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''Naked City'' is an American
police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on ei ...
television series from
Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...
that aired on ABC from 1958 to 1959 and from 1960 to 1963. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture '' The Naked City'' and mimics its dramatic "semi- documentary" format. As in the film, each episode concluded with a narrator intoning the iconic line: "There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them." The ''Naked City'' episode "Four Sweet Corners" (1959) inspired the series '' Route 66'', created by
Stirling Silliphant Stirling Dale Silliphant (January 16, 1918 – April 26, 1996) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for '' In the Heat of the Night'', for which he won an Academy Award in 1967, and for creating ...
. ''Route 66'' was broadcast by CBS from 1960 to 1964, and, like ''Naked City'', followed the "semi-anthology" format of building the stories around the guest actors, rather than the regular cast. In 1997, the episode "Sweet Prince of Delancey Street" (1961) was ranked number 93 on ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporate ...
'' " 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time" list.


Synopsis

Filmed on location in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, the series concerned the detectives of
NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest i ...
's 65th Precinct (changed from the film's 10th Precinct). Episode plots usually focused more on the criminals and victims portrayed by guest actors, characteristic of the "semi-anthology" narrative format common in early 1960s television (so called by the trade paper ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film) ...
''). For the first season, the primary writer was
Stirling Silliphant Stirling Dale Silliphant (January 16, 1918 – April 26, 1996) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for '' In the Heat of the Night'', for which he won an Academy Award in 1967, and for creating ...
, who wrote 32 of the season's 39 episodes. Silliphant's work resulted in significant critical acclaim for the series and attracted film and television actors of the time to seek guest-starring roles. Many scenes were filmed in the
South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris. In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was or ...
near
Biograph Studios Biograph Studios was an early film studio and laboratory complex, built in 1912 by the Biograph Company at 807 East 175th Street, in The Bronx, New York City, New York. History Early years The first studio of the Biograph Company, formerly ...
(also known as Gold Medal Studios), where the series was produced, and in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village a ...
and other neighborhoods in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. The exterior of the "65th Precinct" was the Midtown North (18th) Precinct, at 306 West 54th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, in the second and the third season, and the current 9th Precinct, at 321 East 5 Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues before it was renovated, in the first and in the fourth seasons. ''Naked City'' was first broadcast during the 1958–59 season, with the title ''The Naked City'', as a half-hour series featuring
James Franciscus James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was an American actor, known for his roles in feature films and in six television series: '' Mr. Novak'', '' The Naked City'', '' The Investigators'', '' Longstreet'', '' Doc Elliot'', ...
and
John McIntire John Herrick McIntire (June 27, 1907 – January 30, 1991) was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in Nove ...
playing Detective Jimmy Halloran and Lt. Dan Muldoon – the same characters as in the 1948 film (played there by Don Taylor and
Barry Fitzgerald William Joseph Shields (10 March 1888 – 14 January 1961), known professionally as Barry Fitzgerald, was an Irish stage, film and television actor. In a career spanning almost forty years, he appeared in such notable films as '' Bringing Up B ...
).
Harry Bellaver Harry Bellaver (born Enricho Bellaver; February 12, 1905 – August 8, 1993) was an American stage, film and television actor who appeared in many roles from the 1930s through the 1980s. Early years Bellaver was born in Hillsboro, Illinois, the ...
played the older, mellow Sgt. Frank Arcaro, and the narrator for the first season was the producer, Herbert B. Leonard, identifying himself as "Bert Leonard". While critically acclaimed, the series did not have good ratings. Midway through the season, McIntire quit the show (his character being killed in a car crash with a criminal) because of his desire to leave New York and relocate back to his Montana ranch. He was replaced with
Horace McMahon Horace McMahon (May 17, 1906 – August 17, 1971) was an American actor. He was one of Hollywood's favorite heavies. McMahon began his acting career on Broadway, then appeared in many films and television series. In 1962, he received a Pr ...
, who was then introduced in the same episode as Muldoon's curmudgeonly replacement, Lieutenant Mike Parker. The cast change did not help the show's ratings; ABC cancelled ''Naked City'' at the end of the 1958–59 season. One of the show's sponsors (
Brown & Williamson Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation was a U.S. tobacco company and a subsidiary of multinational British American Tobacco that produced several popular cigarette brands. It became infamous as the focus of investigations for chemically enhanc ...
), along with production staff, successfully lobbied the network to revive the show as an hour-long series, which premiered in 1960. The 1960 version featured Paul Burke as Detective Adam Flint, a sensitive and cerebral policeman in his early thirties. Horace McMahon returned as Lt. Parker as did Harry Bellaver as Sgt. Arcaro.
Nancy Malone __NOTOC__ Nancy Malone (born Anne Josefa Maloney March 19, 1935 – May 8, 2014) was an American television actress from the 1950s to 1970s, who later moved into producing and directing in the 1980s and 1990s. Television Malone appeared in a nu ...
appeared regularly (for about half the newly produced episodes) as Adam Flint's aspiring actress girlfriend, Libby Kingston. The hour-long version of the show was broadcast by ABC in the 10:00 p.m. slot on Wednesday nights. For this iteration of the series, writer Silliphant was forced to reduce his involvement considerably, as he was simultaneously working as the main scriptwriter for '' Route 66'' which began in October 1960. Silliphant wrote the first three episodes of ''Naked Citys second season, then did not write any further episodes until he wrote three episodes for season four. Those employed as writers of ''Naked City'' episodes during seasons 2, 3 and 4 included veteran TV writer
Howard Rodman Howard A. Rodman is a screenwriter, author and professor. He is the former President of the Writers Guild of America, West, professor and former chair of the writing division at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, alumnus of Telluride Associatio ...
(who also served as story editor),
blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
screenwriter Arnold Manoff (writing with the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...
"Joel Carpenter"), and Shimon Wincelberg. Noted science-fiction TV writers
Charles Beaumont Charles Beaumont (January 2, 1929 – February 21, 1967) was an American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres.Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, "Beaumont, Charles" in David Pringle, ed., ' ...
and
Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of '' Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series '' Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and '' ...
also each contributed one episode.


Guest stars

The series was notable for featuring younger and/or lesser-known/little-known actors, some of whom became major stars, including
Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war com ...
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Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New Yo ...
,
Barbara Barrie Barbara Barrie (born Barbara Ann Berman; May 23, 1931) is an American actress and author. Her film breakthrough came in 1964 with her performance as Julie in the landmark film '' One Potato, Two Potato'', for which she won the Best Actress Awa ...
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, Abbe Lane, Eugenie Leontovich, Al Lewis,
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,
Ross Martin Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of So ...
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Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), '' King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...
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Myron McCormick Myron McCormick (February 8, 1908 – July 30, 1962) was an American actor of stage, radio and film. Early life and education Born in Albany, Indiana, in 1908, Walter Myron McCormick was the middle child of Walter P. and Bessie M. McCormic ...
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Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in '' How Green Was My Valley'' ( ...
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Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...
, Jean Muir, Meg Mundy,
Mildred Natwick Mildred Natwick (June 19, 1905 – October 25, 1994) was an American actress. She won a Primetime Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award and two Tony Awards. Early life Natwick was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Mildre ...
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Cathleen Nesbitt Cathleen Nesbitt (born Kathleen Mary Nesbitt; 24 November 18882 August 1982) was an English actress. Biography Born in Birkenhead, Cheshire,Before 1 April 1974 Birkenhead was in Cheshire England to Thomas and Mary Catherine (née Parry) Nesb ...
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Jeanette Nolan Jeanette Nolan (December 30, 1911 – June 5, 1998) was an American actress. Nominated for four Emmy Awards, she had roles in the television series '' The Virginian'' (1962–1971) and '' Dirty Sally'' (1974), and in films such as ''Macbeth'' ...
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Nehemiah Persoff Nehemiah Persoff (August 2, 1919 – April 5, 2022) was an American character actor and painter. He appeared in more than 200 television series, films, and theatre productions and also performed as a voice artist in a career spanning 55 years, be ...
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Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...
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Aldo Ray Aldo Ray (born Aldo Da Re; September 25, 1926 – March 27, 1991) was an American actor of film and television. He began his career as a contract player for Columbia Studios before achieving stardom through his roles in ''The Marrying Kind ...
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, Jan Sterling,
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Roland Winters Roland Winters (born Roland Winternitz; November 22, 1904 – October 22, 1989)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 287. was an Ame ...
, and
Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in mo ...
. Many of the actors listed above played multiple roles for different episodes, as different characters.
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, the noted acting coach, made a rare celluloid performance in an episode of the series. Acting coach and actress
Peggy Feury Peggy Feury (born Margaret Feury; June 30, 1924 – November 20, 1985) was an American actress on Broadway, in films, and on television. She became a highly regarded acting teacher in New York and then in Los Angeles. Throughout her career, she t ...
also made an appearance, in a different episode. Rocky Graziano made an appearance during his relatively brief post-boxing acting career. Actors such as
Conrad Bain Conrad Stafford Bain (February 4, 1923 – January 14, 2013) was a Canadian-American comedian and actor. His television credits include a leading role as Phillip Drummond in the sitcom ''Diff'rent Strokes'', as Dr. Arthur Harmon on '' Maude'', ...
,
Dabney Coleman Dabney Wharton Coleman (born January 3, 1932) is an American actor. Coleman's best known films include '' 9 to 5'' (1980), '' On Golden Pond'' (1981), ''Tootsie'' (1982), '' WarGames'' (1983), '' Cloak & Dagger'' (1984), ''The Beverly Hillbillie ...
,
Ken Kercheval Kenneth Marine Kercheval (July 15, 1935 – April 21, 2019) was an American actor, best known for his role as Cliff Barnes on the television series ''Dallas'' and its 2012 revival. Early life Kercheval was born on July 15, 1935, in Wolcottvil ...
,
Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as '' ...
, and Jessica Walter appeared in minor roles, long before becoming famous. Several actors played recurring roles, ''e.g.'' Suzanne Storrs (as "Janet Halloran" in nine episodes during the series' first version, featuring Franciscus and McIntire), Jimmy Little as "Sgt. Max Higgins", Robert Dryden as "Police Surgeon", and Richard Kronold as "Detective Dutton".


Episodes

''Naked City'' was broadcast for four seasons starting in late 1958. A total of 138 episodes were produced during the four season run.


Season 1 (1958–1959)

''Naked City'' premiered on ABC as ''The Naked City'' on September 30, 1958, with the episode ''Meridian''. The first season was broadcast as 30-minute episodes from September 1958 to June 1959, consisting of 39 episodes. The series was cancelled after the first season. This original 30-minute version was sponsored by Viceroy cigarettes.


Season 2 (1960–1961)

The series was revived as an hour-long show in 1960 with the title, ''Naked City''. The first episode of the revived series was ''A Death of Princes'' and premiered on October 12, 1960. This season ran until June 1961 with 32 episodes.


Season 3 (1961–1962)

The third season of ''Naked City'' premiered on September 27, 1961, with the episode ''Take Off Your Hat When a Funeral Passes''. This season ran through June 1962 and comprised 33 episodes.


Season 4 (1962–1963)

The fourth season was the last for ''Naked City'' and started on September 19, 1962, with the episode ''Hold for Gloria Christmas''. A total of 34 episodes were produced for this last season, which ran from September 1962 through May 1963.


Syndication

In July 2011,
Retro Television Network Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through ...
started airing episodes of both the 30- and 60-minute versions of ''Naked City''. In October 2011,
Me-TV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
started carrying the hour-long show airing it weekly overnight, and in mid-2013 started showing two of the 30-minute episodes back to back.


Home media

Between 2003 and 2006
Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...
, under license from
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures li ...
, released a series of single-disc releases containing four of the hour-long episodes per disc, followed by three releases billed as "Box Set" 1 to 3, each of which contained three discs and 12 one-hour episodes, with their original commercials and sponsors' slots included as bonus features. These releases are now out of print. Early 2013 saw the release of a 10-disc "Best of Naked City" set containing 40 episodes, all of which had been included on the earlier DVDs, and "Naked City: 20 Star-Filled Episodes", a five-disc set with 10 more re-releases and 10 previously unreleased shows. It included two half-hour episodes, the earlier series' first appearance on DVD. None of these releases attempted to present the show in chronological order; their contents appeared to have been selected for the episodes' famous guest stars, whose names were prominently featured on their covers and other packaging. On November 5, 2013,
Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...
released ''Naked City: The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1. The 29-disc set contains all 138 episodes of the series.


Awards

''Naked City'' also received Emmy nominations for Best Dramatic Series - Less Than One Hour in 1959; Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama in 1961, 1962 and 1963; Paul Burke for Outstanding Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Series in 1962 and 1963; Horace McMahon for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor in 1962; Arthur Hiller for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama; Nancy Malone for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actress in 1963; and Diahann Carroll for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in 1963.


In popular culture

* The title ''Naked City'' is used for the '' L.A. Noire'' DLC vice case titled "The Naked City". * The series is parodied in an episode of ''
Top Cat ''Top Cat'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast in prime time on the ABC network. It aired in a weekly evening time slot from September 27, 1961, to April 18, 1962, for a single season o ...
'' titled "Naked Town".


Tie-in book

A tie-in collection of short stories was written to capitalize on the success of the TV series; it was titled ''The Naked City'' and was published as a mass-market paperback by Dell in 1959. While it was credited on the book's cover solely to series creator
Stirling Silliphant Stirling Dale Silliphant (January 16, 1918 – April 26, 1996) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for '' In the Heat of the Night'', for which he won an Academy Award in 1967, and for creating ...
, it actually consisted of writer and newspaperman Charles Einstein's prose adaptations of eight Silliphant stories from the series' first season of half-hour episodes. Einstein is the half-brother of comedian
Albert Brooks Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein ; July 22, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's '' Broadcast News'' and was widely praised for his performance as a ...
. The cover featured an evocative photo montage by photographer David Attie. While the book is well regarded by fans of the series, it has long been out of print.


References


External links

* * * {{WritersGuildofAmericaEpisodicDramaScreenplay 1958 American television series debuts 1963 American television series endings 1950s American crime drama television series 1950s American police procedural television series 1960s American crime drama television series 1960s American police procedural television series American Broadcasting Company original programming American television series revived after cancellation Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Live action television shows based on films Television series by Screen Gems Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows filmed in New York City Television shows set in New York City