"There are eight million stories in the Naked City." - Narrator at the conclusion of each "Naked City" episode
Naked City: Spectre of the Rose Street Gang DVD Review
By Jonathan Boudreaux
Naked City, a hybrid of cop show and dramatic anthology, premiered on ABC in September of 1958. In its first season and a half, the New York-set drama underwent several cast changes (even the running time switched from thirty minutes to sixty) before settling on the basic formula that it would follow until the series left the air in 1963. By the fall of 1960, the crime fighters were handsome young Detective Adam Flint (Paul Burke), and his older colleagues Lieutenant Mike Parker (Horace McMahon) and Sergeant Frank Arcaro (Harry Bellaver). Libby (Nancy Malone) occasionally appeared as Flint's girlfriend, an aspiring actress. Naked City: Spectre of the Rose Street Gang collects four episodes from the series' latter incarnation.
The October 24, 1962 episode, "Five Cranks for Winter.Ten Cranks for Spring," stars Robert Duvall, Herschel Bernardi, and Shirley Knight. Duvall plays an ex-boxer who desperately wants to earn extra money so that his wife, played by Knight, can travel to Baltimore to exhibit her prize-winning hybrid rose. Even though he has a "glass head" (i.e., his brain is likely to hemorrhage if he fights again), he convinces manager Bernardi to let him back in the ring.
Duvall again stars in "Torment Him Much and Hold Him Long" from November 7, 1962. In this episode, the actor plays Barney Sonners, a family man who can barely keep his family afloat with the money he earns as a bartender. He borrows money from some local thugs, but when he attempts to pay them back, his money is refused. Instead, they insist that he pay them back with a "favor" - he is to help arrange the robbery and murder of barkeep Harold Slate (Maytag repairman Jesse White). Sonners foils the plan by contacting Flint and Arcaro, but he is pressured not to testify against the gang by an escalating series of anonymous phone threats. One by one, Sonners loses his job, his home, and his family, and he must decide whether his principles are worth more than the normalcy of his life.
In "Goodbye Mama, Hello Auntie Maud," Ellen Annis (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Salome Jens) is in love.with a house. The house in question has been in her family for over one hundred years, and she likes it so much that she rarely finds time to leave it. Needless to say, she is upset when her sickly mother plans to sell the ancestral home. Luckily, the old lady dies before the sale can happen. Ellen is comforted in her semi-grief (the house is now hers, after all) by Harry (James Coburn), the family chauffer, not knowing that Harry actually killed dear old mom. Matters become even more complicated when the butler (All in the Family's Carroll O'Connor) attempts to blackmail Ellen after the police become suspicious about the death. And when long-estranged Auntie Maud (Irene Dailey) shows up? Well, let's just say Ellen shouldn't move her stuff to the master bedroom too quickly.
"Spectre of the Rose Street Gang," which originally aired on December 19, 1962, is the final episode in this set. When a vacant lot is slated for redevelopment, its excavation uncovers the leather jacket-wearing skeleton of a fifteen year old boy who, a coroner's examination shows, has been dead for twenty-five years. Lifelong underachiever Sam Langdon (Crazy Like a Fox's Sam Warden) reads a newspaper account of the finding - including a description of the inscribed cigarette lighter discovered in the jacket pocket - and realizes that his now-successful childhood friends (including AitF's O'Connor, again) were responsible for the boy's death. He tries to use his knowledge to secure himself a job of which his wife can be proud, but comes to learn that self-respect is more important than financial gain.
The pacing and style of Naked City is completely different that what we have come to expect from crime shows such as N.Y.P.D. Blue, C.S.I., and other police procedurals. Not only do we not get to know the detectives, we barely even get a chance to see them. Quite often, the detectives are shoved to the background in favor of spending the hour with the victims or the criminals. This emphasis on human drama often makes the show feel like a hybrid of Perry Mason and Route 66. The similarities with Route 66 are no accident - Naked City's executive story consultant Stirling Silliphant was involved with both shows.
This unusual emphasis can make the series seem slow in comparison to our fast-paced modern sensibilities. The shows are very talky (down to the hokey opening narration) and often take on the rhythms of stage dramas. For example, ".Auntie Maud," which aired on June 20, 1962, is one of the weaker episodes in this collection. It veers oddly from pure boredom to high camp (just wait until Auntie Maud, looking like an oily Disney villain, snarls at Harry for daring to mate outside of his social class and attempts to claw his eyes out) and often feels stage-bound by its mansion setting.
Still, there is much to recommend here. Throughout its run, Naked City attracted both up-and-coming talents as well as established stars. In this batch of episodes, "Five Cranks" and "Torment" serve as excellent showcases for Robert Duvall. If the airdates included here are correct, the episodes ran (and were probably filmed) almost back to back, yet Duvall is such a gifted actor that the characters even look different from one another. He is especially magnetic in "Torment," the larger of the two roles. Several other performances (such as Annis' in ".Auntie Maud") point out how much acting techniques have changed over the years. Duvall, however, proves that truly great acting transcends changes in taste and style.
The series was shot on location in New York City, giving viewers a fascinating look at the city that never sleeps as it appeared in the early 1960s. Eagle-eyed viewers will have to figure out for themselves where the exteriors were filmed, but the ending credits list the major filming locations. "Five Cranks" was shot at Sunnyside Gardens (boxing match), Adam's Cafeteria, St. Vincent's Hospital, and the Catholic Youth Organization Gym. "Torment" features visits to the Knickerbocker Toy Factory. "Spectre" includes glimpses of the Fifth Avenue Hotel (dining room and club scenes) and the Tishman Building at 666 Fifth Avenue (office building scenes).
In addition to the show's stunning visuals, the series benefits from composer Nelson Riddle's music. The music is often so lush that one longs for a music-only track.
The single disc containing four episodes is housed in a keepcase. The back of the keepcase lists the show titles, original airdates, writing and directing credits, and short synopses. An insert includes a scene selections listing. The DVD menus are simple and elegant. Viewers can play all episodes or watch individual ones.
