User Reviews

This episode of "The Naked City" starts with the narrator saying, "There are 8 million stories in The Naked City. This is one of them".

There has been a murder at a high school located in New York's 65th Precinct. A teacher was pushed out of a 5th floor window after being stabbed in a classroom. He was in charge of the "misfit" class. The one with the, "lame brains, lazy twits and the thugs." Captain, John McIntire, assigns the new man in the squad, James Franciscus, to the case. Franciscus goes undercover as the new homeroom teacher.

The first day, the class gang leader, Robert Morris, "hints" that Franciscus will soon be joining the late teacher. When one of the other students, Tony Franke, tries to talk to the Detective about the murder, Morris, gives him a severe beating.

When Morris attempts the same on Franciscus, he gets a rude surprise and himself flattened with several solid punches. When the gang sees Morris is not such a big man they abandon him.

A quick and to the point half hour show. It would expand to 60 minutes for the final 99 episodes of the 138 episode run. A nice filmed on location look with a snappy jazz score move this show right along.

The director was Stuart Rosenberg. This long time television helmsman would successfully make the move to feature films. These include, COOL HAND Luke, THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN, THE DROWNING POOL, BRUBAKER and THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE.

The d of p was J. Burgi Contner. Contner is best known for a foursome of William Berke directed low-budget noir, COP HATER, FOUR BOYS AND A GUN, THE MUGGER and STREET OF SINNERS. (b/w)

****SPOILERS**** In a role he would do four years later on the TV series Mr. Novak James Franciscus as NYPD Det. James Halloran goes under cover as a teacher for mentally disturbed and unruly students in a tough New York City 600 school. That's to uncover a murder that happened there when a teacher Mr. Paxton was savagely knifed and thrown from his fifth floor school room window to his death.

It doesn't take long for Mr. Halloran to see who's been causing all the trouble in the classroom who happens to be the biggest as well as mentally challenged "Studant" in the class Fred "Flip" Willer, Robert Morris. By first taking Flip's intimidation of himself make the big bully challenge Mr. Halloran to to fist fight where, after class, he knocks him out cold with one punch!

Knowing he doesn't have a chance in a one on one confrontation with Mr. Halloran Flip tries to recruit his fellow "Studants" to do the job for him by beating and possibly murdering , like Flip did to Mr. Paxton, Mr. Halloran for dissing him and his "Manhood".

As Mr. Halloran was to find out is that Flip's problem was that he was unwanted at birth and left at the church house steps by his mom and who's dad passed away, possibly from acute alcoholism, soon after he was born.

In was in the final confrontation with Flip that Mr. Halloran uses a bit of psychology in faking he's afraid of the big as well as brainless bully to have he drop his guard when he really lets him have it, with a school book between his eyes, and makes the guy realize that he's the both stupid and murderous jerk that he really is.

In the end Flip is made to pay for his crime, the murder of Mr. Paxton,by being sent to juvenile prison as well has having his anti social attitude and behavior treated by experts, professional head shrinker's, so when he's fully recovered he'll be fit to live a normal life in a civilized society.