Robert Siodmak took to the city streets of New York for much of the location shooting in CRY OF THE CITY and it gives the whole story much more credence. Furthermore, the classic B&W photography of the city streets, a study in sunlight and shadows, heightens the tense mood and atmosphere of an engrossing crime story.

VICTOR MATURE and RICHARD CONTE are adversaries, one good, the other bad, buddies who grew up together on the city streets. Mature is a police lieutenant whose mission it is to find Conte once he's escaped from jail, with most of the story involved in Mature's search for the ruthless thug who has committed several serious crimes including murder.

The final scenes with Mature finally cornering Conte in a church are filled with high tension, thanks to director Siodmak's expert direction. He gets fully developed characterizations from his principal actors, as well as the supporting cast which includes FRED CLARK, DEBRA PAGET, TOMMY COOK, SHELLEY WINTERS and a standout turn from HOPE EMERSON as a woman intent on a jewel heist.

New Yorkers will be especially interested in seeing the Third Ave. El appearing prominently in one of the lower Manhattan scenes, as well as other Manhattan shots that show the city as it existed in '48. A classic example of '40s film noir.

A different kind of film noir and I quite liked the fresh approach here. Victor Mature's cop feels like the nominal lead but actually is more of a distraction and it's the Richard Conte show for the most part. Conte plays a wounded gangster trying to navigate a way out of his capture, and there are some fine suspenseful moments and twists along the way.

This is a rather simple film with a rather simple plot, though it shows that even given a rather noncomplex story, you can still have an exceptional film--thanks mostly to the direct and no-nonsense style of the movie. In many ways, this film is reminiscent of Noir films like DRAGNET, THE NAKED CITY and T-MEN--movies that focus more on the normal day-to-day police work involved in catching the bad guys. The unglamorous style actually was a major plus here--no cops working people over in the back room, no bullet-proof good guys and these cops were basically honest yet human.

The film begins with Richard Conte in the hospital after having killed a policeman. Victor Mature and Fred Clark (in a real departure from his other roles) are lieutenants assigned to the case. However, despite having the injured Conte in custody, this slick crook escapes and the rest of the film involves his recapture. During the course of his time at large, Conte uses practically everyone around him and shows that despite his assertion that he's really a nice guy, he's really just a thug.

There are plenty of twists and turns in the film and despite Victor Mature's saying off-screen on many occasions that he was a lousy actor, he was a major asset to the film. Other performances were also uniformly excellent. About the only problem, and it was very minor, was the ending. It was exciting but also seemed a tad tough to believe with all that "machismo". Still, it's a heck of a good film and one you should see if you love police dramas and Noir films.

By the way, I do agree with spompermayer who also reviewed the film and particularly liked Ms. Emerson's performance--she was indeed an unforgettable character and greatly enhanced the film! What a dame!!