Review #147: 'The Naked City' (1948)

A model, Jean Dexter, is found murdered in her apartment. In what is dubbed as the bathtub murder, an investigation is opened, lead by veteran New York Lieutenant, Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald). Frank Niles (Howard Duff) and Ruth Morrison (Dorothy Hart), are brought in to help with the investigation.They knew Dexter. As the lies, deceits and criminal activity are exposed through the people that occupied her life, a deep realisation that she too was incognito with the criminal underworld becomes apparent.

Shot on location in New York by Jules Dassin, this film noir adds something quite different to the average film of this genre. The usual laconic narration that is ordinarily spoken by the lead character, is, in The Naked City, spoken by the actual producer of this film. Mark Hellinger narrates the multitude of New York vignettes, and offers clues and speculation to the police procedural that follows the murder. The fact that also all the scenes were shot on location is quite an achievement for the time. This lends a certain documentary feel to the outcome. The cinematography is startling also because of this 'realism' (shot by William H. Daniels, for which he won an Academy Award).

The narrator offers insights into the everyday life of New Yorkers. He closes by stating that there are 4 million stories in New York; and this is one of them. This device was clearly lifted by Spike Lee in his 1999 film Summer of Sam. The influence of the film is also echoed in any film that was shot in New York this film most certainly is a document for that city that never sleeps. Much of the film is dialogue-heavy. But this need for exposition is essential in this kind of story. Perhaps not the greatest known (or even greatest) of the film noir cycle, but certainly one that broke ground in its ability to represent a certain reality within its frame.


Directed by: Jules Dassin
Starring: Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Marc Ivamy