The Captive City
Encyclopedia
The Captive City is a 1952 film, considered film noir
, directed by Robert Wise
.
John Forsythe
plays a crusading small city newspaper editor in a semidocumentary
depiction of corruption and vice in paranoid post-World War II
America. This is one of several 1950s films to have storylines influenced by the Kefauver Committee's investigation
of organized crime. Senator Estes Kefauver
appears as himself.
The film is based on experiences of Time magazine reporter Alvin Josephy, Jr., who co-wrote the script.
Mob boss Murray Sirak has the entire police force of Austin's small town under his thumb. Sirak takes his orders from an unseen "untouchable" Mister Big.
Austin is driven to investigate corruption after Clyde Nelson, a local private detective, working on an apparently harmless divorce case, discovers the existence of a big-time gambling syndicate operating with the consent of the city fathers, the local police, and the respectable elements of the community. Nelson is killed in a hit-and-run which appears to be an accident. Austin thinks otherwise because he is harassed by police when he looks into the PI's death.
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 Wise
Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise was an American sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director...
.
John Forsythe
John Forsythe
John Forsythe was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ; as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the crime drama Charlie's...
plays a crusading small city newspaper editor in a semidocumentary
Semidocumentary
Semidocumentary is a form of book, film, or television program presenting a fictional story that incorporates many factual details or actual events, or which is presented in a manner similar to a documentary...
depiction of corruption and vice in paranoid post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
America. This is one of several 1950s films to have storylines influenced by the Kefauver Committee's investigation
Kefauver hearings
The United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce was a special committee of the United States Senate which existed from 1950 to 1951 and which investigated organized crime which crossed state borders in the United States...
of organized crime. Senator Estes Kefauver
Estes Kefauver
Carey Estes Kefauver July 26, 1903 – August 10, 1963) was an American politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S...
appears as himself.
The film is based on experiences of Time magazine reporter Alvin Josephy, Jr., who co-wrote the script.
Plot
As newspaper editor Jim Austin prepares his testimony before the Committee, the story flashes back to the events which led to his testifying.Mob boss Murray Sirak has the entire police force of Austin's small town under his thumb. Sirak takes his orders from an unseen "untouchable" Mister Big.
Austin is driven to investigate corruption after Clyde Nelson, a local private detective, working on an apparently harmless divorce case, discovers the existence of a big-time gambling syndicate operating with the consent of the city fathers, the local police, and the respectable elements of the community. Nelson is killed in a hit-and-run which appears to be an accident. Austin thinks otherwise because he is harassed by police when he looks into the PI's death.