Cop killer Richard Conte escapes from a prison's hospital ward with police lieutenant Victor Mature and his partner Fred Clark on his tail. Aside from killing a cop, Mature also wants Conte for his potential involvement in a jewel heist, based on allegations made by slimy lawyer Berry Kroeger. Conte however is only interested in making sure his girl Debra Paget doesn't get caught up in anything and tries to get her out of harm's way by finding the people behind the heist.A basic plot that is transformed into a crackerjack top-shelf noir by the excellent cast and crew led by director Robert Siodmak ('The Killers'). Noir regulars Conte ('New York Confidential') and Mature ('I Wake Up Screaming') play characters that fit them like a well- worn glove and it shows. Especially Conte is in excellent form here, he seems even more electric & intense than usual. But what really struck me with this movie is how many characters it has and how nuanced and well-written they are. The screenplay by Richard Murphy ('Panic In The Streets') and an uncredited Ben Hecht ('Notorious'), based on a novel by Henry Edward Helseth, is exceptional, as it brings each character to life in ways that do not slow down the pace of the movie but actually adds to the movie's flow. And of course this is helped by some great performances, especially Mimi 'Mama' Aguglia ('The Brothers Rico') as Conte's mother and Hope Emerson ('House Of Strangers') as a masseuse/jewel-thief are memorable.Shot both on backlots and on the streets of NYC, the movie looks great. It's not a chiaroscuro masterpiece, but DoP Lloyd Ahern ('The Brasher Doubloon') and Siodmak do a good job of using specific camera angles to add tension and atmosphere. They always keep things interesting, with the occasional highlight that draws attention to the shot itself, such as Emerson's entrance into the movie which is stunning (both in the basic idea as in the execution). I was more than impressed by this movie, which really took me by surprise, and I will definitely revisit this movie soon. Highly recommended! 9/10

Despite having a good cast, this fails to be a good film. There are some good performances from Victor Mature and Debra Paget, and the director really makes Mature look as though he can act. Paget gives a grounded performance, and Richard Conte is doing what he is known for. There is a big lady who attempts to strangle Conte in the film. I remember seeing her in 'Westward the Women'. It's good seeing Mature square up against Conte. It's almost like 'Kiss of Death' where Richard Widmark challenges Mature. However, it is everything in between these challenging scenes that make this film dull. The problem is with the script rather than the performances. An actor can only pursue truth if the script is truthful. If the script is not truthful then the film is just a calling card of truthful performances.

Cry of the City is directed by Robert Siodmak and adapted to screenplay by Richard Murphy and Ben Hecht from the novel The Chair for Martin Rome written by Henry Edward Helseth. It stars Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred Clark, Shelley Winters, Betty Garde, Hope Emerson and Debra Paget. Music is by Alfred Newman and cinematography by Lloyd Ahern.They were once boyhood friends in New York's Little Italy, but now, on either side of the law, Lt. Candella (Mature) and cop killer Martin Rome (Conte), are on a collision course from which neither may survive?Excellent and under seen film noir from 20th Century Fox who initially conceived it as a follow up to cash in on the success of Kiss of Death the previous year. Cry of the City may be simple in premise, that of a good versus evil chase like formula, with an extra edge added as Candella and Rome battle for the soul of Rome's younger brother, but what unfolds is a tough and uncompromising story painted vividly with style and atmospheric grace on a noir canvas by Siodmak.Siodmak made no secret of the fact he was "uncomfortable" about coming out of the confines of studio noir productions into airy location filming, but the great man need not have worried, for here we get a perfect example of what he could achieve outdoors. New York thrums to the hustle and bustle of day time life, of transport duties and everyday mundane functions, only to then become at night a city crying to the tune of ghetto dislocation, where rain sodden streets, long shadows and emergency service sirens struggle to hide the corruptible and forlorn people shuffling about the place.Packed with classic noir characters, such as a shyster lawyer, amoral doctor and a devilishly brutish masseuse with a kink (the latter played by Hope Emerson with a near film stealing performance), it's the doppleganger effect that most shines through in this part of noirville. Candella and Rome are consistently mirror images of each other, both in the futile lives they currently lead, or in how afflictions lead them to their night of reckoning. It's fascinating that Candella is still a firm favourite of the Rome family elders, like he is the good son that Martin never was, while the attire of hunter and prey is most interesting, why is it that our good cop Candella is in dark clobber and our cop killing criminal is in lighter garb?The pretty girls Paget and Winters are just peripheral characters, so there's no femme fatale angle to speak of here. This is more a noir bromance gone wrong story, with shades of religious motifs and a toying of audience sympathies evident for a good portion of the picture. From a beginning that ironically begins with the last rites, to a finale that blends death with a dangled hope of surrogacy, Cry of the City earns the classic noir badge that it was not granted back in the 40s. 8.5/10

This Robert Siodmak work may seem derivative as another film noir.But it does not follow the rules.First the two leads are cast against type.We would expect Mature as Rome and Richard Conte as Candella.It increases the interest because we do not know how their characters will evolve.Then ,and it was extremely unusual at the time,there is no female central character;gorgeous Debra Paget appears in the first sequences ("she must be an angel") and only returns at the end of the movie in the church.No central female character ,but plenty of them ,and all are interesting: a nurse and her mom,a street gal (Shelley Winters),a mannish (lesbian?) female crook-the scene in the subway is very suspenseful-,and finally Rome's mom.A true mom,who still believes in her children ,but who begins to lose her illusions; fortunately there is a younger son,and the cop keeps a close watch on him.This mother is very different from the terrifying over possessive one Siodmak had introduced in his overlooked " Christmas holiday" (1944)