Cry of the City

Synopsis: Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
Director(s): Robert Siodmak
Production: Century Fox
  1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
7.3
Rotten Tomatoes:
92%
PASSED
Year:
1948
95 min
130 Views


Lieutenant.

l have Martin Rome.

Good enough.

Age 29, appendix removed

four years ago.

Knife scar in shoulder.

Blood type 'A'.

No further record.

-No record?

'Favore'.

What do you want?

For 5 years he pulls every

trick in the book.

Tonight he holds up a restaurant

and kills a cop. No record?

l mean medical, sir.

Why did they do this to him?

Marty.

Marty.

Tina.

You shouldn't have come.

l'd to come, Marty.

The radio...

...said you were badly hurt.

lt said you were...

Go away, Tina.

Don't get mixed up in this.

Marty!

Why did you have to shoot?

Why did you kill?

l had to.

l thought we could...

Marty,...

...does it hurt terribly?

Kiss me.

l can die now.

Marty! Marty!

Lieutenant!

We bill the Police on this, right?

Right.

Keep him alive.

We'll give you a bonus.

Will his wife sign for the operation?

He has no wife.

-l thought that the girl...

What girl?

-The girl that's in there now.

Are you sure you saw a dame?

Collins!

l tell you this is a matter of

a man's life. l must see him.

Dr. Williams is operating

immediately.

l can't let you go up.

Hi, Counsellor.

Lieutenant Collins!

l didn't know that chasing

ambulances was in your line.

This is serious.

ls Martin Rome still alive?

Just about.

You've got to let me see him.

He hasn't got a quarter.

l'm not interested in

defending a cop killer.

l knew McReady, too.

Yeah.

What do you want from Rome?

lf he's dying. l want a confession.

He can save an innocent man.

Confession to what?

His implication in the

de Grazia case.

The de Grazie case? You're crazy.

We're holding Whitey Leggett on that.

All we need is to get...

That's right.

Leggett's my client.

l admit it.

He's done plenty, but he didn't

do the de Grazia job.

lf l can talk to Rome,

l can prove it.

Torturing old ladies?

Rome doesn't go in for that.

-Candella, please,...

...time is precious.

l wouldn't come here on

a wild goose chase.

This is a man's life.

Maybe we'd better let him.

Okay.

lt's okay with the doctor,

it's okay with me.

lt's in his hands now.

-Thank you.

Rome,...

...can you hear me?

This is Niles, the Lawyer.

Do you understand?

l want you to concentrate

just for a few seconds.

Rome, they're holding Whitey Leggett.

Whitey Leggett...

...for the de Grazia case.

He didn't do it, Rome.

He did not do it.

You know that.

You can save him.

Rome,...

...you're in bad shape,...

...you may not pull out.

Don't go with this on your soul.

Please, Rome,...

...just tell us you were in

on the de Grazia case.

Rome...

Don't say nothing, just

nod. You killed her.

Just nod.

You killed Mrs. de Grazia.

Go...

...fry.

Rome, listen to me for

a moment, will you?

He's unconscious again.

-Can't you... for another minute?

lf we don't get your friend to

surgery he'll never come to.

That's tough.

l did my best.

Did you catch what he said there?

Why, l think he...

-l heard him.

He told you to go fry.

l think he meant it.

lf you want us to say that

in court, we'll be glad to.

Of course, of course.

All ready for you.

-Thanks, Julio.

How you doing?

-l ain't kicking.

How's Martin Rome making out?

ls he going to live?

Yeah, l think so.

lt was doubtful, but l think

he'll pull through.

l see his mother heading

for a church every day.

l think he'd 've saved'em

some grief if he'd died.

Maybe you're right. See you tomorrow.

Take it easy, Lieutenant.

Close enough?

l haven't the strength.

Miss Pruett.

Yes?

Would you see if it's

close enough,...

...please.

Nurse.

Well?

What do you want?

Could l talk to you a minute?

l ought to tell you that...

...Rome's a pretty bad

with the woman.

What is does to me?

Just l would tell you in case...

-Look Lieutenant,...

l've been here for years. Don't tell

me how to care for patients.

l beg you pardon.

You should.

She's pretty hot, Candella?

-Smart guy.

We ought to throw you in a cell.

Full of bullet holes,

wherever you look.

Even the doctor say...

-Don't look for sympathy, Rome.

l just left the wife of

the guy you killed, you rat.

She looked fine,...

...eyes all red, tears streaming

down her face.

And you getting shaved.

l ought to beat you!

-Go ahead.

Beat me, l'll die.

Yell at me,...

...l faint.

Answer me the questions...

...and drop that fancy lingo, see?

Listen to me.

Marty.

-Yes, Lieutenant.

ls this your ring?

-Yeah, that's mine.

You got the rest of my stuff?.

-Where did you get it?

How about it? Where did you get it?

l don't know. Crape game

lt's all right.

l do well with the dice.

Who from?

From?

Blond Fellow.

With the droopy eyes.

Leggett! Whitey Leggett.

You know we have Leggett

on the Grazia Case.

Who else was in the game?

l don't know.

Tommy Mills, maybe.

-Tommy Mills is dead.

What do you ask me

all this stuff for?

l win a ring, so what's

the difference?

Come in, nurse.

We'll only be a minute.

Marty.

This ring was stolen

from Mrs. de Grazia.

Not by me.

-With 100,000 dollars more.

Did you read about it?

Nope.

-We want whoever did it.

They tortured the old lady

until they found the stuff.

Then they strangled her.

Not very pretty.

You got Leggett, go talk to him.

We will,...

...but we want to talk to you, too.

l shoot a policeman, he shot at me.

Now l'm going to the chair.

Suppose l say a did it,

so what? l go twice?

l'd nothing to do with it.

Besides, a fellow and

his girl did the job.

So you do read the papers.

You got a smart partner.

l never worked with

a girl in my life.

Talk too much.

Marty.

What girl was with you when

they brought you in?

Wasn't it a dream? Was she here?

-Yes, Marty.

Who was she?

-l don't know.

l wish l did.

What did she look like?

An angel.

l thought maybe...

...l was dead.

All right, cut it out.

We found the ring on you.

We know that the girl was here.

Stop the monkey business.

Tell me who she was.

l never saw her before.

Okay, Marty.

But you'll be seeing her again...

...because we're going to find her.

Don't think for a minute we won't.

Come on, Collins.

Here, take this.

No.

-You've got to.

l'd sooner die.

Something heavy here press on me.

Your conscience.

Did you hear those two?

They said l tortured an old lady.

Me, Martin Rome.

You know people.

Do you think l'd do that?

You killed a policeman.

He'd me down. lt was him or me.

You must do something.

Do something for you?

-No, not for me.

This is for a girl, my girl.

No, wait, please.

You heard them. They said

l'd an accomplice, a girl.

l swear to you this girl is innocent.

Then she doesn't have to worry.

-She has, she's a child.

lf they ask her, she won't

know what to do.

She won't have a chance.

You've got to help me, you've got to.

There's nothing l can do.

-But there is.

Look.

Her name is Teena, Teena Riconti.

The cop don't know that.

l tell you because l trust you.

This is her address, 25 Bank Street.

Where did you get the paper?

-Please, just go to her.

Tell her to go away...

-You can't talk me into that.

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Richard Murphy

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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