The Sleeping City

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The Sleeping City

Directed by	George Sherman
Produced by	Leonard Goldstein
Written by	Jo Eisinger
Starring	Richard Conte Coleen Gray Richard Taber
Music by	Frank Skinner
Cinematography	William Miller
Distributed by	Universal International Pictures
Release date(s)	September 20, 1950 (U.S. release)
Running time	85 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Sleeping City is a 1950 film noir, shot in semidocumentary style, starring Richard Conte. Set in and shot at New York's Bellevue Hospital, it was directed by George Sherman.

The film is notable for its dark and evocative photography, above-par performances by featured players and taut script by Jo Eisinger, best known for her script of Night and the City. It was one of the few motion pictures of the era to be shot entirely on location.

The Sleeping City is viewed by critics as one of the best examples of the use of betrayal -- in this instance, several layers of betrayal -- as a noir plot device. However, as is typical in this genre, the film is simply plotted and economical in its characterizations.

The movie begins with an unusual prologue, featuring Conte, to assure the audience that the story is "completely fictional" and did not take place at Bellevue or New York City. The prologue was inserted at the insistence of New York mayor William O'Dwyer, who had objected to the script as besmirching the reputation of the city-run hospital.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Detective Fred Rowan of the New York Police Department Confidential Squad, posing as an intern, investigates the mysterious murder of a hospital intern. Rowan becomes involved with an attractive nurse, played by Coleen Gray, who turns out to be a key member of a narcotics ring operating out of the hospital, headed by Pop Ware, an elderly staff member.