"There are eight million stories in the naked city: This has been one of them." The investigation of the seemingly inexplicable murder of a beautiful young woman narrows down to two suspects who are stalked through New York City. But it is not for its one story that The Naked City is a landmark crime thriller. Carl Macek writes, in "Film Noir: An Encylopedic Reference...": "The Naked City remains a prime example of Hollywood's assimilation of documentary style film making.... Functioning as a film policier, The Naked City moves on the periphery of the noir sensibilities. Using on-location photography, which won William Daniels an Academy Award, The Naked City tells the story of a typical police investigation embellished by the antielitism of Albert Maltz's screenplay and the crisp assurance of Jules Dassin's direction. The real star of the film becomes the city, which can take on a variety of personalities. It is truly a mysterious entity imbued with all sorts of stories and affectations. The Naked City is unlike most of Dassin's other films, as it is a vision of the world that forsakes subtlety and deals almost exclusively with black and white absolute truths. There is a thematic elegance to Dassin's other noir films such as Brute Force, Night and the City (see March 12), and Thieves Highway, that is absent in The Naked City."