While New York Sleeps (1938) User Reviews

Cheerful B Mystery With Breezy Newspapermen

[alonzoiii-1 · 6/10 · 11 January 2012]

WHILE NEW YORK SLEEPS, intrepid newspapermen work to solve a series of murders involving the robberies of bonds, the mysterious "suicide" of an insurance investigator, and an infamous practical joker. Will the newspaperman get to first base with his would-be honey if he gets her out of an ingenious frame up?

This is a pretty good, smoothly directed 30s mystery series picture from the excellent B-unit at Fox, which is also responsible for Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto. This isn't quite in the league with those pictures, mainly because the newspaperman detective is, to put it mildly, an irresponsible jerk. Nevertheless, the pace is quick enough that we don't end up spending too much time on this anti-hero's most obnoxious moments, and the gentleman is at least amply repaid for the genuinely cruel stunt he pulls in the middle of the picture. Acting is no better or worse than usual, cinematography is fine, pacing is better than average. If you enjoy mysteries, this is a worthwhile find.

A rather typical B-murder mystery.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 8 August 2017]

B-movies were films that lasted about an hour in length and were meant as the second, or lesser, film at a double feature. They tended to have lower budgets and were quickly written and shot...but they didn't always result in inferior films. This example is from one of the big studios, Twentieth Century-Fox, and you can tell it's a B due to its length and that the actors were mostly unknowns.

Barney (Michael Whalen) is a hotshot reporter who has been investigating the murders of couriers. However, his vacation is coming up and he decides to drop the story and have some well earned time off from work. But when the newest murder victim happens to be a friend of his, Barney drops everything and returns to town to investigate. Only in these sorts of movies do reporters investigate and solve crimes...something the idiot police never seem to be able to do!

Overall, this is a well made film for a B. The acting and script are good and Harold Huber (one of the suspects) plays a most enjoyable and strange mobster! Worth seeing.

The City That Never Sleeps

[boblipton · 6/10 · 19 December 2019]

Reporter Michael Whalen takes a vacation to write a play. He is lured back to the newsroom when an insurance investigator who's a friend of his is murdered, and to try to land Jean Rogers. She's a dancer at Harold Huber's nightclub, and Huber and Whalen play practical jokes on each other. When Whalen gets Miss Rogers' hometown boyfriend, Robert Kellard, angry at her, she and Huber figure out a practical joke to play on Whalen: he'll walk in on her when she has "killed" Huber with a gun loaded with blanks. It goes off swimmingly, until it turns out later that Huber has been murdered.

The wisecrackers used to joke about 20th-Century's B lot, that it had gone "from bad to Wurzel," but in this period and under Sol Wurzel, it produced the liveliest B pictures in Hollywood. This one is typical: bright, breezy, high-speed, and loaded with a strong mystery plot that was sufficiently convoluted that I figured on a red herring for the murderer. It's also loaded with strong actors, like Chick Chandler, Joan Woodbury, Marc Lawrence, Sidney Blackmer.... the list goes on well into the uncredited players, under the direction of highly competent Bruce Humberstone. If you're looking to kill an hour with a movie, you could do a lot worse.

A gag a minute

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 24 June 2020]

Reporter Michael Whalen who is on leave from his job to write a play gets lured back to the crime beat when a few bond salesmen wind up murdered. A telltale clue at the scene of the last homicide leads him to Harold Huber a nightclub owner with a penchant for practical jokes.

Huber may have gotten his career role in this film. This guy annoys his staff and fellow mobsters with his non-stop gags. But his last gag did him in as he's doublecrossed as he tries to fake his own demise as a joke on Whalen.

Whalen is nice and breezy, a B picture Tyrone Power for Darryl Zanuck at 20th Century Fox. William Demarest scores also as one of Huber's henchmen, maybe his only really loyal one.

One thing is certain, Whalen's got good material for that play now.

Great "B"!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 5 September 2013]

Harold Huber fans rejoice! Not only is Harold prominently featured on the cover of Alpha's excellent DVD, he has a great role in this one, even though he is actually billed sixth! What a movie! In fact for a "B" line-up (the film runs an admirably fast-paced 61 minutes), this "associate feature" is extremely well made. For a starter, it's directed with commendable zing by "Lucky" Humberstone, who gets showy performances from Michael Whalen (normally a rather dull actor, but he rises magnificently to the occasion here), the lovely Jean Rogers, perennial off-sider Chick Chandler, funnyman William Demarest, stylish Joan Woodbury and even bit-player Bob Kellard who turns in a memorable performance as the heroine's impulsive boyfriend. And let's not forget Cliff Clark's Inspector Cliff Collins, George Chandler's thwarted piano-player, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson's janitor, Billy Wayne's waiter, Matt McHugh's cab driver, and not to mention those prominent villains Marc Lawrence and Sidney Blackmer. Yes, this is a movie DVD you can profitably watch two or three times before putting it away for the night! Run most efficiently by Sol M. Wurtzel, Fox's "B" unit was easily the best in the business. Reason: Sol Wurtzel not only employed clever writers, super-confident photographers (this one was lensed by Lucien Andriot) and stylish directors, but filled his cast line-ups with the showiest players that a "B" budget could afford.

Good Laughs, Clever Mystery, Wishing for More

[mbanak · 8/10 · 17 June 2020]

I love it when gems like this pop-up. Well-written, well-acted and snappy dialogue. With the right exposure, this could be a classic among the B's. The dance numbers on-stage at the night club look like they are a cut-above the usual B-Movies. One hour of pleasure in this mystery. At least 3 plot-lines are at-play, including a love triangle, a reporter's career and a serial robber. The wind-up unfolds pretty fast, but thanks to digital play-back, you can sort it out as deep as you want. My only problem in this flick is the same as others like it - I keep predicting the wrong guy to get the girl. Now you try it.