While The City Sleeps [Remaster]

Stars Galore Crime Story
Many stars fill this mystery movie. The inside of a newspaper complex with a new boss (Vincent Price) urging his staff to catch a particular criminal in a sort of contest. The home invasion technique of the killer is akin to one used in an Ellery Queen episode in the Jim Hutton series from the mid-’70’s. In short, so obvious most do not even consider it. The contest pits employee against employee, even if they “join forces.” Yes, I recommend this for mystery lovers.

“Catch Me Before I Kill Again”!
“While The City Sleeps” is a late period film noir directed by Fritz Lang with a large roster of well known actors that displays how Lang’s style had become very refined by the time of this film. Unlike many film noirs previously done, this one has quite the pedigree of actors that include Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff, Vincent Price, Thomas Mitchell, Ida Lupino, James Craig, Sally Forest, and John Barrymore, Jr. Barrymore, is the son of the great actor John, as well as the father of Drew Barrymore. He plays the “lipstick killer” who is responsible for a series of brutal murders of women within New York City. The film is a multifaceted drama, in which two equally interesting threads-the lipstick killings and the competition for the New York Sentinel’s editorship-are very well woven together. This is because Walter Kyne, Jr., played by Vincent Price, announces a competition among his staff which rewards the one who unmasks the will be named the paper’s new editor-in chief. The well-seasoned cast do an excellent job, especially Dana Andrews, who plays prize-winning reporter turned television commentator Edward Mobley, and Thomas Mitchell, who plays fellow reporter and competitor, John Day Griffith. Both Ida Lupino and George Sanders are also excellent. The film’s tone is very cynical, as would be expected in the world of film noir. There is an unusual reversal, in which the killer, who is portrayed as a “momma’s boy”, can actually be seen as more sympathetic than the newspaper’s staff, who will do anything to get ahead and capture the prize offered. Actually, the fact that three men in the film would willingly use their girlfriends as “bait” to capture the killer, certainly does not speak well of their own fundamental humanity. Lang displays how an effective film noir can be created without a great deal of stylistic traits, specifically mood lighting or odd camera angles which are usually connected with film noir. Director Lang remains subtly expressionistic in his use of décor. I have always found the film to be a bit too “talky”, but within the milieu of the newspaper’s setting, the flow is quote natural. Yes, it is a stylistically understated noir, but the wheeling, dealing, and back-stabbing of the competing media players give it an effectively cynical tone, which fits right in with the noir features. The re-mastered dvd print is excellent, and the film is presented in widescreen, 16×9, 2:1 ratio. The running time is 99 minutes. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! SMRZ!!

Great quality picture with a stacked cast!
I am a Vincent Price buff, and sometimes his movies…are not very good. While the City Sleeps, however, does not disappoint—and the rest of its cast is spectacular! The story is ace, and I loved the intrigue all throughout. It almost could have been a giallo had some things been tweaked.I feel that the current price range this has been in (roughly $15-$17) is a steal, and buying it will hopefully let WB know that there’s a good demand for their older films to be put out on Blu-Ray.

»Die Bestie« war der Film betitelt, als er 1956 in die BRD-Kinos kam – was natürlich grob irreführend war. Zwar geht es auch um einen Serienmörder, der sexuell motiviert tötet, doch das ist eher eine Nebenhandlung, die lediglich den Anlass für die Haupthandlung liefert. Die Geschehnisse, die sich zutragen, ›während die Stadt schläft‹, finden im Pressegewerbe statt. Der Triebtäter ist für seine Taten nur bedingt verantwortlich und hat im Film auch nicht wirklich etwas Sardonisches an sich. Der moralische Verfall der Akteure im lokalen Medienkonzern dagegen beruht auf individuellen Entscheidungen für die jeweils falschen Wege. Ihre moralische Korruption ist selbstgemacht. Darauf liegt der Fokus des Films.Man mag bemängeln, dass der Film ein wenig unentschieden darin ist, wovon er eigentlich erzählen möchte. Die Story des ›Lipstick Killer‹ bleibt eher skizzenhaft, auch wenn John Barrymore Jr. eine eindrucksvolle Darstellung abliefert. In die wenigen ausführlicheren Szenen mit dem Killer muss alles Mögliche hineingestopft werden. In einer Szene, die den Killer zuhause mit seiner Mutter zeigt, wird ein schneller Abfolge ein ganzer Reigen von sozio-psychologischen Erklärungen dafür ausgespielt, weshalb der junge Mann auf die schiefe Bahn geriet. Dabei ist man sich auch nicht zu blöde, den verderblichen Einfluss von Comic-Heften namhaft zu machen (1954 war das einflussreiche Buch »Seduction of the Innocent« des Psychiaters Fredric Wertham erschienen, das in den USA eine Anti-Comic-Book-Hysterie auslöste, an die sich auch in der BRD Schmutz-und-Schund-Kampagnen sowie Bücherverbrennungen anschlossen).Doch die Parallelität der Handlungsstränge lässt auch einen beunruhigenden Subtext des Filme erkennen. Gerade in der ersten Hälfte sehen wir auf der einen Seite den Killer, der aus pathologischen sexuellen Motiven heraus Frauen ermordet (der Film bemüht dafür vulgär-psychoanalytische Erklärungen), während andererseits Frauen auch im Milieu des Medienbetriebs fortgesetzten sexuellen Anzüglichkeiten und Belästigungen ausgeliefert sind. Auch die noch am ehesten positive männliche Figur, der Journalist und Pulitzer-Preisträger Mobley (Dana Andrews), ist in dieser Hinsicht alles andere als ein Unschuldslamm. Dass er schließlich seine Verlobte bei der Jagd nach dem Killer als Köder instrumentalisiert, ist daher wenig überraschend.Langs Film zeichnet eine düstere Welt moralischer Korruption. Ebenso wie in dem 25 Jahre zuvor in Deutschland entstandenen »M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder« wirkt der triebgesteuerte Mörder eher bemitleidenswert, weil er für seine Taten kaum verantwortlich ist.Lang konnte für seinen letzten Hollywood-Film auf ein hervorragendes Ensemble zurückgreifen. Neben Dana Andrews in der Hauptrolle bekommt man George Sanders, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, Ida Lupino und andere zu sehen. Der Film ist mit der Lang-typischen Präzision inszeniert, was das offensichtlich geringe Budget, das für diesen B-Film zur Verfügung stand, mehr als wettmacht.Die vorliegende Warner-Archives-Blu-ray präsentiert den Film in exzellenter Bild- und Tonqualität. Optionale englische Untertitel sind verfügbar, dazu gibt es den handelsüblichen Trailer. Weitere Extras sind Fehlanzeige.

A well made, entertaining crime drama/film noir from the great Fritz Lang.Although I’m not a huge fan of Dana Andrews, who is the star here, there is no denying he starred in many classic films.I much prefer the excellent supporting cast of George Sanders,Thomas Mitchell, Howard Duff, Vincent Price, Ida Lupino, and B-movie actress Rhonda Fleming.The screenplay, by Casey Robinson, is outstanding, with lots of great dialogue, even a good dose of humour.The cinematography is by the highly respected Ernest Laszlo. The picture quality, remastered, is very good.With that being said, though, I didn’t love the DVD itself. Why? Because it had no features whatsoever, and worse, no subtitles.Way too much money for such a bare bones package!

SCARLET STREET aside, WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS may well be Fritz Lang’s best American film. Inheriting a media empire after his father dies, his son (Vincent Price) announces his intention to turn over the directorial reins to whoever breaks the story of the notorious “Lipstick Killer”, a homicidal, woman hating maniac (John Drew Barrymore Jr., Drew’s daddy) still at large. The film’s characters, save one, are a nest of vipers. Each looking out for his or her own interests, ethics be damned. George Sanders sends his mistress (Ida Lupino) to pump information from a reporter (Dana Andrews) even if it means bedding him, James Craig engaged in an affair with Price’s duplicitous wife (Rhonda Fleming) uses her to advance his chances while Dana Andrews uses his unwilling fiancee (Sally Forrest) as a decoy for the killer. Only Forrest and possibly Thomas Mitchell as the chief editor seem to have any recognizable ethics. Lang keeps the potential for a bombastic thriller by shooting it in a semi-documentary style using Oscar winner Ernest Laszlo’s noir-ish B&W cinematography to give it a more subdued look. With Howard Duff, Mae Marsh and Vladimir Sokoloff.The British import DVD from Indigo is a nice full frame transfer. The film was shot full frame (Lang disliked the wide screen format) and blown up for SuperScope wide screen in theatres.