Cry of the City
Encyclopedia
Cry of the City is a 1948 black-and-white
film noir
directed by Robert Siodmak
based on the novel by Henry Edward Helseth, The Chair for Martin Rome. Veteran film noir-writer Ben Hecht
worked on the film's script, but is not credited. The film was shot partly on location in New York City
.
), a hardened criminal, is recuperating in a hospital from a shootout that leaves a police officer dead.
At the hospital, he is briefly visited by his fiancée, Teena Ricante (Debra Paget
). A shady lawyer representing another crook, Niles, (Berry Kroeger
) claims that he participated in a jewel robbery with her in which a woman was killed. Rome is innocent of the jewel robbery, but the police suspect that he carried out he robbery in conjunction with Teena, and begin a search for her.
With the help of a trusty (Walter Baldwin
), he escapes from the prison ward, afraid that the lawyer will try to frame Teena and himself. He is pursued by an old adversary, police lieutenant Candella (Victor Mature
), who grew up in his neighborhood and knows his family.
Rome, feverish from his bullet wounds, receives help from his brother Tony, who worships him, and an old girlfriend Brenda (Shelley Winters
). Meanwhile, Candella and his partner (Fred Clark
), track him down through the streets of New York. He locates the female accomplice of the real jewel thief/murderer, a strongly built masseuse named Rose Givens (Hope Emerson
). He deceives her into being apprehended by the police. In the struggle she shoots at Rome, wounding Candella.
Candella, shot in the shoulder, flees the hospital in his obsessive pursuit of Rome, ultimately tracking him down and killing him. Just before that happens, Tony refuses his brother's request that he steal their parents' savings, in a final break with his brother's criminality.
The film describes the odd relationship between these two men, their seeming bond as the pursuit ends in death for Rome.
The staff at Variety
magazine liked the film and wrote, "The hard-hitting suspense of the chase formula is given topnotch presentation in Cry of the City. It's an exciting motion picture, credibly put together to wring out every bit of strong action and tension inherent in such a plot. Robert Siodmak's penchant for shaping melodramatic excitement that gets through to an audience is realistically carried out in this one."
The film has been highly praised by modern critics, and is viewed as an important example of the film noir genre. Time Out Film Guide praises the realistic look and feel of the city, "Rarely has the cruel, lived-in squalor of the city been presented in such telling detail, both in the vivid portrayal of ghetto life and in the astonishing parade of corruption uncovered in the night (a slug-like shyster; a monstrous, sadistic masseuse; a sleazy refugee abortionist, etc)."
Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton writing in A Panorama of American Film Noir 1941-1953 comments that director Siodmak had better noir efforts but the film does have one lasting image, "Siodmak will rediscover neither the brilliance of The Killers
nor the 'finish' of Criss Cross
in the over-rushed, too uneven, Cry of the City: for all that, one will remember the figure of a forever famished masseuse, a real 'phallic woman' who, with a flick of the wrists, has a 'tough guy' at her mercy."
In Film Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen, Foster Hirsch
said that Siodmak's characters "are nurtured by their obsessions." The Candela character, "as Colin McArthur notes in Underworld USA, 'hunts his quarry with an almost metaphysical hatred.'"
Hirsch describes Rome's innocence in the jewel robbery, despite his criminal background, as an "ironic variation on the wrong man theme" of some film noir movies. "Branded for a crime he did not commit, the Conte character becomes a true criminal, enmeshed in a web from which there is no escape."
's Street Scene, which had debuted in a 1931 movie of the same name
and became iconic in big-city gangster pictures produced during that era.
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed by Robert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak was a German born American film director. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for the series of Hollywood film noirs he made in the 1940s.-Early life:...
based on the novel by Henry Edward Helseth, The Chair for Martin Rome. Veteran film noir-writer Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist. Called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood", he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films and as a prolific storyteller, authored 35 books and created some of...
worked on the film's script, but is not credited. The film was shot partly on location in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Plot
Martin Rome (Richard ConteRichard Conte
Richard Conte was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films from the 1940s through 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow and The Godfather.-Life and career:...
), a hardened criminal, is recuperating in a hospital from a shootout that leaves a police officer dead.
At the hospital, he is briefly visited by his fiancée, Teena Ricante (Debra Paget
Debra Paget
Debra Paget is an American actress and entertainer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films including Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments and Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.-Early life and career:Paget was born in Denver, Colorado...
). A shady lawyer representing another crook, Niles, (Berry Kroeger
Berry Kroeger
Berry Kroeger was an American film, television, and stage actor.Born in San Antonio, Texas, Kroeger got his acting start on radio as an announcer and actor, playing for a time The Falcon and The Shadow...
) claims that he participated in a jewel robbery with her in which a woman was killed. Rome is innocent of the jewel robbery, but the police suspect that he carried out he robbery in conjunction with Teena, and begin a search for her.
With the help of a trusty (Walter Baldwin
Walter Baldwin
Walter Baldwin was a prolific character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances.Baldwin, who was born Walter S...
), he escapes from the prison ward, afraid that the lawyer will try to frame Teena and himself. He is pursued by an old adversary, police lieutenant Candella (Victor Mature
Victor Mature
Victor John Mature was an American stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Mature was born in Louisville, Kentucky to an Italian-speaking father from the town Pinzolo, in the Italian part of the former County of Tyrol , Marcello Gelindo Maturi, later Marcellus George Mature, a cutler,...
), who grew up in his neighborhood and knows his family.
Rome, feverish from his bullet wounds, receives help from his brother Tony, who worships him, and an old girlfriend Brenda (Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
). Meanwhile, Candella and his partner (Fred Clark
Fred Clark
Frederick Leonard Clark was an American film character actor.-Career:Born in Lincoln, California, Clark made his film debut in 1947 in The Unsuspected. His 20-year film career included almost 70 films, and numerous television appearances...
), track him down through the streets of New York. He locates the female accomplice of the real jewel thief/murderer, a strongly built masseuse named Rose Givens (Hope Emerson
Hope Emerson
-Early life:Emerson was born in Hawarden, Iowa. Following her graduation from West High School in Des Moines in 1916, she moved to New York City where she performed in vaudeville.-Career:...
). He deceives her into being apprehended by the police. In the struggle she shoots at Rome, wounding Candella.
Candella, shot in the shoulder, flees the hospital in his obsessive pursuit of Rome, ultimately tracking him down and killing him. Just before that happens, Tony refuses his brother's request that he steal their parents' savings, in a final break with his brother's criminality.
The film describes the odd relationship between these two men, their seeming bond as the pursuit ends in death for Rome.
Cast
- Victor MatureVictor MatureVictor John Mature was an American stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Mature was born in Louisville, Kentucky to an Italian-speaking father from the town Pinzolo, in the Italian part of the former County of Tyrol , Marcello Gelindo Maturi, later Marcellus George Mature, a cutler,...
as Lt. Candella - Richard ConteRichard ConteRichard Conte was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films from the 1940s through 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow and The Godfather.-Life and career:...
as Martin Rome - Fred ClarkFred ClarkFrederick Leonard Clark was an American film character actor.-Career:Born in Lincoln, California, Clark made his film debut in 1947 in The Unsuspected. His 20-year film career included almost 70 films, and numerous television appearances...
as Lt Collins - Shelley WintersShelley WintersShelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
as Brenda Martingale - Betty GardeBetty GardeKatharine Elizabeth "Betty" Garde was an American stage, radio, film, and television actress. She played Aunt Eller in the original Broadway production of Oklahoma!, but her long acting career also included film, radio, and television.The 5'10" Garde had a major role in the 1950 movie Caged as a...
as Miss Pruett - Berry KroegerBerry KroegerBerry Kroeger was an American film, television, and stage actor.Born in San Antonio, Texas, Kroeger got his acting start on radio as an announcer and actor, playing for a time The Falcon and The Shadow...
as W. A. Niles - Tommy Cook as Tony Rome
- Debra PagetDebra PagetDebra Paget is an American actress and entertainer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films including Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments and Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.-Early life and career:Paget was born in Denver, Colorado...
as Teena Ricante - Hope EmersonHope Emerson-Early life:Emerson was born in Hawarden, Iowa. Following her graduation from West High School in Des Moines in 1916, she moved to New York City where she performed in vaudeville.-Career:...
as Rose Givens - Roland WintersRoland WintersRoland Winters was an American actor who portrayed Charlie Chan in six films.-Biography:Born Roland Winternitz in Boston, Massachusetts on 22 December 1904, Winters was the son of Felix Winternitz, a violinist and composer who was teaching at New England Conservatory of Music...
as Ledbetter - Walter BaldwinWalter BaldwinWalter Baldwin was a prolific character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances.Baldwin, who was born Walter S...
as Orvy - June StoreyJune StoreyJune Storey June Storey June Storey (born Mary June Storey, (April 20, 1918 – December 18, 1991) was a Canadian-born American film actress during the mid-late 1930s and into the 1940s, who most often appeared in B-movies as the heroine of westerns....
as Miss Boone - Tito Vuolo as Papa Rome
- Mimi Aguglia as Mama Rome
- Konstantin Shayne as Dr Veroff
- Howard FreemanHoward FreemanHoward Freeman was an American stage actor of the early 20th century, and film and television actor of the 1940s through the 1960s....
as Sullivan - Joan Miller as Vera
- Dolores Castle as Rosa
- Kathleen HowardKathleen HowardKathleen Howard was a Canadian-born opera singer , magazine editor and US film character actress from the mid-1930s through the 1940s. She spent her childhood in Buffalo, NY and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery there.She created the role of Zita in Giacomo Puccini's Gianni Schicchi at the...
as Mrs. Pruett's Mother
Critical reaction
At the time the film was released, the New York Times praised Cry of the City as "taut and grimly realistic." The review praised the performances as "thoroughly effective," and said that "Victor Mature, an actor once suspected of limited talents, turns in a thoroughly satisfying job as the sincere and kindly cop, who not only knows his business but the kind of people he is tracking down."The staff at Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine liked the film and wrote, "The hard-hitting suspense of the chase formula is given topnotch presentation in Cry of the City. It's an exciting motion picture, credibly put together to wring out every bit of strong action and tension inherent in such a plot. Robert Siodmak's penchant for shaping melodramatic excitement that gets through to an audience is realistically carried out in this one."
The film has been highly praised by modern critics, and is viewed as an important example of the film noir genre. Time Out Film Guide praises the realistic look and feel of the city, "Rarely has the cruel, lived-in squalor of the city been presented in such telling detail, both in the vivid portrayal of ghetto life and in the astonishing parade of corruption uncovered in the night (a slug-like shyster; a monstrous, sadistic masseuse; a sleazy refugee abortionist, etc)."
Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton writing in A Panorama of American Film Noir 1941-1953 comments that director Siodmak had better noir efforts but the film does have one lasting image, "Siodmak will rediscover neither the brilliance of The Killers
The Killers (1946 film)
The Killers is a 1946 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak. It is based in part on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film features Burt Lancaster in his screen debut, as well as Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, and Sam Levene...
nor the 'finish' of Criss Cross
Criss Cross (1949 film)
Criss Cross is a 1949 film noir, directed by Robert Siodmak from a novel of the same name by Don Tracy. This black-and-white film was shot partly on location in the Bunker Hill section of Los Angeles. The film was written by Daniel Fuchs. Franz Planer's cinematography creates a black-and-white...
in the over-rushed, too uneven, Cry of the City: for all that, one will remember the figure of a forever famished masseuse, a real 'phallic woman' who, with a flick of the wrists, has a 'tough guy' at her mercy."
In Film Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen, Foster Hirsch
Foster Hirsch
Foster Hirsch is the author of sixteen books on subjects related to theatre and movies. A native of California, Hirsch received his B.A. from Stanford University, and holds M.F.A, M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University...
said that Siodmak's characters "are nurtured by their obsessions." The Candela character, "as Colin McArthur notes in Underworld USA, 'hunts his quarry with an almost metaphysical hatred.'"
Hirsch describes Rome's innocence in the jewel robbery, despite his criminal background, as an "ironic variation on the wrong man theme" of some film noir movies. "Branded for a crime he did not commit, the Conte character becomes a true criminal, enmeshed in a web from which there is no escape."
Soundtrack
The musical score of the film is Alfred NewmanAlfred Newman
Alfred Newman was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of music for films.In a career which spanned over forty years, Newman composed music for over two hundred films. He was one of the most respected film score composers of his time, and is today regarded as one of the greatest...
's Street Scene, which had debuted in a 1931 movie of the same name
Street Scene (1931 film)
Street Scene is a 1931 black-and-white drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn and directed by King Vidor. With a screenplay by Elmer Rice adapted from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Street Scene takes place on a New York City street from one evening until the following afternoon...
and became iconic in big-city gangster pictures produced during that era.