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While the City Sleeps

While the City Sleeps

Thriller · Drama · 1956

Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".

Movie details

While the City Sleeps

“Suspense as startling as a strangled scream!”

1956 Thriller · Drama 1h 40m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.9 / 10

7.4K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

91 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over While the City Sleeps?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Fritz Lang

Written by

Casey Robinson

Dana Andrews

Dana Andrews

Edward Mobley

Rhonda Fleming

Rhonda Fleming

Dorothy Kyne

George Sanders

George Sanders

Mark Loving

Howard Duff

Howard Duff

Lt. Burt Kaufman

Thomas Mitchell

Thomas Mitchell

John Day Griffith

Vincent Price

Vincent Price

Walter Kyne

Sally Forrest

Sally Forrest

Nancy Liggett

Court is in session

Put While the City Sleeps on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.