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CRY OF THE CITY
1948
Director
Robert Siodmak
Starring
Victor Mature
Richard Conte
Shelley Winters
Runtime
95 minutes
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Director Robert Siodmak frequently used the noir genre as a means of moral-philosophizing, and this is perhaps nowhere better illustrated than in this gritty crime drama about two childhood best friends who take divergent paths: one becomes a cop (Victor Mature); the other, a cop killer (Richard Conte). The killer must grapple with confessing to a murder he did not commit in order to save his girlfriend from being framed for the crime.
CRY OF THE CITY is something of an anomaly for Siodmak, who preferred to create his dream worlds in the controlled environment of a soundstage. Made during a brief period of Hollywood neorealism in the late 1940s—when films like KISS OF DEATH, CALL NORTHSIDE 777, and HOUSE ON 92ND STREET were filmed on location—much of CRY OF THE CITY was filmed in New York, giving it a raw immediacy in counterpoint to other more ethereal noir films. But the movie’s most fascinating factor by far is Madame Rose, a tough-talking criminal and Swedish masseuse played by the 6’ 2” strongwoman actress Hope Emerson, who towers over Mature in one unforgettable scene.
“Back in the studio era they used to just constantly churn out movies that were masterworks on every level of craft, and everyone took it for granted.” - Will Sloan
CRY OF THE CITY is something of an anomaly for Siodmak, who preferred to create his dream worlds in the controlled environment of a soundstage. Made during a brief period of Hollywood neorealism in the late 1940s—when films like KISS OF DEATH, CALL NORTHSIDE 777, and HOUSE ON 92ND STREET were filmed on location—much of CRY OF THE CITY was filmed in New York, giving it a raw immediacy in counterpoint to other more ethereal noir films. But the movie’s most fascinating factor by far is Madame Rose, a tough-talking criminal and Swedish masseuse played by the 6’ 2” strongwoman actress Hope Emerson, who towers over Mature in one unforgettable scene.
“Back in the studio era they used to just constantly churn out movies that were masterworks on every level of craft, and everyone took it for granted.” - Will Sloan