Customer Reviews

City That Never Sleeps [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Young,a cynical,burned-out cop, wants to dump his small-time life and become a big shot like crooked lawyer Arnold. The hard-bitten desperation of the little guys, and the callous swankness of the well-healed feel alot like Asphalt Jungle. But the characterization isn't nearly as dimensional or powerful, and the actual dialogue is 'B' all the way.

But... don't go away... This is,camera-wise, a dynamite noir. Chicago lurks darkly, massively in the cold night with human faces illuminated from below with knife-edged clarity. The essential backdrops are there in spades; threatening stairwells and fire escapes, fancy nightclubs with sweaty backstage dressing rooms, fat cat penthouses with tastlessly bulbous furniture, and above all the empty, trash-strewn city streets and alleys.

If you go for Film Noir visually, this is a must-see ( the last chase is genuine 'A' quality.) Just remember- I warned ya about the script.

Film noir fans will positively delight in this sophisticated police drama with its gritty cityscapes and glaring depictions of graveyard-shift patrolling and lurid nightlife. Location photography and adept chiarscuro provide a palpable realism as fully fleshed-out characters cross paths through the nocturnal gloom, in a busy precinct station, cacophonous cabaret, swank evildoers' digs, and cavernous office building. Several less-developed, but colorful portrayals add to the texture of authenticity as they weave in and out of the action. The most intriguing of these is a model cum mechanical man who lures the curious to a nightclub. Whether he is real or not is a knottily noirish question....

Gig Young was a highly talented film actor who suffered the misfortune of being type cast all too often as the "other man" rather than handling the lead, which he was more than capable of doing. When he won a well-deserved Oscar for the Depression mood piece "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" it was in the Best Supporting Actor category.

In the brilliantly conceived and beautifully done 1953 Republic police drama "City That Never Sleeps" Young is the lead performer, and one with a challenging role of wearing his dissatisfaction as a Chicago policeman on his sleeve as he juggles two beautiful women, a loving wife at home and a nightclub exotic dancer with whom he considers fulfilling a dream of moving to California and starting a new life.

Mala Powers plays the role of the dancer. She has two men interested in marrying her and after Young initially fails to go the extra mile she tells him that she will instead go off with a co-worker who plays the role of a mechanical man in the window in front of the nightclub.

When Young realizes that there is no tomorrow where Powers is concerned, he agrees to divorce his wife and marry her. In conjunction with that decision Young will work his police beat one more night, resign, then face the music at home and tell his wife that their marriage is over.

Before going out for his last night on patrol Young is corralled by fellow police officer and father Otto Hulett, who has heard from Young's wife and wonders what is wrong with him. He gives his father a noncommittal response, deciding to face the music later.

When he goes down to the garage Young is told that his regular partner has called in sick with an earache. An officer he has never met, a stranger, enters the scene. Chill Wills plays the sergeant who will ride along with Young for the evening.

One senses a note of mystery with Wills from the beginning. He asks questions without prodding, and quickly concludes that Young is a very miserable man. Wills takes on the element of a Greek chorus and his full impact and station will not be revealed until the end of the film in an intriguing way.

Young's evening turns into a wild roller coaster ride that tests his inner being and forces him to look inside himself to determine where and how his life will proceed from that point. A pivotal event revolves around veteran criminal defense attorney, played by Edward Arnold, seeking to make a deal with Young to arrest his sleight-of-hand protégé, played by William Tallman. Unknown to him, Tallman has plans for him, with the engineering being done by Arnold's faithless wife.

Playing Arnold's wife is a veteran of film noir style roles, Marie Windsor, who directs the action as she makes a move toward Tallman and provides him with the goods to do her husband in professionally. The trick lies in extracting the right price.

Also thrown into the mix is the younger brother of Young, who idolizes shrewd con artist Tallman, who is a former magician, and wants to join forces with him. When Tallman agrees to take him out on a job that night it throws the naïve young man directly into the path of his policeman brother.

To divulge anymore about what happens that night in Chicago would involve spoiling an intricate plot with plenty of surprise twists that should be experienced without tip-offs. Veteran scenarist and crime writer Steve Fisher, who wrote the script for Robert Montgomery's excellent Raymond Chandler adaptation "The Lady in the Lake," was in clever form on "City That Never Sleeps" while veteran director John Auer keeps the action moving while utilizing the city's fascinating scenery, with many effective night shots being supplied by cinematographer John L. Russell.

One of the admirable features of this film is the way that all of the aforementioned principal players interact with Young as the evening progresses and life and death situations arise. Each affects Young a certain way, and at the end he reevaluates his life and career in a profoundly different way, shaped by the events of that pivotal evening.

Chicago cop Johnny Kelly wants to run away, from his job with the police force, and from his perceived mundane marriage. Hoping to flee Chicago with his stripper girlfriend Angel Face, he keeps putting it off with bouts of cold feet. Then one night when Johnny is assigned a new partner, Angel finally grows tired of false hopes and promises, just as Johnny is tempted by the dark side to finally realise both their dreams, but other factors are heading their way.....

Directed by John H. Auer and starring Gig Young as Kelly, City That Never Sleeps was brought to us out of the low budget Republic Pictures studio. Oddly fusing film-noir with fantastical elements makes for a most intriguing watch, yet it's very much a slog to get to a point where you feel your time has been worth it. But crucially it is worth the wait, lots of character strands all thread together to give us an exciting, and well executed climax, tho the fantastical finish point is something of a head scratcher to me personally. It's a weird film in many ways, and one that probably needs repeat viewings to fully grasp {and appreciate} what the hell is going on with all these characters. The weird feel is emphasised by John L. Russell's {Psycho & The Cabinet of Caligari} grimly lighted photography, who utilises the sparseness of the actual Chicago locations to great effect.

Known to be a favourite film of Martin Scorsese, City That Never Sleeps is actually a little better than it's B movie tagging. But it remains a film that one feels should have been much better. It's alright to fuse more than a couple of genre's, but you have to make it work convincingly within the structure of the plot{s}, and realistically they only just manage to pull it off, courtesy of a fine, if weird, ending. 6/10 but it could go either way upon a further viewing.

I am sure this is a fine film. But I received a "bad tape", which was promoted as "new". In fact it was new and it was in its original sealed wrapping. However it was a "bad tape". The clue should have been that I paid only $5 or $6 for a "new" VHS Tape. The other clue was that it was from "Republic Pictures Home Video". I don't remember who I ordered it from. But if you see this film promoted as "new" at that "low" price and it is from "Republic Pictures Home Video. Buyer beware.

Jim E