“This extremely rare gangster film was one of Chaney's last. He would make only three more silents and one talkie before his death in 1930. In a departure from his usual role as the villain, Chaney plays a tough cop who protects flapper Anita Page from gang leader Wheeler Oakman, eventually falling in love with her. It's interesting to compare this to Chaney's 1920 Outside the Law, where Oakman was the ‘hero' and Chaney the gangster! While the City Sleeps also dispels the notion that Chaney had to be crippled, deformed, hunchbacked or otherwise disguised to be effective on the screen. As in Tell It to the Marines, Chaney is fine in a straight role creating the image of a tough, yet compassionate detective. Reel 6 (of 8 reels) is missing in the existing prints, but the continuity is still good in this fascinating film...one of Chaney's best at MGM.” Jon Mirsalis