Posted by Old Fedora
on 9/13/2009, 2:53 pm
76.236.40.181
NOTW: BRIGHTON ROCK - 1947 (USA: YOUNG SCARFACE)
Director/Producer: John and Roy Boulting - twin brothers who alternated directing and producing chores on many films; John directed and Roy produced this film.
Written by: Graham Greene (from his novel) and Terrence Rattigan - which explains the excellent script.
Cinematographer: Henry Waxman - The Long Memory, Sleeping Tiger, Sapphire, The Wicker Man.
Cast: Richard Attenborough, Carol Marsh, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell, Alan Wheatley, et al.
BRIGHTON ROCK is another of the British post-war "noir" films that were eagerly consumed by a British public weary of rationing and deprivation . It may, perhaps, be the best. A very young Richard Attenborough stars as "Pinkie" Brown, a psychopathic, razor-wielding "spiv" (small-time criminal) who, along with his small gang, run a protection racket at the racetrack in the seaside resort of Brighton. The film is broadly based on fact and is beautifully photographed and written, with a strong storyline and great dialogue. The bleak and cynical outlook of the script is well-matched by a marvelous score by Hans May.
The sunny, festive resort of Brighton seems an odd setting for this type of film, but cinematographer Waxman and scriptwriters Greene and Rattigan achieve an underlying tension and palpable sense of menace. The film's realism revived memories of pre-war gang violence in the city and prompted a disclaimer at the beginning (at the request of Brighton's town council) that the film depicts a time "between the wars" when crime was a problem in the city, "a Brighton happily no more."
Pinkie, the youngest member of the gang but the most dangerous, has taken over as leader following the death of his "chief", Bill Kite. Kite was murdered by a rival mob who believed that he had grassed on them by revealing facts to a newspaper reporter for an expose article. The movie centers around Pinkie's revenge killing of the reporter who wrote the article and the resulting fallout. Pinkie feels the heat both from the police and rival gangsters and from within his own gang as his henchmen begin to doubt his ability to lead them out of the morass. The storyline follows his increasingly desperate attempts to beat the murder rap and retain his gangland status.
Attenborough is riveting as the ambitious young hoodlum whose monomaniacal pursuit of the newsman (Wheatley) and those he sees as threats leads to disaster for all involved. Carol Marsh (her first film) does a good job of portraying Rose, a young waitress whose testimony could convict Pinkie. To prevent this, he first weds her and then sets about plotting her demise. Marsh's character was difficult to portray: she is so unbelievably love-struck that she falls for the repellant Pinkie even after he tacitly threatens to blind her with acid on their first date. Throughout the film, his treatment of her is cruelly contemptuous and yet she naively follows him into marriage and, nearly, death. However, Marsh is believable, if not sympathetic, in the role.
The rest of the cast are excellent, especially character actor Hermione Baddeley as Ida Arnold, a brassy boardwalk performer who had briefly befriended the newsman and appoints herself his avenger, setting about gathering evidence against Pinky to present to the police, and veteran heavy William Hartnell as Pinky's right-hand man, Dallow, a thug who is capable of chilling brutality (like his boss) but who also has principles which, in the end, redeem him. (Trivia: Hartnell would much later gain fame as BBC's first "Dr. Who")
An interesting noir side note: the murder of Bill Kite is described in another of Greene's novels, "A Gun for Sale" (1936); the killer's name was "Raven". You can connect the dots. :)
This film is difficult to find here in the States. However, I purchased a beautiful Region-2 DVD from Amazon.uk. I have managed to collect quite a few of these British "noir" (read: dark, crime) films and have enjoyed them all. Attenborough starred in another, DANCING WITH CRIME, immediately before making this film. And another of my favorite British actors, John Mills, stars in several. They are well worth seeking out. Also, fellow Blackboarder Mike Keaney has published a handy reference, "British Film Noir Guide", with a brief synopsis of each of 369 films. I recommend it.
One last observation: I am a great fan of location shooting in older films for it allows the viewer a chance to see "how it used to be". It is a joy, for example, to be able to see Los Angeles or San Francisco in the 1940's or 1950's before urbanization ran amuk. During the opening section of this film, the Boultings took to the streets of Brighton for the gang's pursuit of the newsman. There are some beautiful shots of street life which are almost documentary in nature (much like THE NAKED CITY). And the action continues onto the pier and allows the viewer a look at, truly, a time which is unfortunately "no more".
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