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Dana Andrews, Ida Lupino, Sally Forrest, Rhonda Fleming, Thomas Mitchell ... see more see more... , George Sanders , Vincent Price , Howard Duff , James Craig , John Drew Barrymore , Robert Warwick , Ralph Peters , Larry J. Blake , Ed Hinton , Mae Marsh , Sandra White , Celia Lovsky , Pitt Herbert , Vladimir Sokoloff , Carleton Young , David Andrews

When media mogul Amos Kyne (Robert Warwick) dies, his business, which includes a major newspaper, a television station, and a wire news service, is turned over to his sole heir, his foppish, ne'er do ... read more read more...well son (Vincent Price). The younger Kyne has no knowledge of how to run the company his father built, preferring to spend his time spending the money that it generates, and he decides to let the heads of the three divisions -- newspaper editor John Day Griffith (Thomas Mitchell), wire service chief Mark Loving (George Sanders), and photo chief Harry Kritzer (James Craig) -- fight it out among themselves, winner-take-all. Each one has a key alley: Griffith, in Edward Mobley (Dana Andrews), a top reporter who is lately appearing on television as well; Loving, in resourceful but sluttish columnist Mildred Donner (Ida Lupino), who has her own way of digging up secrets; and Kritzer, who doesn't think he needs to dig up secrets because he's sitting on the biggest one of all, his "friendship" with Kyne's ex-model wife, Dorothy (Rhonda Fleming). Mobley becomes a focal point because the story-of-the-moment concerns the "Lipstick Killer," a serial murderer, burglar, and sex fiend who has been terrorizing the city -- break that case first and the job is won, and Mobley's specialty is crime reporting. The Lipstick Killer, a disturbed teenager named Robert Manners (John Drew Barrymore), continues to elude the police, and Loving's stumbling attempts to get information out first don't aid in the manhunt. Meanwhile, Mobley, using his own deductive powers and some basic psychology, manages to get under the killer's skin from afar on television and in print; however, unbeknownst to the reporter, the murderer is feeling more pressure to commit his crimes, and taking a very personal interest in targeting Mobley and his fiancée, Nancy Liggett (Sally Forrest). The two interwoven stories all get pulled together in a chase through the streets and into the city's subway tunnels, with Mobley, Nancy, Police Lieutenant Kaufman (Howard Duff), and the killer all crossing paths. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Flixster Users

68% liked it

729 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

9 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Fritz Lang

Release Date: January 1, 1955

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Flixster Reviews (59)

  • mjgildea
    February 18, 2010
    mjgildea
    While the City Sleeps is a decent Fritz Lang movie that for the most part manages to blend a murder mystery with a movie about the newspaper business. Vincent Price does well enough as the vacuous and generally clueless inheritor of a newspaper that chums the waters with a promot... read moreion between the 3 main horses in the running. The romantic storyline between Dana Andrews and Sally Forrest got a little annoying and overall, the cast was pretty good even if George Sanders and Ida Lupino were grossly underused. Regardless, Lang pulled it together at the end even if it did fall out of orbit for most of the 3rd act.
  • gator681
    April 24, 2010
    gator681
    In "While the City Sleeps," Edward Mobley(Dana Andrews) is left with the tough job of having to announce the death of Amos Kyne(Robert Warwick), the owner of Kyne Media and his boss, on his nightly newscast. That leaves the company in the less than capable hands of Amos' playboy... read more son Walter(Vincent Price) who does not inspire his new employees. At least, he realizes his shortcomings by announcing the new position of Executive Director which he makes a contest between Mark Loving(George Sanders), John Day Griffith(Thomas Mitchell) and Harry Kritzer(James Craig). So, the spoils go to whoever reveals the identity of the lipstick killer(John Barrymore Jr.).

    "While the City Sleeps" is an entertaining movie performed with aplomb by a marvelous cast(not forgetting Ida Lupino and who could?) that owes more than a little debt to King Lear in its division of a kingdom.(And a character also references Macbeth.) And director Fritz Lang is certainly in his element here, again exploring civic responsibility with newspapers and related media in a free society that cannot properly function if they work entirely out of self-interest, as depicted here. As Amos puts it, a newspaper allows the citizens to make up their own mind while at the same time he puts the lipstick killer on the front page to scare everybody. Even though there is a killer on the loose, that's no reason to panic. And it is certainly no reason to take a cheap shot at comic books even in the wake of organized hysteria.
  • shitfaced8
    September 3, 2011
    shitfaced8
    A pretty decent film noir from Fritz Lang. While not nearly as massive a film as say M or Metropolis, this is still a very well done film, even if it isn't perfect. This is part murder mystery and part a movie about the newspaper buisiness and to be honest I kinda would have pref... read moreered if they had chosen one or the other to focus on, preferably the murder mystery as I found that to be the most interesting aspect of this. The love story on the side I could have done without altogether. Vincent Price is in this as the useless son, who has inhearited this newspaper comapny from his recently deceased father, without having any clue of how to actually run a newspaper company. He's good in his role. I also liked the kid who played 'the Lipstick Killer'. All in all a good film, that has some minor flaws but is worth watching for fans of Fritz Lang or Film Noir in general.
  • jam233
    April 26, 2010
    jam233
    Fritz Lang is such an amazing director. His so motivated visually, perhaps that is from his work in silent films. Great screenplay, superb cinematography. The entire cast is great, especially George Sanders. Very effective score. It is never dull and moves along at a great pace.
  • macabrescribe
    August 27, 2009
    macabrescribe
    While The City Sleeps was good, but difficult to follow at times. Perhaps it needs a second viewing to fully grasp the occurrences and subtleties. Don't get me wrong. This was a very enjoyable picture, but it was not as good as Fritz Lang's earlier work M.
  • tenebrous03
    November 23, 2007
    tenebrous03
    The main character is a slimeball, although Rhonda Fleming is babely. Too many sexual overtones and simply too comedic (despite an arresting intro) for the film noir genre.

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Critic Reviews

John Beifuss
April 29, 2011
John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Harsh, leering, implausible and fascinating -- it's the type of yarn that might have been dramatized in 'The Strangler,' the fictional dime horror comic that is the favorite reading matter of the stor... Full Review

Emanuel Levy
December 23, 2010
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

One of Fritz Lang's last and best American film noir, the plot is complex and involving, and the visual style clear and extremely effective Full Review

Michael E. Grost
August 20, 2005
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television

Inventive as both a crime thriller, and a look at the omnipresent modern media. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
March 1, 2005
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

More a social commentary than a straight crime drama. Full Review

Ken Hanke
June 16, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Good Lang noir.

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Matt McAllister
September 11, 2010
Matt McAllister, Future Movies UK

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 14, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Andy Klein
May 8, 2005
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat

No review available.

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