Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

John T. Ryan In the Year of Our Lord 1958, the Western reigned supreme on the 3 Networks and in syndication. We once counted about 30 'Oaters' that we saw in our house that we saw on a more or less regular basis. But others genre had their stars rising in their particular Zodiacal Signs and were gaining in popularity. Cops 'n' Robbers had been a staple on TV from the earliest days; a carry over perhaps from some of those series movies like featuring the likes of CHARLIE CHAN, SHERLOCK HOLMES, BOSTON BLACKIE (Chester Morris-type), THE SAINT, THE FALCON and THE THIN MAN.The transition to Television brought us early series like THE PLAIN CLOTHESMAN, ROCKY KING (with Roscoe Karns and his Son, Todd Karns) BOSTON BLACKIE (Kent Taylor-type), MAN AGAINST CRIME (with Ralph Bellamy as Mike Barnett) and even an early DICK TRACY (with, who else? Ralph Byrd). A little later some new waves of Cop/Detective shows came along. We saw titles like PERRY MASON (oooh! A Lawyer!), THE THIN MAN TV (with Peter Lawford & Phyllis Kirk), CHECKMATE (Anthony George, Doug McClure, Sebastian Cabot), PETER GUN (Blake Edwards' brainchild with Craig Stevens, Lola Albright & Herschell Bernardi) MANNIX (Mike 'Touch' Conners) and Warner Brothers' Cloned Series of 77 SUNSET STRIP, HAWAIIN EYE, BOURBON STREET BEAT and SURFSIDE SIX.There were others, but as one TV Columnist we recall in the Chicago American had observed, it got to a point where all of the good police work being done on our TV screens was done by the Private "I's". The 'Flatfoot' on the Beat was mostly being portrayed as the helpers.This was all to change and the likes of Jack Webb's DRAGNET and RACKET SQUAD would struggle to get to the pinnacle; but by the 1970's regular Policeman, be they uniformed or plainclothesmen, were rising to be the top. They soon would be the one program type to fill in so much of the programming schedules. They were in a sense, "the New Westerns." One of the main reasons, other than Mr. Jack Webb's efforts that we have enjoyed our HILL STREET BLUES, HOMICIDE, NYPD BLUE and LAW & ORDER group is the quality displayed and subsequent success of NAKED CITY (Shielle Productions/Screen Gems TV, 1958-63).The idea for the Series sprang from Mark Hellinger's NY specific crime drama, THE NAKED CITY (Hellinger Productions/Universal Pictures, 1948) In it the drama of murder, the primary investigation and follow-up, all play out against the back-drop of what is (I being a super-sensitive Chicagoan) doubtless the greatest city in the World. Never before had a movie set in NY been filmed completely there and on such a grand scale; using the best settings in the 5 Burroughs as the most magnificent scenery of an urban nature anywhere; as well as the use of countless thousands, or even millions of extras.There was very in common between the Film and the Series; although James Franciscus did portray the Detective Jimmy Halloran, who was Don Taylor's character in the film. And Mr. Franciscus was in the 1st Season's Episodes; which were only ½ Hour in Length and seemed to meet with only Luke warm response from the public. The series was on hiatus for the next season of 1959-60; only to return as an hour long series in the 1960-61 season. But Paul Burke as Det. Adam Flint replaced James Franciscus as the lead. It seems that the hour long episodes put the series over the top; perhaps allowing more time for characterization, plot development and good old shoot-em-up Action! In retrospect, we can only say that NAKED CITY has proved to be one of the finest Dramas in TV History, Cop Show or not. Now ain't it grand that Hindsight is always 20-20?

rquisenb Loved the gritty/real Manhattan / New York City scenes – somewhat like Law and Order or NYPD Blue. The sharp picture quality on the DVD was much better than if I had watched this show originally on a 1961 television. Many top-flight actors made guest appearances, and Paul Burke, the star of the show and who later appeared in Dynasty, was great. Watched several episodes from 1961 on one DVD: The Fault In Our Stars (a pretty good classic detective story), Take and Put (a funny farce), Make Believe Man (too "dark" a story – didn't watch much of it). Stories remind me somewhat of Twilight Zone. Since Twilight Zone isn't really my cup of tea, probably won't rent any more episodes.

michael_ghee My comments are regarding the 1 hour version (Naked City). Though technically a cop show (crime drama), its much deeper in that it richly examines the psyche of both victims and perpetrators involved in the crime as well as the social conditions they exist in. This makes for some pretty damn compelling viewing in addition to the fact the stories take place in New York City of the early 60's. My understanding is that this is the first TV show shot entirely on location so if your familiar with the city it is fun to check out the locales as they existed back then.The cops are based in the 65th precinct in NYC. They include Detective Adam Flint played brilliantly by Paul Burke as the young and always conscientious cop. His partner is a middle aged Det. Frank Arcaro who is dependable and good natured played well by Harry Bellaver. Lt. Mike Parker is played perfectly by Horace McMahon who act as the play it by the facts, grumpy boss. Its fun to watch the interaction between Flint and Parker as they argue over opinions on cases like father and son but yet you can tell there is respect for one another. Detective Flint's girlfriend appears in a few episodes as Libby played by Nancy Malone who in my opinion is just there to show at least one of these cops has a sex life and adds a light hearted element to the show when needed in the otherwise tense drama that usually pervades this program.The show has a few "snoozers", but when its a good episode, trust me, its GOOD. Naked City has its fair share of GOOD episodes. They tackled a variety of interesting subjects/crimes ahead of its time for TV back then such as stalking, domestic violence, child molestation in a addition to standard cop show crime fare (robberies, murder, kidnapping). As I mentioned before it strongly focused on the human condition of the people in the stories so you also see examinations of loneliness, low self esteem, mental illness, alcoholism etc. You name it, Naked City covered it. I have observed that the earlier episodes can be quite violent at times such as one that starred Rip Torn and Tuesday Weld as southern hillbillies going on a thrill killing orgy in NYC. However, over time the violence had seemed to be toned down a bit near the end of its run (possibly due to censor and public pressure ??) However it did not take away from the tense drama the stories provided. The show did not always have neat,tidy endings. Yes the perpetrator would be caught, but often the victims were so traumatized, they too ended up screwed. I loved the way in some episodes as this the camera just fades away from the scene on a street at the end showing the despair people were sometimes left in.Speaking of camera work, in this show it is phenomenal, showing vividly the live streets and gritty locales of NYC that Flint and Arcaro would deal with day after day, episode after episode. The show also featured a lot of good actors and actresses, many of which were just starting their careers. Picture this... Christopher Walken as a teen age son !, Dustin Hoffman as a stick up man !, A very young and unbelievably attractive Diahann Carroll facing a crisis as a school teacher ! There are just so many amazing things about this show, it deserves to be watched. Check it out on DVD. You wont be disappointed.

dicmar_rot I recently saw a picture of James Franciscus in reading a local TV news magazine. I instantly remembered the series "Naked City". I could not miss an episode when he and actor John Mcintire starred together. They absolutely worked great together. I remember how disappointed I was when they left the series. That was forty-eight years ago. I was fifteen years old at the time. For me,their work together never became routine. I remember the show through Lt.Muldoon mentoring James Franciscus's character. That was the heart of each story. The beginning of the show was always prefaced by the narrator saying "There are eight million stories in this city,this is one of them. It is great to have a chance to comment on these two actors.