The Naked City



""There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them.""

The opening credits reveal The Naked City is a different kind of movie; not filmed on a Hollywood back lot but on actual locations in New York City. Winning Oscars for best photography and editing and nominated for best writing (Malvin Wald), this cutting-edge, gritty crime procedural introduced a new style of film-making.

The Naked City offers up slices of several stories, building and dove-tailing into a logical, heart-pounding resolution. Based on six months of interviews with the NYPD and using three-dimensional characters, it changed the way police were portrayed and crimes solved. Another unique aspect of Mark Hellinger's production and Jules Dassin's direction was to hire local radio and theater actors new to film – it launched several character-acting careers.

The Naked City was added to the National Film Registry in 2007.


 * Climbing Climax: A Justified example. At the climax, the exhausted and panicking murderer finds himself trapped on a bridge and starts climbing the supports in desperation. The police, wisely, don't bother following, but instead try to talk him down and then, when that doesn't work, shooting him from the ground.
 * New York City Cops: The film is about them and their work
 * Officer O'Hara: Barry Fitzgerald plays one. And he is awesome.