| The Naked Street | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Maxwell Shane |
| Produced by | Edward Small |
| Screenplay by | Maxwell Shane |
| Story by | Leo Katcher |
| Music by | Ernest Gold Emil Newman |
| Cinematography | Floyd Crosby |
| Editing by | Grant Whytock |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | September 30, 1955 (New York City) |
| Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Naked Street (1955) is an American crime film noir directed by Maxwell Shane. The drama features Farley Granger, Anthony Quinn and Anne Bancroft.[1]
Contents |
Tough racketeer (Quinn) pulls strings to get his sister's punk boyfriend out of the death house.
When the film was released, The New York Times film critic, Bosley Crowther, panned the film, writing, "Crime is again demonstrated as an unprofitable form of enterprise — and we might add, an unprofitable form of entertainment — in a little screen-filler called The Naked Street, produced by Edward Small and delivered yesterday to the Palace, along with eight acts of vaudeville...The whole spectacle is dismal and uninspiring. The only cheerful thing that occurs is that the sister and wife, played by Anne Bancroft, falls in love with and marries a newspaper man."[2]
More recently, critic Dennis Schwartz was also critical of the film, writing, "An unconvincing second-rate film noir directed by the mediocre Maxwell Shane (Fear in the Night/Nightmare), who mishandles the dismal story line both as director and co-writer. It's based on the story by Leo Katcher. The film's message is that 'crime doesn't pay'...It concludes in an unconvincing way, with the wheels of justice strangely turning as the cops arrive to arrest Phil for obstructing justice. The talented cast was left seemingly on death row by the far-fetched story, the unpleasant characterizations and how flatly it was presently.[3]