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The Naked City

The Naked City

Crime · Mystery · Thriller · 1948

After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.

Movie details

The Naked City

“The soul of a city. Her glory stripped! Her passion bared!”

1948 Crime · Mystery · Thriller 1h 36m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Naked City?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Murder Most Foul

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A Kiss Before Dying

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A college student tries to get rich quick by wooing two wealthy sisters.

Nightfall

Nightfall

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An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.

Killer's Kiss

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The Pelican Brief

The Pelican Brief

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A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.

The Rainmaker

The Rainmaker

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Brute Force

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The Drowning Pool

The Drowning Pool

Thriller · 1975

Harper is brought to Louisiana to investigate an attempted blackmail scheme. He soon finds out that it involves an old flame of his and her daughter. He eventually finds himself caught in a power struggle between the matriarch of the family and a greedy oil baron, who wants their property. Poor Harper! Things are not as straight-forward as they initially appeared.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jules Dassin

Written by

Malvin Wald · Albert Maltz

Barry Fitzgerald

Barry Fitzgerald

Lt. Dan Muldoon

Howard Duff

Howard Duff

Frank Niles

Dorothy Hart

Dorothy Hart

Ruth Morrison

Don Taylor

Don Taylor

Jimmy Halloran

Frank Conroy

Frank Conroy

Captain Donahue

Ted de Corsia

Ted de Corsia

Willy Garzah

House Jameson

House Jameson

Dr. Lawrence Stoneman

Court is in session

Put The Naked City on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.