"While the City Sleeps" may be Lang's second favorite U.S. film but I still think it's rather dull. There is very little action — even the climactic chase through the subway is not all that exciting — and a great deal of talk. The characters never fully engage the interest and very little suspense is worked up despite a two-pronged plot, combining the thriller with "Executive Suite".Dana Andrews plays in his usual glum style, James Craig is even glummer, Sanders and Mitchell give their usual characterizations, while Ida Lupino overplays the femme fatale bit and Rhonda Fleming makes a good-looking but unconvincing adulteress. Barrymore overplays as usual. The only surprise and only performance to make any impression is Vincent Price as a callow newspaper heir.Amazingly, after Moonfleet which is superlatively composed, Lang handles the wide screen very flaccidly, the loose framing matching the lack of tautness in the plot. Most of the lighting is flat too, though an occasional shot of rich contrast shows what the film might have been had Lang been at the top of his form. Production values are also no more than average, with the same unattractive sets being used again and again. Music and other technical credits are equally undistinguished.

A decent film featuring an under-used cast of great actors. The standouts are: Ida Lupino, who excels in the role of a cynical but good-natured predator -- she owns roles like this, and practically walks off with the film; and Vincent Price, who's convincingly smug and naive -- he's not a bad guy, just lazy and clueless. Dana Andrews is fine, but he's done better work and could have used more of an edge. He's too nice here -- why does he drink so much? Why has he given up on his career? Why does he suddenly care about the murders in this film? Why doesn't he fall for Lupino, who's more his type? Thomas Mitchell manages to dig out of the script whatever he can put to use, especially when he grapples with the tension between ethics and ambition; Mitchell is always a step better (at least) than the material he's given, and that's no exception here. George Sanders seems to be on cruise control for most of the film, but doesn't do any harm. Rhonda Fleming is fine and voluptuously convincing, but Howard Duff is vague and Sally Forrest and Larry Craig are in over their heads -- there are too many great actors in this cast for them to even hold their own.There are three culprits. First, Lang's pace is sluggish and he seems uncomfortable with a wider screen. His camera should be giving us more of these characters, especially in close- up. Second, the script is frequently preposterous and short on character development -- it's not clear why most of these characters do what they do, and a few more lines of dialogue would have served everybody well. Finally, John Barrymore Jr. is frankly awful. His "look at me, I'm nuts" performance is mostly embarrassing, especially once you've seen actors like Robert Walker nail the concept more subtly and deftly.All that said, this is worth a look. There are terrific performances here, and an honest attempt to understand the relationship between ethics and business competition.

I don't think that While the City Sleeps is among Fritz Lang's best, like M or Metropolis. However, despite a rather tepid final chase sequence and Rhonda Fleming coming across as rather bland, it is an interesting film. It looks good, with the cinematography excellent even in the final chase, and the score has some hauntingly atmospheric themes. The dialogue is arch and sharp, with a cynical yet involving tone, and the story even in the more talky moments, and there are many of those, is compelling with some tension. Lang's direction is accomplished as are the cast. Dana Andrews is solid in the lead, while Ida Lupino oozes sex appeal and Vincent Price is wonderfully snide and unprincipled. George Sanders brings an oily if not exactly subtle nature to his role, Thomas Mitchell is again memorable and there is also a menacing performance from John Barrymore. Overall, a solid and interesting film, though not the best work that everybody here has done. 8/10 Bethany Cox

"While The City Sleeps" is a well written and fast moving story about a power struggle that develops in a media organisation following the death of its well respected proprietor. Murder, romance and bitter rivalries feature strongly and the presence of a devious group of characters played by an all star cast ensures that the level of intrigue remains high throughout.After having read a report of the murder of a young woman who had been strangled, media mogul Amos Kyne (Robert Warwick) instructs his top executives to make the story into front page news and as the the killer had written the words "Ask Mother" in lipstick on a wall in his victim's apartment, Kyne adds that the murderer should be referred to as "The Lipstick Killer".Shortly after issuing these instructions, Kyne dies and his playboy son, Walter (Vincent Price) inherits the business. As he has no idea how to run a media empire, Walter decides that he'll create a new senior executive post so that the incumbent can effectively manage the business for him. The three candidates for the job are John Day (Thomas Mitchell), the editor of the "New York Sentinel", Mark Loving (George Sanders) who's in charge of the wire service and chief photographer Harry Kritzer (James Craig). Walter makes it clear that whichever man is able to provide a scoop by exposing the identity of "The Lipstick Killer" will be given the top job.In the past, Amos had made it clear that he would have liked Ed Mobley (Dana Andrews) to be his successor but the Pulitzer Prize winning ex-reporter who had moved on to become an author and news commentator on the Kyne TV channel had made it known that he was not interested in seeking more power. By contrast, Griffith and Loving have no such reservations and quickly go into competition with each other. Ktitzer, on the other hand is having an affair with Walter's wife Dorothy (Rhonda Fleming) and plans to use her to achieve his ambition. She though, is also power hungry and tells Harry that if he's successful as a result of her influence, she'll be pulling the strings.Despite his reluctance to get involved in the power struggle, Mobley agrees to Griffith's request to help him and Loving conscripts the assistance of his mistress Mildred Donner (Ida Lupino) who's also a columnist on Kyne's newspaper.Following the murder which had attracted Amos Kyne's attention, "The Lipstick Killer" had gone on to commit other murders and Mobley uses his friendship with the police detective who's working on the case to get the inside track on how the investigation is progressing. Together with Lieutenant Burt Kaufman (Howard Duff), Mobley then devises a plan to provoke the murderer into actions which will lead to his early arrest and a variety of further complications follow before the races for the top job and the arrest of the serial killer are finally concluded.This movie makes some interesting observations about the roles that the media can play in the context of high profile crimes. Initially, "The Lipstick Killer" story is given a high level of prominence because of its sensational nature and its potential for selling newspapers but it's then also used as an important component in the competition for a top job in the industry. The view is expressed that comic books encourage gullible readers into criminal acts and Lieutenent Kaufman also bemoans the fact that too much information about police methods is published in newspapers etc and this makes it much harder for law enforcement officers to keep one step ahead of the criminals. Television is also used by Mobley to make an important direct address to the serial killer.The competition between the Kyne executives soon makes them ruthless and unprincipled and their methods become increasingly corrupt and unsavoury and even Mobley who had originally appeared to have higher standards, proves to be a heavy drinker who has no qualms about setting up his own fiancée, to be a target for the serial killer. His principles also seem to dessert him when Loving sends Mildred to seduce him."While The City Sleeps" is intelligent and engrossing and the various strands of its rather involved plot are expertly brought together to produce an entertaining movie which really deserves more credit that it has previously been given.