While the City Sleeps

While the City Sleeps (1956) is a black-and-white noir thriller from Fritz Lang you can watch online on iFILM. When media tycoon Amos Kyne dies, his three top editors are handed a poisoned prize: whoever first hands police the "Lipstick Killer" — a strangler preying on young women across New York — takes control of the empire.

The race for the corner office turns a manhunt into a vicious office war. Each man is ready to sabotage a rival, use a mistress as a bargaining chip, scoop the detectives at any cost. At the center stands TV commentator Edward Mobley (Dana Andrews), who agrees to dangle himself as bait and ends up risking his fiancée too. George Sanders, Vincent Price and Ida Lupino circle him like sharks.

Lang shot this almost as a verdict on a press willing to sell murder for circulation. The killer himself is nearly a sideshow; the people profiting off him are scarier. A cold, cynical late noir for viewers who love sharp dialogue and rot under the gloss. Stream While the City Sleeps (1956) online on iFILM.