There are eight million stories in the Naked City and you can get all of them on the amazing complete seasons from 1958-1963. Well maybe not 8 million, but 138 shows each thirty minute to an hour featuring over 120 notable actors in this detective show that captivated television viewers for four seasons. The forerunner of our modern day cop dramas, the compelling episodes were a mainstay for adults that tuned in to ABC every week. The box set has 29 DVDs with approximately 100 hours of crime solving.
The series is set in New York City where we find detectives Frank Arcaro (Harry Bellaver) and Adam Flint (Paul Burke) working with Lt. Michael ‘Mike’ Parker (Horace McMahon) working on cases and solving crimes. The cast changes over the years adding more detectives, but the crimes never stop getting more dangerous and gritty each year.
The series has a lot of great episodes that are worth the watch, but beware, once you start watching you’ll have a hard time pushing the stop button. There are more famous actors in guest roles than you can shake a stick at most of them appearing for the first time on television. Since the show had the highest rating for adults every popular star wanted to be part of it.
The guest stars include the likes of Alan Alda, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, James Coburn, George C. Scott, Rod Steiger, Vic Morrow, Mickey Rooney, George Segal, Jon Voight, William Shatner, Peter Falk, Telly Savalas, Diane Ladd, Walter Mathau, Martin Sheen, Peter Fonda, and many more. You may even get a glimpse of Burt Reynolds, Christopher Walken (I promise you will not recognize him) and Leslie Nielsen before they hit the big time.
The video quality is very good in black and white and the enhancement they gave the series during the transfer to disc has very good contrast. Although it is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio or square format, it should not distract. There is some grain and sepia color fading but I did not find any distortion.
The sound quality with the Dolby Digital upgrade allows for clear dialogue and sound effects. Like in most of the old release transferred to disc do not expect stereo sound as the format back then was strictly monaural.
Specifications and additional film information:
Main Cast: Harry Bellaver, Paul Burke, Horace McMahon and or 120 guest appearances
Director: Several
TV Rating: Unrated
Genre: Crime, Drama
Running Time: 100 hours
Video Release Date: October 5, 2013
Original TV Release Date: 1958-1963
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
Video: 1.33:1 aspect ratio
Number of Discs: 29 Discs
Distributed by: RJL Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
