"While the City Sleeps" may be Lang's second favorite U.S. film but I still think it's rather dull. There is very little action — even the climactic chase through the subway is not all that exciting — and a great deal of talk. The characters never fully engage the interest and very little suspense is worked up despite a two-pronged plot, combining the thriller with "Executive Suite".
Dana Andrews plays in his usual glum style, James Craig is even glummer, Sanders and Mitchell give their usual characterizations, while Ida Lupino overplays the femme fatale bit and Rhonda Fleming makes a good-looking but unconvincing adulteress. Barrymore overplays as usual. The only surprise and only performance to make any impression is Vincent Price as a callow newspaper heir.
Amazingly, after Moonfleet which is superlatively composed, Lang handles the wide screen very flaccidly, the loose framing matching the lack of tautness in the plot. Most of the lighting is flat too, though an occasional shot of rich contrast shows what the film might have been had Lang been at the top of his form. Production values are also no more than average, with the same unattractive sets being used again and again. Music and other technical credits are equally undistinguished.
Dana Andrews plays in his usual glum style, James Craig is even glummer, Sanders and Mitchell give their usual characterizations, while Ida Lupino overplays the femme fatale bit and Rhonda Fleming makes a good-looking but unconvincing adulteress. Barrymore overplays as usual. The only surprise and only performance to make any impression is Vincent Price as a callow newspaper heir.
Amazingly, after Moonfleet which is superlatively composed, Lang handles the wide screen very flaccidly, the loose framing matching the lack of tautness in the plot. Most of the lighting is flat too, though an occasional shot of rich contrast shows what the film might have been had Lang been at the top of his form. Production values are also no more than average, with the same unattractive sets being used again and again. Music and other technical credits are equally undistinguished.