WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS: Blu-ray (RKO, 1956) Warner Archive

Coming attraction trailers for Fritz Lang’s While the City Sleeps (1956) billed it as the super crime caper headlining 10 great stars. I count only five: Dana Andrews, George Sanders, Vincent Price, Ida Lupino and Thomas Mitchell.  While Selznick discovery, Rhonda Fleming had already earned the moniker ‘Queen of Technicolor’, well on her way in a career to include 40 films, none could be counted upon as bona fide classics; nor, could Fleming, stripped of her henna-haired glamor gal image, ever carry a picture alone. In the role of mama’s boy/serial ‘lipstick’ killer, Robert Manners, John Drew Barrymore – heir apparent to his father’s acting legacy – instead proves the singular misfire in this otherwise slick and witty melodrama. Casey Robinson’s engrossing screenplay departs from the usual whodunit template, taking the audience behind the scenes of petty squabbles, sexy intrigues and emotional turmoil afflicting an enterprising troop of newspaper hounds competing for the latest scoop about a string of notorious killings. James Craig, Sally Forrest, Howard Duff and Robert Warwick are other notables in the cast - none truly distinguished, despite given some superior dialogue and a few choice scenes interpolated between the better bits of business afforded the real ‘stars’.   

At its core, While the City Sleeps is an uber-sophisticated drama analyzing the meteoric highs and niggling lows to which humanity will stoop in competition for the brass ring of success.  We give it to Fritz Lang for his topnotch and near impossible balancing act with all of the intricacies in Robinson’s deftly interwoven byplay. The picture harks all the way back to Lang’s immortal German classic, ‘M’ – reworked from a completely different angle, but with similar intensity and attention to detail, profiling the back story and set of circumstances to have shaped the warped/frustrated mind of a serial killer. Yet, despite its affecting deconstruction of this dog-eat-dog megalomania – more the stuff of po-faced, disenchantment and nightmares, While the City Sleeps is a movie that, upon first glance, is much harder to swallow than admire; and this, despite its myriad of treasures Lang and his cast have wrought with all their finely-honed precision in front of and behind the camera. Arguably, While the City Sleeps is Lang’s best movie since The Big Heat (1953). It is questionable, whether or not it remains his most undervalued.

Perhaps it is the misdirection Lang offers us during the pre-credit sequence, forever to taint and disillusion the first-time viewer with expectations for a seedy crime thriller/even a middling police procedural to follow. We are treated to a big build-up, where an unsuspecting young lass, Judith Fenton (Sandra White) is ruthlessly butchered in her tenement apartment by a drug store delivery boy, who scrawls the cryptic message ‘ask mother’ on her wall in blood-red lipstick. And yet, nothing about the salaciousness of this crime – the others to follow it, or Lang’s ‘Third Man’- esque chase through the damp tunnels of the New York subway system - ever comes close to rivaling the backroom intrigues in this ongoing battle royale. With a callous smirk of improbability, Lang and Robinson have concocted something of red herring for the murder angle. It remains ever-present in the competitive race to the bottom for all of our presumably aboveboard bottom feeders, clawing for a chance to make their bones on the lurid details splashed across ‘extra-extra’ front page headlines.  While the City Sleeps is a great movie at a glance but only a good solid one upon a second, more clear-eyed inspection. As schmoozing/boozing nationally syndicated author/broadcaster, Edward Mobley, Dana Andrews is top-billed here and does his utmost to play a roadshow offspring of his luminously hard-boiled dick, Mark McPherson from 1944’s perennially fascinating, Laura, directed by Otto Preminger. It’s a good imitation…for the most part, and cleverly downplayed with half-ambitious defeatism for the whole disillusioning and ugly mess modern journalistic integrity has become.

The other great performance goes to Ida Lupino’s smoothly malevolent viper in mink, woman’s columnist, Mildred Donner. And it is saying a great deal, that in only a few carefully timed scenes, Lupino, looking sublimely indelicate and exuding far more jaded sex appeal than the Production Code ought to have allowed, runs off with virtually every scene she shares with her co-stars. She slinks about, a perpetually smoldering cigarette firmly tucked between her fingers, always with an indignant flash of petty larceny twinkling in her eye. Thomas Mitchell is almost as good as Jon Day Griffith, the perennial worrywart, professing an arrogance that could backstab his own mother for a good story, though never quite able to make good on such cold-bloodedness without feeling the distinct pang of sweaty-palmed guilt. Of the five ‘big names’ previously mentioned, Vincent Price and George Sanders are the most underused as Walter Kyne – heir to his late father’s journalistic empire, and, wireless editor, Mark Loving. Sanders adds another reptilian portrait to his stock gallery of slithery rogues. But Price’s career, in retrospect, remains the more fascinating; certainly, the more resilient, thanks to the actor’s seemingly effortless migration from male beauty to brooding cad, and finally, horror movie icon. In While the City Sleeps, Price again gets the short end of the stick – taken none too seriously by the seasoned staff as a foppish middle-aged playboy who knows absolutely nothing about the biz, and, Dorothy (Rhonda Fleming) his sexpot trophy wife, two-timing him right under his nose.  

While the City Sleeps begins with the vicious slaughter of Judith Felton. Almost immediately, Lt. Burt Kaufman (Howard Duff) suspects the building’s super, George ‘Pop’ Pilski (Vladimir Sokoloff), particularly as his finger prints are found on the murder weapon. But after this brief pre-title sequence we settle in on the machinations of bedridden media giant, Amos Kyne (Robert Warwick), still doing armchair warrior duty from his nurse-monitored bedside, keeping the heads of his three divisions, Mark Loving, Jon Day Griffith and ‘Honest’ Harry Kritzer (James Craig) on their toes. Amos orders them to splash the salacious details of the murder, he dubs the ‘lipstick’ killer, across every headline, wireless service and television outlet in his vast media empire. Next, he sends for anchorman, Edward Mobley. Ed has always been Amos’ favorite; perhaps, even the heir apparent to step in and take over. One wrinkle: Ed doesn’t want the job. In fact, he is content to do his television program and write the occasional book now and then to supplement his income. Amos confides in Ed, that in giving his son, Walter (Vincent Price) the luxuries he could never afford in youth, he spoiled him to becoming a middle-aged milksop.

Before the broadcast can commence, Amos suffers a fatal heart attack. Ed makes the announcement on his program; the lights dimmed to honor Amos’ passing. Assuming control over this vast empire he knows nothing about, Walter blunders into a hornet’s nest of men loyal to his late father. To unsettle them, Walter concocts a devious scheme. He invents a new position; Executive Director of the whole ménage…but with a caveat. The first head of his division to solve the lipstick murders will be appointed to this ceremonial post. Ed shows little interest in jockeying in this horse race. Let the others grovel to Kyne. He is gratified to remain as he is, much to the chagrin of his ever-devoted lover, Nancy Liggett (Sally Forrest). She is secretary to wire-service chief, Mark Loving and yearns for Ed to step up to the game. Jon Griffith agrees. Though he offers Ed nothing for his participation, he pleads with him to take his side in the fight.

In the meantime, Loving works on his star writer, Mildred Donner to squeeze Mobley for information. None of this bodes particularly well for television chief, Harry Kritzer, presently inveigled with Walter hot-to-trot wifey, Dorothy (Rhonda Fleming). Harry’s intension is for Dot to use her influence on Walter to win him the coveted post. She’s intrigue and even willing, but later makes her own intensions quite clear. If she gets Harry the job he will belong to her completely. She will use him for sex whenever the spirit moves her and be glad of their affair in a way that forever threatens Harry’s leverage within the organization. Cool customer, that Mildred. A real slut, too. At the same instance, Ed proposes to Nancy. She loves him dearly…perhaps a little too much. Ed gleans some background on the lipstick killings from his police informant, Lt. Kaufman.  Rather insidiously, Kaufman and Ed conspire to use Nancy as bait for the killer. Ed confronts the unnamed assassin via his nightly broadcast, calling him out as a ‘mama’s boy’ with a sick fetish and insisting his autonomy will not endure for much longer.  Listening to this broadcast, Robert Manners becomes agitated. Indeed, he is a mama’s boy, Mrs. Manners (Mae Marsh) doting on her son in a very creepy scene where Bob appears to be very close to committing a Norman Bates’ styled matricide.  Ed hires a bodyguard (Ed Hinton) to shadow Nan’ wherever she goes; security and peace of mind.

Alas, Ed ought to have hired another for himself as Mark sends Mildred to go slumming on his behalf. Mildred has always harbored a romantic yen for Ed. Now, she wastes no time getting him drunk with a planned seduction in the back of a taxi cab. To no avail, and very much to his own detriment, Ed quickly realizes he has been duped; news of their so-called ‘affair’ spreading like wildfire through the office gossip grapevine. Knowing the truth of it, Nan’ breaks off her engagement and refuses to even entertain Ed’s various attempts at a most sincere apology. Meanwhile, Dorothy has been lying to Walter about going to visit her mother. In fact, Dot has rented the apartment directly across from Nancy where she and Harry indulge in their hot and heavy trysts, far away from prying eyes. Regrettably, Dot uses the same drug store as the late Judith Felton. Robert Manners bides his time, planning to break into Nancy’s apartment and kill her as part of his revenge on Ed. Instead, his killer instincts are diverted to Dorothy, returning to the apartment across the hall. Robert barges in with the intent to commit another murder. Instead, Dot spiritedly defends herself and escapes to Nancy’s flat across the hall. From Nan’s upstairs window, she signals Ed and Lt. Kaufman. Manners is on the prowl. The boys make chase in a taxi cab, Ed hunting down Robert in the cavernous bowels of the New York City subway. After a few struggles and a display of fisticuffs, in which Manners manages his escape after narrowly pushing Ed in front of an oncoming subway, the killer is caught by Kaufman and another officer at street level.

A short while later, Griffith is fed the story by Ed who also informs him to send Mildred to Dorothy’s apartment to cover the scoop from the ‘woman’s angle’. Instead, she unearths the truth about Dot’s adulterous affair with Harry. Cynical about the outcome, Ed informs Griffith that despite their victory, Harry will be appointed Executive Director of Kyne’s media empire. Why? For Walter to save face and keep his wife’s adulterous affair out of the papers. Disgusted by this hypothesis, Ed informs Walter, in Nancy’s presence at their favorite watering hole, that although the cold light of jaundice-eyed journalism might stand for such hypocrisies, he certainly will not. Ed tenders his resignation, effective immediate. He is followed out of the bar by Nancy who has decided to forgive him. We rejoin Ed and Nancy in Florida…on their honeymoon. Ed is happy to be free of the newspaper biz. But Nan’ discovers an article in the local paper, explaining how Walter (presumably, having reconsidered his decision) has appointed Griffith as Executive Director, given Mildred a justly deserved promotion too, and, appointed Ed to the post of Managing Editor of the Sentinel – since vacated by Griffith.  As for Harry – he has been afforded a paid ‘leave of absence’ and sent on a ‘goodwill tour’ of Europe to promote Kyne publications abroad. As Ed and Nancy embrace, the telephone next to their bed begins to ring, presumably to recall Ed back to New York to begin his new job.

While the City Sleeps is a far more involving picture than anticipated; Casey Robinson’s script, a miracle of concision. In only 95 min. Robinson manages to pack in enough top-tier plot for at least two movies and with some inspiring dialogue and situations that never seem rushed or perfunctory. Ditto for Fritz Lang’s swift and assured direction that moves the story along at a brisk clip without leaving any dangling plot points to chance. The performances throughout, save John Barrymore Jr.’s as the lipstick killer, are uniformly solid and interesting. Some, arguably, rely on the iconography of the actor playing the part to carry the load; as in George Sanders’ Mark Loving. One always knows what to expect from Sanders – that superbly slick and ever-so-slight oily charm devoid of humanity: a total cad. He carries this cache of character traits like a calling card and we love him for it. Thomas Mitchell’s iconography is a little more difficult to peg; his chameleon’s skin affording the ability to craft a performance as unique as he is. This too works – particularly as Mitchell possesses uncanny intuition when designing his portrait from the ground up.  

Ida Lupino and Dana Andrews are a pair…or rather, ought to have been. Each of their characters seem to be cut from a similarly primitive cloth, saturated in rank cynicism and primal urges, satisfied in tandem by the baseness of being instinctual and reactionary creatures. It’s therefore something of a disconnect to find Andrew’s Ed faithfully pining for Sally Forrest’s Sweet Polly Purebred; flaxen-haired, dull and too temperate and loving for her man. It’s not a major casting flaw, however, and thus our interest in the outcome of their on again/off again romance is assured. In the final analysis, While the City Sleeps is engrossing entertainment; solidly crafted and expertly played. That Ernest Laszlo’s cinematography fails to go beyond the appearance of a vintage TV serial, creating virtually no noir-ish mood, except perhaps during the subway chase sequence, is regrettable. But the script and performances are good enough to excuse even this. While the City Sleeps is decidedly not Fritz Lang’s finest hour. But it does prove a fairly good way to spend 95 min.

Warner Archive’s Blu-ray is justly a cause for celebration. This SuperScope production from RKO looks fabulous in B&W. Transitions between scenes bear a slightly softer characteristic with marginally amplified grain. For the rest, everything is crisp, clean and razor-sharp, with a good solid smattering of indigenous grain to boot. It’s being advertised as sourced from an original fine grain negative and we really see no reason to dispute this. The results are ab/fab. Fine details abound, particularly in close-up. This Blu-ray has been remastered from original camera negatives and looks as good as one could possibly hope. The audio is 2.0 mono and adequate, with zero hiss or pop. Regrettably, no extras – save a badly faded theatrical trailer. Bottom line: while not superb, While the City Sleeps is fairly entertaining and gets my recommendation for a great way to pass the time.  

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

3.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

4.5

EXTRAS

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