The Naked City

Ladies and gentlemen...

the motion picture you are about to see is called The Naked City.

My name is Mark Hellinger. I was in charge of its production.

And I may as well tell you frankly that it's a

bit different from most films you've ever seen.

It was written by Albert Maltz and Malvin Wald...

photographed by William Daniels and directed by Jules Dassin.

As you see, we're flying over an island.

A city. A particular city.

And this is a story of a number of people - and a story also of the city itself.

It was not photographed in a studio. Quite the contrary.

Barry Fitzgerald, our star...

Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart...

Don Taylor, Ted de Corsia and the other actors...

played out their roles on the streets, in the apartment houses...

in the skyscrapers of New York itself.

And along with them, a great many thousand New Yorkers played out their roles also.

This is the city as it is.

Hot summer pavements, the children at play...

the buildings in their naked stone...

the people, without makeup.

Well, let's begin our story this way.

It's 1:00 in the morning on a hot summer night...

and this is the face of New York when it's asleep.

Or as nearly asleep as any city ever is.

Bad hunting on Wall Street at night.

No bulls. No bears.

No lambs.

A bank is a lonely place at this hour.

And even a theater has lost its magic.

A question: Do the machines in a factory ever need rest?

Does a ship ever feel tired?

Or is it only people who are so weary at night?

There is a pulse to a city.

And it never stops beating.

And some people earn their bread at night.

Sometimes I think this world is made up of nothing but dirty feet.

It's wonderful working on a newspaper.

You meet such interesting people.

You put on a record. You take it off.

You put on another. Does anyone listen to this program except my wife?

And while some people work...

others are rounding off an evening of relaxation.

And still another is at the close of her life.

- Let's go. - Don't be a fool. This has gotta be sure.

- Lift her up. - What you gonna do?

A hot night has worked its way toward dawn.

Texas beef for New York markets.

Uncle Harry's letter gets an early start.

Everything as usual. The morning routine.

And even this, too, can be called routine...

in a city of eight million people.

I done a lot of things...

but I never killed nobody.

I'm gonna stay drunk a long time.

I don't know what I'm gonna say to God when my time comes.

He's got a big heart, I'm told, but he don't like -

Thought you were off the liquor.

Liquor is bad. Weakens your character.

How can a man like me trust a liar like you?

I can't.

It's an hour later now. 6:00 a. m.

Some babies are 8:00 babies.

Some babies are 7:00 babies.

Why do you have to be a 6:00 baby?

? Good-bye, Paddy?

? No matter where you roam?

? Don't forget your country or the ones you left at home?

? Write a letter now and then and send me all you can?

? But, Paddy, dear oh, don't forget?

? You are an Irish man?

And now it's time to go to work.

Eat and run, buddy.

- Uh, good-bye, Mrs. Halloran. - Good-bye, Mr. Halloran.

Ah, come on, you little Indian. On your horse.

- See ya tonight, Mac. - So long, bud.

- Hello, Mr. Halloran. - Hi, kids.

Gonna be a scorcher today.

Yeah. So next week, I'll get my vacation, it'll be freezin'.

She went to Jones's Beach last night, had a picnic.

- With her boyfriend? - Yeah.

- Did he get fresh again? - Yeah.

Gee. She was born with a silver spoon.

For this woman, the day will not be ordinary.

Martha Swenson. Forty-two years old. A widow.

Lives a quiet life as a houseworker.

Miss Dexter.

Yes. Yes.

What's your name, please?

Thank you.

Hello.

Hello.

The 10th Precinct Station...

is in the Chelsea District of New York.

A rather shabby building on a rather shabby street.

Acts of violence in Manhattan are reported to the third floor of this building.

Because here, rather quietly...

the Homicide Squad does its work.

Sometimes I wonder what the human heart is made out of.

My wife, rest her soul...

always said she'd rather look into a man's heart than into his head -

that you could tell more about him.

-Just came in, Captain. - Morning, Lieutenant.

Hi, Dave.

You're free, aren't you, Dan?.

Haven't had a hard day's work since yesterday.

- Woman drowned in a bathtub. - Who's to do my legwork?.

- How about young Halloran again? - All right. I like the boy.

How's he doing?.

He's making the same mistakes I made at his age.

That's too bad. I thought he showed promise.

It's them! Here they come!

It's them! Here they come!

- Elevator's straight ahead, Lieutenant. - Thanks.

- Who's on the job here?. - Sergeant Shaeffer, 20th Squad.

- Morning, Lieutenant. - Hi, Shaeffer. Well, what's the story?

Dead woman's name was Jean Dexter, 26 years old, unmarried.

She used to be a dress model at Grace Hewitt's on West 57th Street.

Parents live in Lakewood, New Jersey. The name is Batory. That's Polish.

Her name used to be Mary Batory until she came to New York.

The ambulance doctor said she died of drowning.

That's all I have.

- This her? - Yeah.

Martha Swenson, the woman's housekeeper. She found the body.

Mr. Harvey - he's the house superintendent. He called headquarters.

- Where's the body? - In there.

Didn't this woman drown in a bathtub, Doctor?

She was on the bed when I got here.

You come to work the same time every day? - Every day except Thursday.

- That's my day off. - Who moved the body?

Oh, when I came and saw her like that in the

tub, I called Mr. Harvey here. He helped me.

You should have waited for the police. Both of you should have known better.

- I was so upset. - Dan. Say, Dan.

I found a bottle of pills under the bed. Looks like sleeping pills.

- Let me see 'em. - I left them there.

Well, thank you for that, Jimmy. This is moving day around here.

I thought maybe you caught the fever.

Uh, about the pills - Maybe the dame took an overdose.

Jimmy, it's our obligation to wait for the medical examiner.

He's a learned physician employed by the city

to determine the cause of mysterious deaths.

Let the good man earn his money.

No accident. No suicide.

Bruises on her throat, shoulders and arms.

Those slight burns around her mouth and nose were caused by chloroform.

She was anesthetized, after a struggle...

then dumped into the tub alive.

- How do you know that, Doctor?. - By the white foam around her mouth.

It's proof she drowned.

- New? - New.

- Okay, Lieutenant? - Okay, Doctor?

- The body's yours. - Start working, gentlemen.

Just smudges.

Dan.

Men's pajamas. Found them in the laundry hamper.

No visible laundry marks. No label.

Real fancy. You don't get these for 3.95.

Nick, pick up these pajamas on your way out. I want them checked right down the line.

What time does the elevator boy come on in the morning?.

- 7:00. - Martha, who belongs to these?

Oh, I don't know, sir. I'm so unstrung.

I know you are, but I think you'd like to help us.

Oh, I would. I would.

She was such a sweet girl. A little wild by my

standards maybe, but live and let live, I say.

- She always treated me fine. - The pajamas, Martha.

- Oh, I'm all in pieces. - Martha.

Well, they could belong to Mr. Henderson.

What's Mr. Henderson's first name?

Uh, Philip, I think. He lives in Baltimore.

At least that's what she told me. I only saw him once.

All I know is he was an admirer of Miss Dexter's.

Seems likely.

Oh, I'm all in little pieces. What a nightmare.

You're being a great help to us, Martha.

How old would you say Mr. Henderson is?

Oh, 50 about.

- What does he look like? - Well, like I say, I only saw him once.

He was coming in just as I was going home.

He's quite tall. On the thin side.

Anything else? Uh, does he wear glasses? Does he -

- Oh, no, no. That's all I can remember. - Mm-hmm.

- Do you know Henderson? - Never saw him.

- Shoot a wire on this to Baltimore. - Lieutenant.

Here's the ring she was wearing. I'll phone you after the autopsy.

- Have fun. - Always do.

Sir, that ring - it's a black star sapphire. Very rare.

She said her brother sent it to her from India.

- Did she have any other jewelry? - Oh, a lot.

Valuable. She kept it in a jewel box - locked.

- Let's go get it. - No.

Please.

Okay. You can pick up that bottle under the bed now.

- Check. - That one there.

- Nick, can we open a drawer on this table? - Yeah, I've gone over it.

- What are you doing to the furniture? - Investigating it.

Oh, she had chamois bags full of bracelets and rings - diamond rings!

- They're gone. - Can you describe the jewelry?

- Well, most of it, I think. - Fine. Shaeffer, will you -