Naked City - Portrait of a Painter

Anybody that wants quality in their TV viewing should buy this show--& all The Naked City DVD's available, like I have. Not only are the scripts usually 5 stars, but I like how the series stars (Paul Burke, etc.) don't "hog" the spotlight--they let the guest stars be that--guests, but still the regulars are essential to each episode. Way ahead of it's time & I now see how other detective shows--Hill Stree Blues, Cagney & Lacey, etc. borrowed from this classic series. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

They sure don't make them like this anymore. NAKED CITY ran on television from 1958-1963, and it's unlike any cop show of the last ten years. Its continuing stars were Horace McMahon, Harry Bellaver and Paul Burke (Burke joined the series in 1960), detectives working out of the 65th Precinct in New York City.
It's difficult to judge a series on only four episodes, but if the shows on this disk are representative some conclusions are warranted. First, these are very well written. It's tough to fit a compelling story into the fifty minutes allowed an hour broadcast, but all the episodes on the disk are very strong. The NAKED CITY used veteran guest stars and focused as much on the guests as on the continuing stars. There aren't any of the currently popular sub-plots. The cops are there to track and book the bad guys, and not to distract us with a drinking problem or a messy divorce. Each episode is complete and self-contained. The forensic guys are buried deep in the background. McMahon's character, Lt. Mike Parker, might have something sent "to the boys in the lab," but that's about it. New York and environs are very much a part of the series; there are a number of location shots in each episode.
The first episode, "Portrait of a Painter," stars a pre-girdle-and-scalp-rug William Shatner as a painter who discovers his wife is dead and goes to his psychiatrist (Theodore Bikel) with a nagging dread that he may have murdered her. The young Shatner was already a-bursting with energy and his peculiar brand of Method Acting. The second episode, "Don't Knock It Til You've Tried It," stars Walter Matthau as a psychiatrist who is kidnapped by a Vegas chorus girl (Sally Gracie) and a girlfriend. This one is a quirky little morality tale about the relationships between men and women. Fun and a little strange. The third, "Alive and Still a Second Lieutenant," stars Robert Sterling as a WWII vet who, after accidentally killing a man, has to deal with moral cowardice and 'misplaced aggression.' It co-stars a very young Jon Voight, which is probably why it's included in the first place. Jack Klugman stars with Jan Sterling in the final offering, "The Tragic Success of Alfred Tiloff," about a chronic loser and his wife who hatches a nefarious scheme to bring them success and fortune.
There aren't any extras on this disk. Still, NAKED CITY: PORTRAIT OF A PAINTER was fun to watch and I certainly didn't feel cheated.

This and the other DVDs of the early 1960s TV show "Naked City" are all excellent.

The New York locales give the episodes a distinct look. It was very nostalgic for me to see what the city that I grew up in and still work in looked like in 1961.

The stories are interesting and unique in that the guest star/criminal is on camera more than the policemen investigating the case.

I especially liked the Walter Matthau episode in which he's kidnapped by a Las Vegas showgirl who threatens to kill him unless he makes good on his promise to marry her. The humor of this situation makes this episode a nice light-hearted change of pace from the other more dramatic and poignant ones that are on this disk, such as the Jack Klugman episode revolving around the kidnapping of a little girl.

I can't wait for the next batch of "Naked City" DVDs to be released.