The Sleeping City has a unique, unfortunately not fully realized, setting for a noir. Shot on location at Bellevue Hospital, the film stars Richard Conte as policeman Fred Rowan as he goes undercover to solve the murder of a hospital intern.
Conte carries the film while the supporting cast mostly serves as window dressing to keep the plot moving forward. The exception being Rowan's interactions with staff member Steve Anderson, played by Alex Nichols. Nichols' character reveals more intimate details than Rowan's supposed love interest (Coleen Gray) of the film, and it his personal struggles feel genuine.
Although I won't give any spoilers, the twists in the plot are surprises sure, yet still underwhelming. What keeps this film from being more than good was its underutilization of the hospital setting. Besides one scene where Rowan aids a patient, the setting serves nothing more than as a locale when it could have uplifted an otherwise average plot. Despite the missed opportunity, Conte alone makes the Sleeping City a B-movie noir worth watching.
Conte carries the film while the supporting cast mostly serves as window dressing to keep the plot moving forward. The exception being Rowan's interactions with staff member Steve Anderson, played by Alex Nichols. Nichols' character reveals more intimate details than Rowan's supposed love interest (Coleen Gray) of the film, and it his personal struggles feel genuine.
Although I won't give any spoilers, the twists in the plot are surprises sure, yet still underwhelming. What keeps this film from being more than good was its underutilization of the hospital setting. Besides one scene where Rowan aids a patient, the setting serves nothing more than as a locale when it could have uplifted an otherwise average plot. Despite the missed opportunity, Conte alone makes the Sleeping City a B-movie noir worth watching.