Naked City

Naked City

1958
Naked City
Naked City

Naked City

8.2 | TV-MA | en | Drama

Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”.

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Seasons & Episodes

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EP34  Barefoot on a Bed of Coals
May. 29,1963
Barefoot on a Bed of Coals

A man who failed to qualify for the NYPD takes to impersonating a uniformed patrolman.His motives have to do with wanting to serve the public and also wanting to attract more desirable women. When he becomes involved in stopping a robbery and uses his non-regulation firearm the real NYPD searches him out.

EP33  Golden Lads and Girls
May. 22,1963
Golden Lads and Girls

A pair of married couples from different social and economic backgrounds find they do have something in common. The couples both are involved in physically abusive relationships and must go through the same legal system. The realization that they have similar problems despite their different stations in life is quite an eye opener.

EP32  One, Two, Three, Rita Rakahowski
May. 15,1963
One, Two, Three, Rita Rakahowski

The tension between a stock worker and his boss in a cardboard packaging plant, over a co-worker they both are in love with, escalates into a major fight. The police are called, but then the boss refuses to press charges against the employee. But the situation only gets worse.

EP31  The S.S. American Dream
May. 08,1963
The S.S. American Dream

An emotional scrap dealer wants to purchase a ship bound for salvage, but he needs at least $3000. When his business partner refuses to help, the scrapper flies into a rage and murders him at a construction site. He then turns to an unscrupulous loan shark, but can only get some of the money and the deal runs out as his conscience bears down on him.

EP30  Color Schemes Like Never Before
May. 01,1963
Color Schemes Like Never Before

A man with no "point of view" is strongly attracted to an opinionated woman. After he witnesses the accidental death of a "client" of his brother and his business associates he is told to leave NYC. He resists due to his newly found love and is a danger to them. Will he tell the NYPD the true story or be killed first?

EP29  Carrier
Apr. 24,1963
Carrier

A young woman, a carrier of a deadly infectious disease, leaves a self-imposed exile of 14 years on Welfare Island (now called Roosevelt Island) for Manhattan and a "normal" life. The NYPD is notified and seeks to find her before the "Van Nortons Sawyers Fever" infects the populace and causes multiple deaths.

EP28  No Naked Ladies in Front of Giovanni's House!
Apr. 17,1963
No Naked Ladies in Front of Giovanni's House!

An immature man is the landlord of a house who is given to act irrationally because of the memory of his overbearing, deceased father. When his fiancée is visiting from Italy, he panics at the thought of marrying her, and stages stunts like trying to set the house on fire and refusing his tenants' rent money.

EP27  Howard Running Bear Is a Turtle
Apr. 03,1963
Howard Running Bear Is a Turtle

American Indians employed in NYC as "high floor construction workers" are a close knit group that follow tribal customs. A loveless arranged marriage that has not worked out eventually leads to a fatal fight between a husband and the tribesman she really loves. Rather than telling the NYPD the truth, the tribe "honors" the dead man by saying nothing.

EP26  On the Battlefront, Every Minute Is Important
Mar. 27,1963
On the Battlefront, Every Minute Is Important

A psychotic who leads a burglary ring has an unfortunate habit of bursting into a murderous rage when things go wrong. When Adam investigates the scene of of the bloody break-ins, the head of an advertising agency offers him a lucrative position.

EP25  Stop the Parade, a Baby Is Crying!
Mar. 20,1963
Stop the Parade, a Baby Is Crying!

The reporting of a car theft by a good looking blonde seems odd for some reason to Detectives Flint and Arcaro. Later they and Lt. Parker are told she actually lent the car after a casual pickup. As more is learned about this woman her mental state becomes a concern. Is she a possible suicide case or a danger to others?

EP24  Alive and Still a Second Lieutenant
Mar. 06,1963
Alive and Still a Second Lieutenant

A corporate man who accidentally killed a man in a fight over a parking space mentally and physically tortures himself while the detectives search for the killer.

EP23  The Highest of Prizes
Feb. 27,1963
The Highest of Prizes

A jury that seems hopelessly deadlocked debates the case of a man who murdered his wife in order to be with another woman, but there might not be enough physical evidence to sway all of the jurors.

EP22  Bringing Far Places Together
Feb. 20,1963
Bringing Far Places Together

An immigrant from Puerto Rico finds that things are not better and in many ways worse since moving to NYC. The inability to speak English has lead to confusion, not being able to find a job, contempt for being an alien and misunderstanding by the police. Betrayal by one of his own people only makes it even worse.

EP21  Prime of Life
Feb. 13,1963
Prime of Life

Flint is ordered to prison to witness the execution of a murderer he helped capture.

EP20  A Man Without a Skin
Feb. 06,1963
A Man Without a Skin

A hot dog, newspaper headline-grabbing detective has himself assigned to the 65th Precinct to find the killer of his partner. Both Lt. Parker and Det. Flint soon find that this brash and rash detective gets under their skin. He challenges their bravery and considers them to be safety first "parade cops".

EP19  Beyond This Place There Be Dragons
Jan. 30,1963
Beyond This Place There Be Dragons

An ex-con, hustling a living by being part fence, sports bettor and police informant among other things,has a contract out on his life. He scrambles to get enough money together to leave for Oklahoma and a reunion with his wife and son. Lt. Parker is sympathetic and tries to help his "stoolie" friend safely leave NYC.

EP18  The Apple Falls Not Far from the Tree
Jan. 23,1963
The Apple Falls Not Far from the Tree

A group of rich young men burglarize apartments in their own building, and to cover their tracks, escalate to violence.

EP17  Robin Hood and Clarence Darrow, They Went Out with Bow and Arrow
Jan. 09,1962
Robin Hood and Clarence Darrow, They Went Out with Bow and Arrow

After a string of liquor store robberies and murders, a liquor store owner plans for retribution when his store is robbed and his friend, the clerk, is killed.

EP16  Her Life in Moving Pictures
Jan. 02,1963
Her Life in Moving Pictures

The detectives try to build a case against a womanizing con man who manipulates lonely maids in order to gain their confidence and burglarize the homes of their wealthy employers. Flint is bothered by having used one woman's private diary in order to locate the man, and she is more bitter with the police for this than she is with the suspect for using her.

EP15  Don't Knock It Till You've Tried It
Dec. 26,1962
Don't Knock It Till You've Tried It

Two Las Vegas showgirls travel to New York for the purpose of abducting a married psychiatrist with whom one of the women had an affair. The apparent motivation is to force the man to leave his wife for the Las Vegas dancer.

EP14  Spectre of the Rose Street Gang
Dec. 19,1962
Spectre of the Rose Street Gang

Construction workers unearth the skeleton of a 14-year old boy, dead and buried for about 25 years. The only clue to his identity -- and fate -- is a cigarette lighter with the monogram JLY. Learning of this from the morning paper, perpetual ne'er-do-well Sam Langan recognizes both the dead boy and a chance to advance himself.

EP13  King Stanislaus and the Knights of the Round Table
Dec. 12,1962
King Stanislaus and the Knights of the Round Table

Two longtime Polish friends in the meat business have some bad blood between them and fight to resolve their issues.

EP12  The Virtues of Madame Douvay
Dec. 05,1962
The Virtues of Madame Douvay

Dishwasher carved to death, while Adam & Libby slurp wine in a French bistro.

EP11  Dust Devil on a Quiet Street
Nov. 28,1962
Dust Devil on a Quiet Street

An acting class prank gone tragically awry leads the detectives to look closely at a talented but emotionally-tortured student.

EP10  A Horse Has a Big Head -- Let Him Worry!
Nov. 21,1962
A Horse Has a Big Head -- Let Him Worry!

An almost-blind young man roams the streets of New York after separating from his class, while his teacher (Diahann Carroll) attempts to convince his parents that the boy can learn to ably use his limited sight and not become completely blind.

EP9  Make It Fifty Dollars and Add Love to Nona
Nov. 14,1962
Make It Fifty Dollars and Add Love to Nona

An old, but vibrant, man is shuffled off to an "Elderly Citizen's" home by his wealthy son. Both to get his son's attention and amuse himself, the man begins to make threatening crank telephone calls. A fellow resident, a retired cop, overhears him doing this and begins to blackmail his "friend".

EP8  Torment Him Much and Hold Him Long
Nov. 07,1962
Torment Him Much and Hold Him Long

To remain straight, an ex-con informs on the would-be robbers of a bar where he works, instead of helping the stickup men, his former pals. But the hoods' connection to Link Toland, a seemingly respectable businessman with serious political juice, cranks the heat way up on the young informant, his family, the investigating detectives, and even the tavern owner.

EP7  Go Fight City Hall
Oct. 31,1962
Go Fight City Hall

A subway fare taker who tried to hide his drunken escapades by falsely reporting a crime, goes on a mini crime spree to try to make fools of the investigating detectives.

EP6  Five Cranks for Winter... Ten Cranks for Spring
Oct. 24,1962
Five Cranks for Winter... Ten Cranks for Spring

Former contender Johnny Meigs, eking out a living after a brain injury, pleads to go back in the ring, to get money to send his unknowing wife Kathy to compete in a floral show in Baltimore. Crooked boxing manager Gus Slate lines up an elderly, alcoholic physician to give Meigs a passing physical.

EP5  Kill Me While I'm Young So I Can Die Happy
Oct. 17,1962
Kill Me While I'm Young So I Can Die Happy

A recently-retired policewoman who is facing her own mortality discovers, with the help of Detective Arcaro, how she has missed so many opportunities for happiness.

EP4  And By the Sweat of Thy Brow...
Oct. 10,1962
And By the Sweat of Thy Brow...

A young man with a disfigured face lives in the shadows of the city committing petty crimes until a young woman and Detective Flint show him how his self-worth is tied to his actions, not his looks.

EP3  Daughter, Am I in My Father's House?
Oct. 03,1962
Daughter, Am I in My Father's House?

A teenage girl is teased and handled a little roughly by four prankish teenage boys at a movie theater. The girl's father downplays the incident when the NYPD investigates. The father, a WWII combat veteran, has a plan to "save his daughter from any public embarrassment". He will hunt the boys down and mete out justice.

EP2  Idylls of a Running Back
Sep. 26,1962
Idylls of a Running Back

Pro football star shot by younger woman when he opens his hotel room door. The press assumes Elvin "Colossus of" Rhodes was cheating on his wife, but Rhodes insists he doesn't even know the quiet, plain waitress. The paper trail fits the woman's claim they were lovers - separate hotel rooms as the player was on the road, gift receipts etc. check out, as Rhodes' life unravels.

EP1  Hold for Gloria Christmas
Sep. 19,1962
Hold for Gloria Christmas

Poet Duncan Kleist breaks out of a hospital alcholic ward to retrieve some verses he traded for drinks. But Stanley, the bartender who now has the poems, tells Duncan he will have to buy them back.

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8.2 | TV-MA | en | Drama , Crime , Action & Adventure | More Info
Released: 1958-09-30 | Released Producted By: Screen Gems Television , Shelle Productions Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”.

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The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

Harry Bellaver , Paul Burke , Horace McMahon

Director

Arnold Perl

Producted By

Screen Gems Television , Shelle Productions

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Reviews

SamHardy Not every great actor gets to be recognized for great work. Most of the good actors working today have names most of us will never know. But there was a time when TV was THE place to showcase you talents as an actor. The 1950's and 1960's provided tons of actors chances to show what they could do, and many went on to become well known names. But most of them , for reasons that were not their fault, practiced their art in relative obscurity. That's why I love watching shows like The Naked City. Yes Virginia, there was a golden time when great writing and really fine acting made TV such a pleasure to watch. Back then producers had much more time to develop characters and situations because an hour show like The Naked City had far fewer interruptions for commercials. An hour show really was pretty close to an hour. Every time I watch an episode of this fine program I am reminded of just how much change has not been kind to TV. Now a days it's really hard to find good writing and good acting on prime time TV. Constant interruptions for commercials and flashy graphics have distracted us from developing plot lines that people can relate to. The stories in The Naked City were about real people in situations that almost anyone could relate to. I Just finished watching a fine episode that featured Jack Warden and Carol O'Connor. O'Connor would go on to star in All In The Family but he was doing fine dramatic work in TV and movies long before that. And sadly, Jack Warden is still a name most people draw a blank on. I love those dramatic shows from the 50s and 60s. You just don't see those kind of lovingly crafted shows anymore. Too bad....
John T. Ryan In the Year of Our Lord 1958, the Western reigned supreme on the 3 Networks and in syndication. We once counted about 30 'Oaters' that we saw in our house that we saw on a more or less regular basis. But others genre had their stars rising in their particular Zodiacal Signs and were gaining in popularity. Cops 'n' Robbers had been a staple on TV from the earliest days; a carry over perhaps from some of those series movies like featuring the likes of CHARLIE CHAN, SHERLOCK HOLMES, BOSTON BLACKIE (Chester Morris-type), THE SAINT, THE FALCON and THE THIN MAN.The transition to Television brought us early series like THE PLAIN CLOTHESMAN, ROCKY KING (with Roscoe Karns and his Son, Todd Karns) BOSTON BLACKIE (Kent Taylor-type), MAN AGAINST CRIME (with Ralph Bellamy as Mike Barnett) and even an early DICK TRACY (with, who else? Ralph Byrd). A little later some new waves of Cop/Detective shows came along. We saw titles like PERRY MASON (oooh! A Lawyer!), THE THIN MAN TV (with Peter Lawford & Phyllis Kirk), CHECKMATE (Anthony George, Doug McClure, Sebastian Cabot), PETER GUN (Blake Edwards' brainchild with Craig Stevens, Lola Albright & Herschell Bernardi) MANNIX (Mike 'Touch' Conners) and Warner Brothers' Cloned Series of 77 SUNSET STRIP, HAWAIIN EYE, BOURBON STREET BEAT and SURFSIDE SIX.There were others, but as one TV Columnist we recall in the Chicago American had observed, it got to a point where all of the good police work being done on our TV screens was done by the Private "I's". The 'Flatfoot' on the Beat was mostly being portrayed as the helpers.This was all to change and the likes of Jack Webb's DRAGNET and RACKET SQUAD would struggle to get to the pinnacle; but by the 1970's regular Policeman, be they uniformed or plainclothesmen, were rising to be the top. They soon would be the one program type to fill in so much of the programming schedules. They were in a sense, "the New Westerns." One of the main reasons, other than Mr. Jack Webb's efforts that we have enjoyed our HILL STREET BLUES, HOMICIDE, NYPD BLUE and LAW & ORDER group is the quality displayed and subsequent success of NAKED CITY (Shielle Productions/Screen Gems TV, 1958-63).The idea for the Series sprang from Mark Hellinger's NY specific crime drama, THE NAKED CITY (Hellinger Productions/Universal Pictures, 1948) In it the drama of murder, the primary investigation and follow-up, all play out against the back-drop of what is (I being a super-sensitive Chicagoan) doubtless the greatest city in the World. Never before had a movie set in NY been filmed completely there and on such a grand scale; using the best settings in the 5 Burroughs as the most magnificent scenery of an urban nature anywhere; as well as the use of countless thousands, or even millions of extras.There was very in common between the Film and the Series; although James Franciscus did portray the Detective Jimmy Halloran, who was Don Taylor's character in the film. And Mr. Franciscus was in the 1st Season's Episodes; which were only ½ Hour in Length and seemed to meet with only Luke warm response from the public. The series was on hiatus for the next season of 1959-60; only to return as an hour long series in the 1960-61 season. But Paul Burke as Det. Adam Flint replaced James Franciscus as the lead. It seems that the hour long episodes put the series over the top; perhaps allowing more time for characterization, plot development and good old shoot-em-up Action! In retrospect, we can only say that NAKED CITY has proved to be one of the finest Dramas in TV History, Cop Show or not. Now ain't it grand that Hindsight is always 20-20?
thebuckguy As others have noted, Naked City was essentially an anthology series (a now gone genre that was common in the late 50s/early 60s), rather than a "police procedural". The scripts varied in quality and some veered a bit too much toward the sentimentality and sanctimony that passed for quality television in the show's era. Nonetheless, it provided many sides of New York and probably showed off the city better than any subsequent New York-based show. "Naked City" was put together by many of the same people responsible for "Route 66", which was the yin to this show's yang--restless loners who went everywhere (rather than cops rooted in New York) and and served up a similar range of characters in places all over the country, with similar kinds of scripts. Whatever the limits of the writing, the show was well-acted and had strong regulars, as well as a range of guest stars and bit players that seems amazing from our vantage point in the present.Regarding previous comments: The city has changed less than one might expect in the last few decades. I rented a DVD that included a scene at 3rd Ave & 68th St. A few days before, I happened to be in that area--except for one corner, much of the area looks much as it did in that 1961 episode. As for the "diversity" of the show and NYC: New York in 1960 had a much smaller proportion of minorities than cities such as Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Washington DC, etc. Also, the big drug-fueled crime wave of the late 60s to the 80s had not begun and the racial disparity in arrests and incarceration was not as large as it has become in the present day. African Americans lived in Harlem, but also middle class sections of Queens and economically mixed areas of Brooklyn; it was never as ghettoized as many other places such as LA or Chicago and there was a significant middle class. In 1960, New York still was very much a city of Irish, Italian, & Jewish immigrants and their descendants, with healthy doses of Greeks, Eastern European gentiles, Scandinavians, and others. In addition, the show's occasional African-American guest star or even its inclusion of Black faces in crowds were radical steps for their time and the sort of thing that engendered sponsor resistance. Even after the passage of Civil Rights laws, Black faces were rare on television. Naked City was far ahead of its time, even if it seems anachronistic now. Pontiac may have been a sponsor, which would explain the 4 door hardtops (top of the line cars in their day) for the cops and old Fords for the perps. OTOH, location filming was novel and has never been cheap, so the expendable perp cars would have been potential junkers.My guess is that "Naked City" was popular among everyday police officers for the same reason that "Barney Miller" was--it humanized the individual cop, showed the tedium of their job, and portrayed the world of odd and unexplainable characters that filled their day. It's doubtful that anyone would want to identify with the likes of Andy Sipowicz (NYPD Blue), even he that seems more realistic to a TV viewer.
revtg1-2 An odd show, if you watch it closely. First of all, it ran from 1958 until 1963 and it was about honest cops in New York City. It had some great performers, but some of the scripts, especially those done by Sterling Silliphant, were a little pretentious bordering on klutzy. Not as stilted, formulated, pretentious or klutzy as Dragnet, but borderline. The other thing interesting is in the episodes done in 1961 the detectives drove brand new Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs but the blue suits guys drove 1953-54 Fords. In one episode the mean hit man, whose speciality was killing people with a car, drove a 1950 or 1951 Buick chasing the cops who were in a 1950 Oldsmoblie. Now that's low budget. The character of the main focus, a hard working detective played by James Franciscus, is a little too introspective and self doubting to be a good New York street cop. The same demeanor was carried on by Paul Burke. A cop in New York with those kinds of hang ups would have lasted about one month. New York City, even in those days, was a lot more interesting than the show is able to present it. No real New York native characters. Just the mysterious Emerald City and hard working, deticated public servant cops putting it all on the line. That and Wheaties is as all-American as in got on TV back then. Good show for car buffs who like to see the old machines in action again, though.