City That Never Sleeps [Blu-ray]

Director: John H. Auer John H. Auer

Overview

John Auer directed and Steve Fisher wrote this police procedural film in the vein of the popular Detective Story of two years earlier. The film juggles around four characters through a particularly bad night in a Chicago precinct -- Johnny Kelly (Gig Young), a stressed out cop ready to crack; Sally "Angel Face" Connors (Mala Powers), a cheap strumpet lounge singer; Hayes Stewart (William Talman), a former magician and present thug; Penrod Biddel (Edward Arnold), a smooth and corrupt district attorney; and Sgt. Joe (Chill Wills), an Everyman character, known as "The Voice of Chicago." The skimpy plot concerns Kelly, who is having an affair with Angel Face and is ready to quit his job and leave his wife Kathy (Paula Raymond) at the drop of a hat. In order to get quick money to escape Chicago and start life anew with Angel Face, Kelly accepts an assignment and a payment from Biddel to escort low-life Stewart across the state line.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/23/2013
UPC:	0887090060806
Original Release:	1953
Rating:	NR
Source:	Olive
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00
Sales rank:	20,251

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Gig Young	Johnny Kelly
Mala Powers	Sally 'Angel Face' Connors
William Talman	Hayes Stewart
Edward Arnold	Penrod Biddel
Marie Windsor	Lydia Biddel
Paula Raymond	Kathy Kelly
Otto Hulett	Sgt. John Kelly Sr.
Wally Cassell	Gregg Warren
Ron Hagerthy	Stubby
James Andelin	Lt. Parker
Tom Poston	Detective
Bunny Kacher	Agnes
Philip L. Boddy	Maitre d'Hotel
Thomas Jones	Fancy Dan
Leonard Diebold	Cab Driver
Emmett Vogan	Doctor
Tom Irish	Bellboy
Walter Woolf King	Hotel Manager
Helen Gibson	Woman
Gil Herman	Patrolman
Clark Howat	Patrolman
Chill Wills	Sgt. Joe, the Voice of Chicago
R. Butts	Composer

Technical Credits

Steve Fisher

John H. Auer	Producer,Director
Theodore Lydecker	Special Effects,Special Effects
Herbert J. Yates	Executive Producer
Steve Fisher	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

City That Never Sleeps is an uneven crime drama, one that contains some enough good elements that it's frustrating the film as a whole is not better. The chief culprit is, as so often, the screenplay, which starts out promisingly. Gig Young's character seems to be one that is fairly complex, a cop who is dissatisfied with his lot in life and could fall prey to temptation. Unfortunately, the character is not developed sufficiently beyond that, which is also the case with the Wally Cassell "mechanical man" character; he, too, shows promise that goes unfulfilled, although the sheer strangeness of his job does fascinate. The dialogue is also problematic, coming across too often as either artificial or bland, and the plot eventually becomes overly busy without achieving an appropriate depth. John H. Auer's direction is also uneven, but when he hits, he really hits hard; the scene involving the tear on Cassell's face is magical, and the climactic chase sequence is spectacular. Auer is enormously helped by John L. Russell's electric cinematography, an orgy of high contrasts and deep focuses that is stunning. Young is only so-so in the leading role, and Chill Wills is frequently annoying, but Cassell and William Talman are stand-outs. All in all, City That Never Sleeps is a hit-or-miss affair, but worth catching for its high points.