The Sleeping City (1950)

When a young doctor (Hugh Reilly) is shot dead outside a hospital, a police detective (Richard Conte) goes undercover as an intern in order to break the case. It isn't long before he discovers there's something very wrong going on in the hospital. Directed by George Sherman (AGAINST ALL FLAGS), this film noir was shot entirely on location at Bellevue Hospital and on the streets of New York in a semi documentary style. It even begins with Richard Conte as himself and not the character he plays addressing the audience. It's a taut little crime thriller that holds your attention. It's not perfect, some of the unsubtle performances are pretty bad. Richard Taber and Alex Nicol can't seem to restrain themselves and carry on as if they were in an old fashioned melodrama but Sherman gives strong support to the film's fervid narrative. Frank Skinner (WRITTEN ON THE WIND) did the underscore. With Coleen Gray, John Alexander and Peggy Dow.