WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (1956)

Fritz Lang ended his Hollywood run with a pair of crime mellers for producer Bert Friedlob @ RKO. Far more engaged here than on BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT/’57, his phoned-in follow-up, this one’s darn good (late) Lang, recalling earlier themes & even managing a partial return to the richly textured chiaroscuro of SCARLET STREET/’45 & UFA days (Ernest Lazslo lensed). It’s a dandy story, neatly handled by vet writer Casey Robinson, as Vincent Price takes the reins of his late father’s news syndicate and runs his three top editors (Thomas Mitchell, George Sanders, James Craig) against each other on a serial murder case (The Lipstick Killer) to become second in command. John Barrymore Jr. is amateurish as the psychotic mama’s-boy perv, but Ida Lupino, handling the paper’s women’s angle, and Dana Andrews, as the heavy-drinking independent star commentator, capture the intense sexy/sleazy rapport of workplace frenemies. At times, the small budget shows, especially in the newsroom (what a quiet work environment!), but Lang comes thru on any number of confident action set pieces: apartment stair diagonals & subway tracks showing his typical graphic/architectural compulsions. At 66, it would have made a classy exit for the fading one-time giant.