''The Captive City'' is a 1952 American film noir crime film directed by

Robert Wise Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of ...

and starring

John Forsythe John Forsythe (January 29, 1918 – April 1, 2010) was an American stage, film/television actor, producer, narrator, drama teacher and philanthropist whose career spanned six decades. He also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety s ...

. The screenplay is based on real life experiences of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine reporter

Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. Alvin M. Josephy Jr. (May 18, 1915 – October 16, 2005) was an American historian who specialized in Native American issues. ''New York Times'' reviewer Herbert Mitgang called him in 1982 the "leading non-Indian writer about Native Americans". ...

, who co-wrote the script.

Plot

Newspaper editor and co-owner Jim Austin and his wife are fleeing Kennington, where they live and work, so that he may testify before a U.S. Senate Special Committee investigating crime in interstate commerce. They are being pursued by the criminal element from their town and pull off the highway in a place called Warren, where they take refuge in a police station. Austin requests an escort to ensure they arrive safely at the committee location. He also gets permission to use the station's tape recorder, on which he chronicles the events which have brought him to this point. Austin began investigating bookmaking in town after the suspicious death of private detective Clyde Nelson, who discovered police complicity with illegal gambling while working a divorce case for a Mrs. Sirak. Her ex-husband, Murray Sirak, happened to be the major bookmaker in Kennington. Austin questioned the police response to Nelson's death, then began an investigation himself after being goaded by the Chief of Police. Austin discovered that mafia-affiliated gangster Dominick Fabretti had moved into town, then Sirak attempted to squelch Austin's activity with a bribe, and Austin and his wife were continually harassed. The city fathers, the police, and the respectable elements of the community all consented to the gambling, arguing that betting is inevitable, and that exposing it would injure the city's reputation. Mrs. Sirak was murdered after she agreed to disclose that Fabretti was responsible for Nelson's murder. Austin's partner at the newspaper dropped his support for Austin because they are losing advertisers and vendors due to his crusade. To stop Fabretti and his activities, Austin's final recourse was an appeal for help from the local ministers. When even they declined to get involved, Austin decided to appeal to the Senate Crime Commission at the Capital. A grave threat from Sirak spurred Austin and his wife to flee in the middle of the night, followed by Fabretti's henchmen. They do get the requested police escort, and safely make it to the commission hearing.

Cast

as Jim Austin * Joan Camden as Marge Austin * Harold J. Kennedy as Don Carey * Marjorie Crossland as Mrs. Sirak * Victor Sutherland as Murray Sirak *

Ray Teal Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor.The book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Teal's birth date as January 12, 1908. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the televis ...

as Chief Gillette *

Martin Milner Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015) was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: '' Route 66'', which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and ''Adam-12'', which a ...

as Phil Harding * Geraldine Hall as Mrs. Nelson * Hal K. Dawson as Clyde Nelson *

Ian Wolfe Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992) was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as a ...

as Rev. Nash * Gladys Hurlbut as Linda Purcy *

Jess Kirkpatrick Jesse Bertram Kirkpatrick (October 2, 1897 – August 9, 1976) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Kirkpatrick was born in Champaign County, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois, where he played as a half ...

as Anderson *

Paul Newlan Paul Emory Newlan (June 29, 1903 – November 23, 1973) was an American film and TV character actor from Plattsmouth, Nebraska. He was best known for his role as Captain Grey on the NBC police series ''M Squad'' and for his roles in films incl ...

as Krug * Frances Morris as Mrs. Harding *

Paul Brinegar Paul Alden Brinegar Jr. (December 19, 1917 – March 27, 1995) was an American character actor best known for his roles in three Western series: ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'', '' Rawhide'', and ''Lancer''. Early years Brinegar was b ...

as Police Sergeant * Paul Goldwater as Sally Carey * Robert Gorell as Joe Berg * Glenn Judd as Coverly * William C. Miller as Coroner

Background

The screenplay of ''The Captive City'' was inspired by the Kefauver Committee's hearings. The television broadcast of the hearings attracted huge public interest and educated a broad audience about the issues of municipal corruption and organized crime. The tremendous success of the broadcast led to the production of a whole cycle of "exposé" crime films dealing with the dismantling of complex criminal organizations by law enforcement. ''The Captive City'' had the blessing of senator Kefauver himself: Robert Wise took a print of the film to Washington D. C. to show to senator

Kefauver Carey Estes Kefauver (; July 26, 1903 – August 10, 1963) was an American politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served in the U.S. United States House of Representatives, House of ...

, who not only endorsed it but even gives a written statement in the prologue and appears in the epilogue, cautioning audiences about the evils of organized crime. Other notable examples of exposé films include '' Hoodlum Empire'' (1952) and '' The Turning Point'' (1952).

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Captive City, The 1952 films 1952 crime drama films American black-and-white films American crime drama films 1950s English-language films Fictional newspaper editors Films about journalists Film noir Films about organized crime in the United States Films directed by Robert Wise Films scored by Jerome Moross Films shot in Nevada Mafia films United Artists films 1950s American films