While the City Sleeps (1956 film)
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| While the City Sleeps | |
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 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Fritz Lang |
| Produced by | Bert E. Friedlob |
| Written by | Story: Charles Einstein Screenplay: Casey Robinson |
| Starring | Dana Andrews Rhonda Fleming |
| Music by | Herschel Burke Gilbert |
| Cinematography | Ernest Laszlo |
| Editing by | Gene Fowler Jr. |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | May 16, 1956 (U.S.A.) |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
While the City Sleeps is a 1956 film directed by Fritz Lang. The newspaper drama, written by Casey Robinson was based on The Bloody Spur by Charles Einstein. The drama features Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff, and others.[1]
The film weaves together two stories: a serial killer hunt and the competition for a newspaper's editorship.
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[edit] Plot
Power struggles between executives ensue after the death of media magnate Amos Kyne, who turned over power to his sole heir, his foppish son (Price).
He decides, instead of running the newspaper company himself, to let the heads of the three divisions of the newspaper to fight it out for control.
Meanwhile, New York women become the prey of a serial killer. One of the three, newspaper editor John Daily Griffith, has an ally in high-profile reporter Edward Mobley, who is working on the biggest story of the day: "The Lipstick Killer," a serial murder, burglar and sex fiend who is terrorizing the city.
[edit] Cast
- Dana Andrews as Edward Mobley
- Rhonda Fleming as Dorothy Kyne
- George Sanders as Mark Loving, KNS Chief
- Howard Duff as Lt. Burt Kaufman
- Thomas Mitchell as John Day Griffith (Sentinel managing editor)
- Vincent Price as Walter Kyne
- Sally Forrest as Nancy Liggett
- John Barrymore Jr. as Robert Manners
- James Craig as "Honest" Harry Kritzer
- Ida Lupino as Mildred Donner
- Robert Warwick as Amos Kyne
- Mae Marsh as Mrs. Manners
- Ralph Peters as Gerald Meade (Sentinel crime reporter)
- Sandy White as Judith Felton
- Larry J. Blake as Tim, Police Desk Sergeant
[edit] Critical reception
Film critic Bosley Crowther liked the film, especially the acting wrote, "Since it is full of sound and fury, murder, sacred and profane love and a fair quota of intramural intrigue, a viewer is left wondering if the tycoons of the giant Kyne publishing combine ever bother to cover such mundane stories as the weather. But while this journalistic jamboree is more flamboyant than probable, a tight and sophisticated script by Casey Robinson and a clutch of professional performances make While the City Sleeps a diverting and workmanlike fiction."[2]
Time Out film reviews wrote of the film, "Lang makes inspired use of glass-walled offices, where all is seen and nothing revealed, and traces explicit parallels between Andrews and the murderer. Lang's most underrated movie."[3]
[edit] References
- ^ While the City Sleeps at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, May 17, 1956. Last accessed: February 7, 2008.
- ^ Time Out. Film reviews, 2008. Last accessed: February 7, 2008.
[edit] External links
- While the City Sleeps at the Internet Movie Database
- While the City Sleeps at Allmovie
- While the City Sleeps at the TCM Movie Database
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