Last Stand in a Light House

Naked City, the TV series that spun off from the 1948 film, was a show that could only exist in black-and-white, with men wearing fedoras and police detectives wielding .38 Specials. Running from 1958 through 1963 (with a one-year gap between the 1st and 2nd seasons), it was a noirish police procedural that followed NYC detectives as they worked methodically to solve cases.

The original movie was reasonably realistic. The TV show followed procudural logic and were well-written, while amped up the violence considerably The cops were more often than not forced to gun down the bad guys at the climax, but the stories and outcomes fit quite nicely with the NYC location photography and the grim nature of the crimes being committed.

The first season's "The Bird Guard" (November 25, 1958) begins with the brutal execution of a mob boss in a barbershop--which seems to be a pretty traditional location for killing mob bosses. A couple of hitmen riddle him with submachine gun bullets.

One of the strengths of this episode is the little touches used to individualize the bad guys. One of these hitmen, for instance, wears horn-rimmed glasses and is later in the story referred to as a "college boy" by one of his partners. Other mobsters also have attributes that help them stand out as individuals. This doesn't affect the plot in any way, but it adds a little verisimilitude to the story.

The mob boss was killed by an up-and-coming rival and an informant lets the cops know that the dead guy has a girlfriend. She was given a packet full of evidence against the rival. This was supposed to be a way of protecting her life, but I'm not sure how that was supposed to work. Predictably, it made her the rival's next target.

Detective Halloran (James Franciscus) tracks the girl down to a lighthouse where her father works. He goes there alone, which proves to be unwise, because a trio of hitmen led by the rival have been trailing him. Two of the hitmen still wield submachine guns.

That last bit is a little contrived--there's no reason for the new mob boss to personally accompany his men on the hit. But what follows is a lot of fun--a tension-filled last stand at the lighthouse. Halloran has his revolver and six shots. The bad guys have automatic weapons and lots of ammo. And, in the rush to set up some sort of defense, Halloran simply doesn't think to use the lighthouse's radio-telephone until he's cut off from it. (An incident that is saved from being another contrivance or a plot hole simply by having Halloran admit he screwed up.)

The Last Stand sequence is very well-done, full of real suspense as Halloran is gradually forced to use up his revolver ammo and then switch to a shotgun that only has one shell in it. His ammo situation is made even more desperate by one particular hitman--a perpetually angry killer who just won't die no matter how many times he's shot. 

In the end, Halloran has to pull a bold bluff on the bad guys to pull out a win. 

During the first season, The Naked City featured tightly-written and well-told Noir stories photographed directly on the mean streets of New York. "The Bird Guard" is one of the highlights of that season and is well-worth watching. Even though you have to suffer through commercials, it is free to watch on IMDB TV.