The Naked City (1948)

A pretty young woman is found drowned in her bathtub, with signs of a struggle. This is a case for the homicide department of New York City’s 10th precinct.

Everyone’s favorite leprechaun Barry Fitzgerald is Lieutenant Muldoon. He, along with Detective Halloran and others, work the case. They follow leads, question suspects, and do research. You know, police work. It’s worth noting that actual police work was quite the novelty in 1940’s Hollywood.

I had turned on TCM half way through an unfamiliar noir. A good noir, I thought, would really scratch the itch, so I hunted through my DVR for a candidate. I found The Naked City. Although labeled film noir by IMDb, it really isn’t. No hard boiled attitude, no expressionistic lighting, no femme fatal. It’s a police procedural, and a pretty good one.

While not what I was looking for, The Naked City is a very interesting watch. We don’t know much more than the detectives, so it serves as a better than fair mystery. And it’s a realistic case. The earth isn’t in the balance, just a murder that needs to be solved. There were likely a few in the city that summer. Some elements are more flick than fact, much of the ending in particular, but it remains a solidly realistic depiction.

The Naked City spawned a TV series of the same name, and inspired many others in the years since. It won't rock your world, but the story is deceptively complex and will definitely hold your interest. AMRU 3.5.

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