''New York Confidential'' is a 1955 film noir crime film directed by

Russell Rouse Russell Rouse (November 20, 1913 – October 2, 1987) was an American screenwriter, director, and producer who is noted for the "offbeat creativity and originality" of his screenplays and for film noir movies and television episodes produce ...

starring Broderick Crawford,

Richard Conte Nicholas Peter Conte (March 24, 1910 – April 15, 1975), known professionally as Richard Conte, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from the 1940s through 1970s, including '' I'll Cry Tomorrow'', ''Ocean's 11'', and ''Th ...

Marilyn Maxwell Marvel Marilyn Maxwell (August 3, 1921 – March 20, 1972) was an American actress and entertainer. In a career that spanned the 1940s and 1950s, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War ...

Anne Bancroft Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two ...

and J. Carrol Naish.

Plot

Charlie Lupo is a gangster who runs the New York branch of a crime syndicate. He is a widower with a worried mother, a grown daughter, Kathy, and a new lover, Iris. Hit man Nick Magellan of the Chicago mob impresses Lupo, who hires Magellan to be his bodyguard. They form a friendship and Kathy is attracted to Nick, but he resists her advances out of respect for Lupo. When a political lobbyist interferes with the syndicate's plans and must be eliminated, Lupo arranges for three men to handle it. But they leave too many clues and themselves have to be taken care of, a task Lupo turns over to Nick. Nick quickly dispatches two of the targets, but a third flees and, in return for ratting out Lupo to the authorities, manages to arrange a deal for himself. The gangster hides out while legal negotiations concerning the charge for which Lupo will go to prison go on. Kathy, having fled her father's home in an attempt to make an independent life, is drawn back in when the police, and reporters, track her down at her job. She shows up at Nick's, clearly intoxicated, to tell him how her life has fallen apart. She throws herself at him but he rejects her. Later, she is killed in a single-car crash. The newspaper headline suggests suicide. Lupo is devastated; his heart no longer in his work, he decides to cooperate with the authorities. The syndicate determines that he must be eliminated and Nick is ordered to do it. He does the job but, as a matter of 'insurance', he in turn is killed.

Cast

* Broderick Crawford as Charlie Lupo *

as Nick Magellan *

as Iris Palmer *

as Katherine Lupo * J. Carrol Naish as Ben Dagajanian *

Onslow Stevens Onslow Stevens (born Onslow Ford Stevenson; March 29, 1902 – January 5, 1977) was an American stage, television and film actor. Early years Born in Los Angeles, California, Stevens was the son of British-born character actor Houseley St ...

as Johnny Achilles *

Barry Kelley Edward Barry Kelley (August 19, 1908 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s and in films during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in '' Oklahoma!'' on Broadway. His l ...

as Robert Frawley *

Mike Mazurki Mike Mazurki (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990) was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. His 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence and face had him typecast as often brainless athletes ...

as Arnie Wendler *

Celia Lovsky Celia Lovsky (born Cäcilia Josefina Lvovsky, February 21, 1897 – October 12, 1979) was an Austrian-American actress. She was born in Vienna,Herbert Heyes Herbert Harrison Heyes (August 3, 1889 – May 31, 1958) was an American film actor. He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1915 and 1956, including the famed 1947 film '' Miracle on 34th Street'', in which he played an ahistorical "Mr. Gimbel ...

as James Marshall * Steven Geray as Morris Franklin * William 'Bill' Phillips as Whitey *

Tom Powers Thomas McCreery Powers (July 7, 1890 – November 9, 1955) was an American actor in theatre, films, radio and television. A veteran of the Broadway stage, notably in plays by George Bernard Shaw, he created the role of Charles Marsden in Eug ...

as District Attorney Rossi *

John Doucette John Arthur Doucette (January 21, 1921 – August 16, 1994) was an American character actor who performed in more than 280 film and television productions between 1941 and 1987. A man of stocky build who possessed a deep, rich voice, he p ...

as Shorty

Production

Edward Small Edward Small (born Edward Schmalheiser, February 1, 1891, Brooklyn, New York – January 25, 1977, Los Angeles) was a film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movi ...

bought the rights to the book in 1953. He assigned it over to the team of Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse, who had a six-picture deal with Small. Greene and Rouse wanted George Raft and Paul Muni to star.

Reception

Critical response

The staff at ''

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), ...

'' magazine praised the cast in their review of the film, "Among crime exposes New York Confidential stacks up as one of the better-made entries, thanks to a well-fashioned story and good performances by a cast of familiar names ... Conte does a topnotch job of making a coldblooded killer seem real and Crawford is good as the chairman of the crime board, as is Marilyn Maxwell as his girl friend. Anne Bancroft, showing continuing progress and talent, scores with a standout performance of Crawford's unhappy daughter." Modern critic Dennis Schwartz was disappointed in the film. In 2004 he wrote, "Russell Rouse's ''New York Confidential'' is a crime thriller that is a formulaic exposé of the rackets, and is not quite as good as another such film—'' The Enforcer'' ... ''New York Confidential'' was never exciting, tense or eye-opening. Its narrative was a cliché-driven mob story that was only mildly diverting and even though the performances were energetically delivered, it still tasted like a stale salami sandwich."Schwartz, Dennis
. ''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'', film review, October 14, 2004. Accessed: August 15, 2013.

References

External links

* * * * *
''New York Confidential''
information site and DVD review at DVD Beaver (includes images) * {{Edward Small 1955 films 1955 crime films American crime films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films Film noir Films about organized crime in the United States Films directed by Russell Rouse Films set in New York City Warner Bros. films Films produced by Edward Small 1950s American films