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While the City Sleeps

Play trailer Poster for While the City Sleeps 1956 1h 40m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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91% Tomatometer 23 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A serial killer is on the loose in New York City. Dubbed The Lipstick Killer, he has also strangely become the center of a power struggle between three division chiefs in a media empire. The directive from their inexperienced boss, Walter Kyne (Vincent Price), is simple: Whoever catches the killer gets promoted to executive editor. But newspaper editor John Day Griffith (Thomas Mitchell) has one distinct advantage in the form of crack reporter Edward Mobley (Dana Andrews).
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While the City Sleeps

Critics Reviews

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Dave Kehr Chicago Reader 10/15/2014
The story is a cynical twist on Lang's famous M. Go to Full Review Miranda Kiek Independent (UK) 10/15/2014
2/5
Although you could run a horse and carriage through the plot, the dialogue isn't bad. Go to Full Review Variety Staff Variety 03/26/2009
Plot intricacies are deftly interwoven, with director Fritz Lang doing a topflight job of balancing the ingredients without dragging the pace. Go to Full Review Joshua Polanski Midwest Film Journal 03/10/2025
The newsroom and the relationships between the newspaper men and women are the beating heart of While the City Sleeps. Go to Full Review Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal 11/01/2023
3/5
Fritz Lang’s framing of people in places of power also emphasizes the dizzying speed with which they rise, fall or simply burrow deeper into the building’s basement bar. Too bad the initial pulsing, personal urgency leeches as the narrative loses itself. Go to Full Review André Bazin L'Obs (France) 12/09/2021
Even when he is reduced to working with scant means or idiotic stories, Lang can create something of substance. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Bill B @RT01438538 Feb 7 Quite a talented cast, but the story seemed like a weak retread of "Executive Suite". It passed the time. See more Robert S @RT90862380 03/30/2025 What a waste: A great director (Lang) and great actors (Dana Andrews, Ida Lupino, Howard Duff, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders) but a plot so stupid, unbelievable, and disjointed that the movie left me shaking my head. Hard to believe that Lang, who made great movies such as M, Metropolis, and The Big Heat, could make such a clunker. See more Shadowman4710 @RT96537255 09/04/2023 A fairly good crime drama about members of a media conglomerate trying to solve a serial killer's murder spree. Dana Andrews leads a first cast that includes, Rhonda Fleming, Ida Lupino, George Sanders, Vincent Price and Howard Duff. The acting is first rate and the direction is also good. The ending is a little and down right silly in spots but overall, it's a solid thriller. See more Steve D @RT35616104 07/05/2023 Good idea bad script and characters. See more deke p @RT96675217 01/20/2022 Newsroom drama, very complex. GREAT CAST. BTW, Howard Duff & Ida Lupino got married 5 years later in 1951. She looked beautiful & sophisticated in this one. Directed by FRITZ LANG! This has been on the tv set Movie Channel often. Saw it again 1.20.2022 See more paul d @PaulusLoZebra 02/01/2021 I was a bit underwhelmed by Fritz Lang's While the City Sleeps. It has going for it two very strong and intertwined story lines, one about job competition, human deceit and manipulation, and the other a sordid crime mystery that everyone is trying to solve to help them advance their careers. While it is all highly improbable, these stories raise lots of interesting and important questions about people. But they couldn't overcome for me a rather dull look and feel. Visually it was straightforward and a bit boring, nothing like his top films. Perhaps they need a restored print to do it justice, or maybe Lang was deliberately moving against his signature style and went too far? In terms of the movie's "feel", the underlying cynicism weighs it down, and the "happy" ending was so incongruous that it seemed suspiciously like being a studio requirement. Despite a star-studded cast, only Rhonda Fleming and Howard Duff seemed natural and unmannered. See more Read all reviews
While the City Sleeps

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Cast & Crew

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Fritz Lang

Director

Dana Andrews

Edward Mobley

Ida Lupino

Mildred Donner

Rhonda Fleming

Dorothy Kyne

Sally Forrest

Nancy Liggett

Thomas Mitchell

Jon Day Griffith

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While the City Sleeps

While the City Sleeps (1956) While the City Sleeps (1956) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A serial killer is on the loose in New York City. Dubbed The Lipstick Killer, he has also strangely become the center of a power struggle between three division chiefs in a media empire. The directive from their inexperienced boss, Walter Kyne (Vincent Price), is simple: Whoever catches the killer gets promoted to executive editor. But newspaper editor John Day Griffith (Thomas Mitchell) has one distinct advantage in the form of crack reporter Edward Mobley (Dana Andrews).
Director
Fritz Lang
Producer
Bert E. Friedlob
Screenwriter
Charles Einstein, Casey Robinson
Distributor
Continental Home Vídeo [br], RKO Radio Pictures, Image Entertainment Inc.
Production Co
RKO Pictures
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 30, 1956, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 30, 2012
Runtime
1h 40m
Sound Mix
Mono
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