Freaktana A Major Disappointment

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

GManfred Robert Siodmak never failed when it came to Film Noir ("Criss Cross", "Phantom Lady", etc) and doesn't disappoint here with "Cry Of The City", which is as tough and as gritty a noir as you will find. Tense and taut from beginning to finish, this picture has no dead spots and no 'down' time as Siodmak keeps the story moving at breakneck speed. The plot centers on two Hollywood second-stringers in Victor Mature and Richard Conte, who give excellent performances and put the story over in a convincing manner.Mature is the cop, Conte the hoodlum, who has murdered a cop and escapes from a hospital. Mature and his partner, Fred Clark, must find him before he leaves the country. Also in the cast are Berry Kroeger as a slimy lawyer, Shelley Winters as (what else?) a bimbo/ floozy and Hope Emerson as a 'contact' to help Conte in his getaway. Emerson was terrific, and her sinister presence makes you think she should have made more movies.They don't make 'em like this anymore, movies or directors. I thought Victor Mature was perfect as a straight cop with a sensitive side, better even than he was in "I Wake Up Screaming" or "Kiss Of Death". I would put this one right behind "Out Of The Past", which is my favorite of the noir genre.

Spikeopath Cry of the City is directed by Robert Siodmak and adapted to screenplay by Richard Murphy and Ben Hecht from the novel The Chair for Martin Rome written by Henry Edward Helseth. It stars Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred Clark, Shelley Winters, Betty Garde, Hope Emerson and Debra Paget. Music is by Alfred Newman and cinematography by Lloyd Ahern.They were once boyhood friends in New York's Little Italy, but now, on either side of the law, Lt. Candella (Mature) and cop killer Martin Rome (Conte), are on a collision course from which neither may survive?Excellent and under seen film noir from 20th Century Fox who initially conceived it as a follow up to cash in on the success of Kiss of Death the previous year. Cry of the City may be simple in premise, that of a good versus evil chase like formula, with an extra edge added as Candella and Rome battle for the soul of Rome's younger brother, but what unfolds is a tough and uncompromising story painted vividly with style and atmospheric grace on a noir canvas by Siodmak.Siodmak made no secret of the fact he was "uncomfortable" about coming out of the confines of studio noir productions into airy location filming, but the great man need not have worried, for here we get a perfect example of what he could achieve outdoors. New York thrums to the hustle and bustle of day time life, of transport duties and everyday mundane functions, only to then become at night a city crying to the tune of ghetto dislocation, where rain sodden streets, long shadows and emergency service sirens struggle to hide the corruptible and forlorn people shuffling about the place.Packed with classic noir characters, such as a shyster lawyer, amoral doctor and a devilishly brutish masseuse with a kink (the latter played by Hope Emerson with a near film stealing performance), it's the doppleganger effect that most shines through in this part of noirville. Candella and Rome are consistently mirror images of each other, both in the futile lives they currently lead, or in how afflictions lead them to their night of reckoning. It's fascinating that Candella is still a firm favourite of the Rome family elders, like he is the good son that Martin never was, while the attire of hunter and prey is most interesting, why is it that our good cop Candella is in dark clobber and our cop killing criminal is in lighter garb?The pretty girls Paget and Winters are just peripheral characters, so there's no femme fatale angle to speak of here. This is more a noir bromance gone wrong story, with shades of religious motifs and a toying of audience sympathies evident for a good portion of the picture. From a beginning that ironically begins with the last rites, to a finale that blends death with a dangled hope of surrogacy, Cry of the City earns the classic noir badge that it was not granted back in the 40s. 8.5/10

romanorum1 Reflecting lights off the wet streets … neon signs flashing inside buildings … the noises of a busy city … odd angles … low angles … exotic women … black and white … of course we are into a noir movie.At the beginning we see Martin Rome (Richard Conte), badly wounded in a hospital bed, receiving the Last Rites of the Church. In fact, he will be in pain – mental as well as physical – for the entire film. Although he comes from a good family, Rome is a criminal who in a shootout has killed a cop, albeit in self-defense. At times Rome will evoke sympathy, for he has some positive attributes; he certainly is charismatic. Sordid lawyer extraordinaire, Neils (Berry Kroeger), who has not a decent bone in his entire body, wants Rome to take the rap for the heist of precious jewels stolen from a Mrs. DeGrazia. Neils figures that Rome is facing a possible death penalty for the death of the policeman anyway. At bedside he is unsuccessful in wheezing out a false confession, even though he says he will frame Rome's teen-aged girlfriend, Teena Riconti (Debra Paget). Later on we will discover Neils has stashed the jewels in his office.Lt. Candella (Victor Mature), a good and decent policeman, has Collins (Fred Clark) for a partner. Candella is not one of those wise-crackers or playboy cops; his essence is almost pokerfaced as compared to Conte's charm. Candella is a friend of the Rome family. It bothers him to know that Martin Rome has taken a different path than the righteous one and has caused his mother and father so much pain. But his real concern is on the direction that Tony Rome (Tommy Cook) will take. Tony is Martin's teen-aged impressionable brother, and Martin's negative influences are strong. His younger brother looks up to him. Martin Rome's interest is on the stolen DeGrazia jewels, and after he escapes from custody – with the significant help from inmate Orvy (Walter Baldwin) – heads for Nile's office dressed in a trench coat and fedora. There, in a confrontation, kills Niles in self-defense and limps away with the jewels. Constantly tracked by Candella and Collins, Rome's wounds are operated on in a car at night by an unlicensed European doctor. Rome soon heads for the business of the masseuse Rose Given (Hope Emerson), who is also implicated in the stolen jewels. Given agrees to trade cash and a ticket out of the country for the jewels, which Rome has hidden in one of the public lockers in a subway station. When Rome leaves to get the jewels, he calls and tips off Candella. When the police arrive at the station they arrest Given, but Rome escapes while Candella is wounded. Soon Rome meets with Teena in a church and tries to convince her to go to South America with him. Rome also orders the now-hesitant Tony to steal some money. But Candella also arrives and sees Teena finally reject Rome, while Tony also switches loyalties. As Rome tries to leave on his own, he is stopped by Candella."Cry of the City" is filmed on location in New York. The characters are more than one-dimensional. It is refreshing that both leads are played by real Italian-Americans (Mature was Italian-Swiss; his family name was Maturi (which means about the same thing as Mature). Mature had some interesting historical he-man roles: Samson, Hannibal, Doc Holliday, and Chief Crazy Horse (!). Richard Conte, as usual, was nothing less than terrific (and underrated). He had already starred in "The Purple Heart" (1944) and Call Northside 777 (1948). Hope Emerson, in her debut, plays an appropriately large (over 200 pounds and six foot two, almost as tall as Victor Mature) and murderous masseuse. When she places her hands around five foot eight Conte's throat she is unsettling, to say the least. Two years later she would be a sadistic prison guard in "Caged." Walter Baldwin plays a woebegone Orvy. Shelley Winters has an appearance as Brenda, who helps Martin Rome. Lovely Debra Paget, in her first role, certainly has the look of a Teena Riconti. It is hard to believe that she had this role, although brief, at only age fifteen. She often played princesses, ancient ladies, and Indian maidens. Tommy Cook also "passes" in this film. See this movie.

MartinHafer This is a rather simple film with a rather simple plot, though it shows that even given a rather noncomplex story, you can still have an exceptional film--thanks mostly to the direct and no-nonsense style of the movie. In many ways, this film is reminiscent of Noir films like DRAGNET, THE NAKED CITY and T-MEN--movies that focus more on the normal day-to-day police work involved in catching the bad guys. The unglamorous style actually was a major plus here--no cops working people over in the back room, no bullet-proof good guys and these cops were basically honest yet human.The film begins with Richard Conte in the hospital after having killed a policeman. Victor Mature and Fred Clark (in a real departure from his other roles) are lieutenants assigned to the case. However, despite having the injured Conte in custody, this slick crook escapes and the rest of the film involves his recapture. During the course of his time at large, Conte uses practically everyone around him and shows that despite his assertion that he's really a nice guy, he's really just a thug.There are plenty of twists and turns in the film and despite Victor Mature's saying off-screen on many occasions that he was a lousy actor, he was a major asset to the film. Other performances were also uniformly excellent. About the only problem, and it was very minor, was the ending. It was exciting but also seemed a tad tough to believe with all that "machismo". Still, it's a heck of a good film and one you should see if you love police dramas and Noir films.By the way, I do agree with spompermayer who also reviewed the film and particularly liked Ms. Emerson's performance--she was indeed an unforgettable character and greatly enhanced the film! What a dame!!