a leading man, starring in quick succession Desert Fury (1947), Brute Force (1947), Variety Girl (1947), I Walk Alone (1947), All My Sons (1948), and Sorry, Wrong Number (1948). Other popular films starring Lancaster include The Flame and the Arrow (1950), Jim Thorpe All-American (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), The Rose Tattoo (1955), and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962).

Hume Cronyn (1911 - 2003) was a Canadian film and stage actor, as well as a writer. He and his wife Jessica Tandy often worked together on stage, film, and television. Cronyn's first film role was in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943), which began a long working relationship with the famed director. Cronyn appeared in Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944) and worked on the screenplays of Rope (1948) and Under Capricorn (1949). In 1944 he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in The Seventh Cross. Other Cronyn films include The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), Sunrise of Campobello (1960), and  Cleopatra (1963).

Charles Bickford (1891 - 1967) was an American actor who is best remembered for his supporting roles in films like The Farmer's Daughter (1947), Johnny Belinda (1948),  A Star is Born (1954), and The Big Country (1958). Bickford was nominated for three Best Supporting Actor Academy Awards between 1943 - 1948. During the 1950s and 1960s, Bickford staring appearing on television on shows like Wagon Trian, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, and The Virginian.

To watch the film on YouTube click the link below.

To join the discussion on March 21, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you'll receive an invitation and link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Why watch this film?

• We see a superstar in the making, Burt Lancaster in only his second film role.
• One of director Jules Dassin's best films.
• There are several actors who made their film debuts and went on to long careers in film and television including Howard Duff and Whit Bissell.
• We get to see Ann Blyth play sweet and innocent after playing the daughter from hell in Mildred Pierce.

Brute Force trivia

• Inspired by an incident at Alcatraz in 1946. A riot at the prison lasted for two days.
• The film was considered shocking in its day due to the on-screen violence.
• The movie the prisoners watch is The Egg and I, starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray which was released the same year as Brute Force.
• Film debuts of Whit Bissell and Howard Duff.

Discussion questions:

1. What was your overall impression of the film?
2. This was Burt Lancaster's second film; what did you think of his performance?
3. Was Hume Cronyn believable as the sadistic Captain Munsey?
4. Did anything about the film surprise you?
5. Did this film check most of the film noir boxes?

London’s post World War II underbelly is explored in “Night and the City”

Night and the City (1950) is a film noir directed by Jules Dassin, produced by Samuel G. Engel, and starring Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, and Googie Withers. The film was shot on location in London and released by 20th Century-Fox.

Richard Widmark and Gene Tierney

The plot centers around Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark), an American con man working the angles in London. He is always coming up with a new scheme to make himself rich. These mad pursuits have put a strain on his relationship with Mary Bristol (Gene Tierney). Mary works as a singer at a nightclub owned by Phil Nosseross (Francis L. Sullivan) and his wife Helen (Googie Withers).

Harry thinks he’s found the thing that’s going to change his luck. He’s working on bringing back the sport of Greco-Roman wrestling with the help of the legendary Gregorius. This flies in the face of Gregorius’s son Kristo who controls all the wrestling (not the Greco-Roman kind) in London. To get the funding for this venture, Harry joins forces with Helen, Phil’s estranged wife who has plans of opening a club of her own. Harry manages to get money from Helen to pursue his wrestling scheme if he helps her get a liquor license for her new club. When Harry changes his wrestling plans and he needs more funds, he steals from Mary, causing more strife in their relationship.

The wrestling scheme goes south in a most tragic way and there’s a price on Harry’s head. Will he be able to escape from trouble like he’s done a million times before or will this be the final reckoning for Harry Fabian?

Widmark, Tierney, and Hugh Marlowe on location in London

Not appreciated on its initial release, Night and the City is considered a high point in the film noir movement.

Jules Dassin (1911 – 2008) was an American film director. He got work as an assistant director at RKO and then moved to M-G-M where he directed short subjects. Dassin directed the film noir classics Brute Force (1947), The Naked City (1948), and Thieves’ Highway (1949). He was blacklisted because of his once being a member of the Communist Party so he left the United States for Europe where remained for the rest of his life. He was married to Greek film actress Melina Mercouri.

Samuel G. Engel (1904 – 1984) was a screenwriter and producer who had a long association with 20th Century-Fox. He wrote and produced My Darling Clementine (1946), Sitting Pretty (1948), The Frogmen (1951), and Daddy Long Legs (1955).

Richard Widmark (1914- 2008) had a sensational movie debut playing the crazy villain Tommy Udo in director Henry Hathaway’s Kiss of Death (1947). His performance won him a Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year – Actor. He was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Udo. Widmark was under contract to Twentieth Century-Fox where he played mostly villains. Later in his career, he started playing more heroic roles in films like Slattery’s Hurricane and Down to the Sea in Ships (both 1949).

Gene Tierney (1920 – 1991) was an American actress. Tierney got her start on the stage where she played the ingenue lead in The Male Animal. She was spotted by 20th Century-Fox Studio head Darryl F. Zanuck and he offered her a movie contract. Zanuck said that Tierney was the most beautiful woman in the movies. Tierney proved that she could carry a film not completely based on her beauty in films like Laura (1944) and Leave Her To Heaven (1945) for which she was nominated for her first and only Best Actress Academy Award. In the late 1940s, she struggled with mental illness which negatively affected her career.

Googie Withers (1917 – 2011) was an English actress who appeared on the stage and in film. She starred in many popular films in the UK and was once voted the 8th most popular British star. She married actor John McCallum in 1948. Together they appeared in British films and stage plays. She moved to Australia, where McCallum was born, in 1959 and continued acting there and in the UK. She remained active in the theatre and film until 2002.

Other cast members you may recognize are Hugh Marlowe (1911 – 1982) who is probably most famous for portraying playwright Lloyd Richards in All About Eve (1950). Other famous roles include The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), and Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956). Mike Mazurki (1907 – 1990) was a former wrestler, like The Strangler in Night in the City, who became a character actor, often playing strong guys who weren’t too bright. If you watched Nightmare Alley (1947), you saw him play the strong man. He has supporting roles in Murder, My Sweet (1944), and Some Like It Hot (1959).

Below is the YouTube link to the movie. Please be sure to use this link; there are many versions of this film on YouTube that are of inferior quality.




Stephen Reginald is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Discussion of "Night and the City"
Time: Jun 9, 2020, 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/72400741254?pwd=UEJOVnZ4N0V1Q0IvTG1sbzR2aUxxZz09

Meeting ID: 724 0074 1254
Password: 9MXHQv

Questions for discussion:
1. How was the city of London portrayed in the film? Did it seem like another character in the movie or was the setting inconsequential?
2. Richard Widmark had played quite a few bad guys by 1949 (the year the film was in production). Was this characterization different from the other bad guys he played? Was his character totally bad or irredeemable?
3. Gene Tierney’s role was rather small, consider her star stature. Do you think she was effective as Mary? What did you think of her scenes with Hugh Marlowe?
4. Did anything about the film surprise you? Do you think the director had a message or theme that he was trying to convey?
5. What about the ending? Inevitable? A surprise?