| City That Never Sleeps | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | John H. Auer |
| Produced by | John H. Auer |
| Written by | Steve Fisher |
| Starring | Gig Young Mala Powers William Talman |
| Music by | R. Dale Butts |
| Cinematography | John L. Russell |
| Editing by | Fred Allen |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures Corporation |
| Release date(s) | August 7, 1953 (United States) |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
City That Never Sleeps (1953) is a film noir produced and directed by John H. Auer with cinematography by John L. Russell.[1]
Contents |
Johnny Kelly (Gig Young) is a Chicago cop from a long line of police officers. He's grown tired of the job and his married life. He plans on leaving his wife for exotic dancer Sally "Angel Face" Connors (Mala Powers). When Penrod Biddel (Edward Arnold), a corrupt, powerful attorney, wants him for a job, Johnny is tempted. He needs money in order to get quick money to escape Chicago and start life anew with "Angel Face."
Kelly accepts an assignment to escort a low-life former magician (William Talman) now criminal across the border to Indiana. Not all is what it seems and the more Kelly learns the more he's determined to do right.
Film critic Craig Butler wrote, "City That Never Sleeps is an uneven crime drama, one that contains some enough good elements that it's frustrating the film as a whole is not better. The chief culprit is, as so often, the screenplay, which starts out promisingly. Gig Young's character seems to be one that is fairly complex, a cop who is dissatisfied with his lot in life and could fall prey to temptation. Unfortunately, the character is not developed sufficiently beyond that, which is also the case with the Wally Cassell "mechanical man" character; he, too, shows promise that goes unfulfilled, although the sheer strangeness of his job does fascinate.[2]
The staff at Variety gave the film a mixed review, and wrote, "Production and direction loses itself occasionally in stretching for mood and nuances, whereas a straightline cops-and-robbers action flavor would have been more appropriate. Same flaw is found in the Steve Fisher screen original...John L. Russell's photography makes okay use of Chicago streets and buildings for the low-key, night-life effect required to back the melodrama.[3]