Brighton Rock (1947)

[Jay M]

Besides being a gripping, towering example of film noir, "Brighton Rock" (1947) has an example of something relatively rare: perfect casting of its lead actor. Richard Attenborough is so ideally suited to the role of Pinkie Brown, that it's almost hard to believe such a pairing could be achieved. Attenborough is not only a brilliant actor, he has exactly right look for this prematurely hardened boy-man created by Graham Greene in his brilliant novel of the same name. He's young, appears not quite old enough to be wearing the "grown up" suit he sports throughout the film, with a boyish face that conveys a calculated innocence when required, or the nearly soul-less malevolence at the heart of his character. I say "nearly soul-less" because Pinkie believes in the soul. He's one of Greene's Roman Catholic characters, who is sure there is a hell and heaven. Pinkie does terrible things in this story, and he considers himself already condemned, destined for hell. Watching, and reading "Brighton Rock", we witness Pinkie's fall from a position of power that has always been precarious, and this fall has a fatalistic trajectory that is the essence of Film Noir.

The film's plot actually begins somewhat strangely. "Kolley Kibber", a fictional character, is coming to Brighton, according to newspapers and radio. This means that a number of special cards will be hidden around the city, each of them worth a monetary prize if found. The current representive of "Kolley Kibber" is a man called Fred Hale. When Pinkie's gang get a look at Fred's image in the paper, the trouble starts. As it turns out, Fred is an old enemy, on whom Pinkie has long wanted revenge. He sends a couple of his men after Fred in the crowded Brighton summer afternoon. What Pinkie doesn't know at the time is that Fred has made the acquaintance of Ida Arnold, a well-liked traveling performer in Brighton for several days. Ida takes a liking to Fred after he buys her a drink, and she doesn't forget him. Later, she runs into Fred who is in flight from Pinkie's deadly henchmen. After an exhilarating chase sequence, he disappears on her and Ida becomes obsessed with finding out exactly what happened. At this point Ida and Pinkie are firmly established in the viewer's mind as opposing forces of good and evil.

Pinkie's position as crime boss in Brighton (at the time a tawdry resort city on England's southern coast) is precarious because he commands a troop of unstable and untrustworthy types, and because he himself is unstable and suffers from hubris: he's too self-confident and not truly smart about his methods. Another reason he is not as firmly established in Brighton as he'd like to be is Colleoni, the older crime boss, who truly runs Brighton's underworld. Pinkie is little more than a pawn in Colleoni's game. In a key scene, Colleoni offers to take Pinkie into his own fold, a gesture towards co-operation. Pinkie's excessive self-confidence drives him further into opposition to the older man, and when the local police tell him get out of Brighton, he's even more certain he must establish his authority.

A bungled attempt to cover up the murder of Fred requires Pinkie to eliminate one of his own men, the elderly Spicer. This operation -a gesture on the part of Colleoni- too is bungled in one of the film's memorable scenes: Colleoni's thugs close in on Spicer in broad daylight, but Pinkie himself gets caught in the melee and receives a prominent scar on his cheek. In the meantime, Pinkie has met Rose, a waitress who is a potential material witness in the murder of Fred. She, too, must be elimated. But Pinkie does not dare to kill her outright. When poor Spicer turns up still alive, having survived the gang assault, Pinkie impulsively murders him in the presence of two of his men (a grim scene, remarkable for its evocation of the power of corruption). Rose, in the meantime, has been tracked down by Ida and she now knows of Pinkie's reputation and misdeeds. The naive, innocent girl refuses to give up on Pinkie and cherishes an as yet unplayed disc recording he has made at her request, telling her of his true feelings. Ida has gradually been piecing together Pinkie's activities and has connected him not only to Fred's murder, but to that of Spicer as well. In attempt to protect himself, Pinkie blackmails a corrupt lawyer, Prewitt, and proposes marriage to Rose so that she will not be able to testify against him in court, should the time come. But Pinkie's machinations are not working out: one of his men, Cubitt, leaves town and another, Dallow, will soon turn against him. As Ida, and now the police, close in, Pinkie convinces Rose to join him in what he calls a "suicide pax", misreading "pact" for the Latin word for peace. His intention is for Rose to shoot herself first, leaving him innocent of her suicide. In the end, Rose, a Catholic herself, does not pull the trigger, but tosses Pinkie's gun into the ocean. The desperate, panicked Pinkie backs into a pier railing and falls to his death. The film's final scene has a nun utter to Rose one of Greene's most enigmatic and haunting lines: "You can't conceive, nor can I, the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God." Convinced he really loved her, Rose goes to play the disc he had made and scratched in an attempt to destroy it. Now the record skips at the line "What you want me to say is 'I love you'... 'I love you...'I love you'. Rose is left to believe what she wishes about her dear Pinkie.*

"Brighton Rock" is a very strong entry in the Film Noir canon, and one of most exemplary in the British Noir category. It's a superb adaptation of the source novel, with mostly minor changes (Rose's final moment with the record and Pinkie's demise were altered for the film). Besides the perfect casting of Richard Attenborough, the rest of the player are brilliant. A particular standout is Hermione Baddeley as Ida. It's almost hard to believe she's not really this hard-headed woman, consumed by a passion to see justice done. Wylie Watson is unforgettable as the doomed Spicer, a classic "damned" character of film noir, his life reduced to simple concerns and a wish to retire, but too enmeshed in Pinkie's world to be allowed to escape. Very impressive in addition are Harcourt Williams as the fallen Prewitt and Carol Marsh as Rose. Further capable and welcome support comes from stalwarts William Hartnell (Dallow) and Nigel Stock (Cubitt).

The film is shot in a brooding, often claustrophobic style by Harry Waxman. Through Waxman's eye, the carnival atmosphere of Brighton takes on a sinister quality as background for this story. A few scenes use German expressionist camera and lighting techniques to heighten the drama (the murder of Spicer is a prime example). A screenplay by Graham Greene himself and famed playwright Terence Rattigan, means top drawer dialog and plotting. The music score by Hans May is not particularly memorable, with a main title that is harsh on the ears, but it supports the action well enough throughout. John Boulting's direction is so strong, yet unmarked by mannerism, we could wish he made more than this single, brilliant example of film noir.

Cast
* Richard Attenborough as Pinkie Brown
* Carol Marsh as Rose Brown
* Hermione Baddeley as Ida Arnold
* William Hartnell as Dallow
* Harcourt Williams as Prewitt
* Wylie Watson as Spicer
* Nigel Stock as Cubitt
* Victoria Winter as Judy
* Reginald Purdell as Frank
* George Carney as Phil Corkery
* Charles Goldner as Colleoni
* Alan Wheatley as Fred Hale
* Marianne Stone as Lazy Waitress

Credits
Production Company Associated British Picture Corporation
Produced by BOULTING, Roy
Associate Producer DE SARIGNY, Peter
Assistant Director MITCHELL, Gerry
From the novel by GREENE, Graham
Editor SCOTT, Peter Graham
Art Director HOWELL, John
Director of Photography WAXMAN, Harry
Screenplay by GREENE, Graham
Screenplay by RATTIGAN, Terence
Music Composed and Conducted by MAY, Hans
Directed by BOULTING, John
Camera Operator TAYLOR, Gilbert
Production Manager BRYANT, Gerard
Song, "More Than Ever" by JONES, Leslie Julian
Song Arranged by ADDISON, John
Costumes PLESCH, Honoria
Make-up CLARK, Bob
Sound Editor BENNETT, Audrey
Sound Recordist McNALLY, Frank
Charter Film Productions
Welwyn Studios

Excellent essay on good and evil in the novel "Brighton Rock" http://www.literature-study-online.c...am-greene.html

[Steve-O]

Thanks again Jay! It's great to see you back on BAN...

Brighton Rock is a great British noir... it must be seen by anyone that will argue that Film Noir can only be American.

(spoilers in the clip below)

[Hard-Boiled-Rick]

Superb review of an excellent film, based on an outstanding novel, written by a first-rate author.

Graham Greene's contribution to stories noir and film noir towers.

I agree with Steve-O. This Brit -Noir proves once again classic film noir was a universal movement, and not an exclusive Hollywood outburst.

Graham Greene

[Steve-O]

further proof that 1947 was the best year for noir.

[JohnChard]

Of course it’s true, these atheists don’t know nothing.

Brighton Rock is directed by John Boulting and written by Graham Greene (also 1938 novel) and Terence Rattigan. Produced by Roy Boulting, it stars Richard Attenborough, Carol Marsh, William Hartnell, Hermione Baddeley, Harcourt Williams and Wylie Watson. Music is scored by Hans May and cinematography is by Harry Waxman. Plot finds Attenborough as small time Brighton hoodlum Pinkie Brown, whose attempts to cover up a murder sees events spiral out of control for himself and those closest to him.

1947 was a good year for tough, gritty British drama, in fact it was a key year in the progression of British cinema. It was the year that would see the release of They Made Me A Fugitive, It Always Rains On Sunday, Odd Man Out and Brighton Rock. The latter film, arguably the one that looks the most dated, is the one that shocked the most upon its release. Refreshing, then, to find that in spite of the aged edges of the narrative frame, it still today has a power, a bleakness, that justifies the classic status afforded it. Part seedy seaside noir, part character driven observation on Catholic guilt and torment, Brighton Rock overcomes some slight old time technical flaws to thrive on thematic potency and a tense narrative.

Many authors find their respective work losing impetus during the translation to the big screen, Graham Greene is one who hasn’t had to suffer in that department. Key issue for those adapting his work is to understand the characterisations at work, thankfully the Boulting brothers grasp that Pinkie Brown, surely one of Greene’s greatest creations, has a complexity that needs him front and centre of the brewing maelstrom. The plot then tumbles out around him, as the seedy underbelly of Brighton’s everyday life is exposed. The casting of Attenborough as Pinkie was a masterstroke, fresh faced and wide eyed, Attenborough plays it as coiled spring like, his psychosis troubling and ready to explode at any given moment. His cold hearted relationship with the homely, desperate for love, Rose (Marsh), is utterly disturbing, and it’s that relationship that underpins the story.

Story is set amongst two sides of Brighton, one side is sunny, full of lights, fun-fairs and candy floss, the other features grimy boarding houses, penny café’s and loud back street beer houses. The neat trick the Boulting’s pull is that we know the sunny side is merely a facade to darker forces, much of the badness is played out to the backdrop of seaside frivolity and relaxation. With the iconic pier serving as a dual witness to both the good and bad side of Brighton’s current denizens. Aided by Waxman’s oppressive photography, J Boulting paints in claustrophobic strokes, perfectly enveloping the lead protagonists in a number of restrictive set-ups, where the surroundings deftly match the mood of the individual. It’s going to end bad, it has too, the atmosphere tells us that, but the makers are reveling in tightening the noose one turn at a time, and that’s a sure fire bonus for film noir lovers.

Film is well cast across the board, with Hartnell most notable as Pinkie gang member, Dallow, while Baddeley as Pinkie’s bold and brassy adversary, Ida Arnold, is suitably annoying. Memorable characters, one and all, each one serving to add fuel to Attenborough's malevolent fire. How great it is to also take away a number of memorable scenes from the movie. From the pulse raising chase at the beginning; to the weird and haunting brutality of a ghost train sequence, and to the cruel finale that drips with cynicism, it’s a film that refuses to leave the conscious after the credits have rolled. The ending may have been toned down from that of the novel, but what remains still bites hard, as does, in truth, the whole film. 9/10

[Steve-O]

Thank you JohnChard! I can't get enough of this Brit noir...

[JohnChard]

Thank you JohnChard! I can't get enough of this Brit noir...

My pleasure, thoroughly enjoyed revisiting it myself.

[fosterg]

Great write up JohnChard on a noir that is still unavailable on a Region 1 DVD (I was hopeful for a Criterion at one time.)
I think one reason Graham Greene's fiction translates well to film is that GG had a great understanding of film and how it works. (Possibly from his days as a critic and his playwrighting skills.) Plus, a good part of the film sticks closely to the book.
And Rattigan was no slouch as the co-screenwriter.

fosterg

[JohnChard]

Great write up JohnChard on a noir that is still unavailable on a Region 1 DVD (I was hopeful for a Criterion at one time.)
I think one reason Graham Greene's fiction translates well to film is that GG had a great understanding of film and how it works. (Possibly from his days as a critic and his playwrighting skills.) Plus, a good part of the film sticks closely to the book.
And Rattigan was no slouch as the co-screenwriter.

fosterg

Thanks

Yes, undeniably there's considerably talent at the writers desk. Didn't know there was no Region 1 for it, that's criminal in itself.

[Hard-Boiled-Rick]

Thanks for the write up.

In Brighton Rock, Richard Attenborough and William Hartnell turn in excellent performances in this top notch Brit Noir. You would not want to have a pint with these two characters while on vacation in Brighton. The on-location shooting of post-war Brighton is interesting too.

In Appointment with Crime (John Harlow – 1946), another gritty noir, William Hartnell’s performance as a cold-blooded thug seeking revenge is stellar. Available on Nextflix in the U.S., the film also includes Herbert Lom.

[JohnChard]

Thanks for the write up.

In Brighton Rock, Richard Attenborough and William Hartnell turn in excellent performances in this top notch Brit Noir. You would not want to have a pint with these two characters while on vacation in Brighton. The on-location shooting of post-war Brighton is interesting too.

In Appointment with Crime (John Harlow – 1946), another gritty noir, William Hartnell’s performance as a cold-blooded thug seeking revenge is stellar. Available on Nextflix in the U.S., the film also includes Herbert Lom.

Cheers Rick, and thanks for the heads up on Appointment With Crime. Hartnell was a very prolific actor from 1932 till 1973, he's more known here in Britain as one of the guys who played Dr. Who with some distinction > http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056751/ But film wise he was very versatile, tackling a number of genres and themes. He also shows up in one of my favourite Brit movies, Hell Drivers, while we should mention he also has a part to play in one of British film noirs greatest treasures, Odd Man Out.

[fosterg]

Let me second Appointment with Crime, a good flick, which is very interesting in several areas.
One thing that jumps out is that the bad guy's henchman (acted by Allan Wheatly was the Sherrif of Nottingham in the Richard Greene "Robin Hood" TV series) who is opening homosexual, a character trait that appears in several English noirs of the period.
Movieberry has it for download or streaming in a mediocre print, alas, but it is watchable.

FosterG

[Adam Lounsbery]

John Boulting's Brighton Rock is an indelible portrait of evil. Richard Attenborough's portrayal of 17-year-old gangster Pinkie Brown is one of the nastiest and coldest characterizations I've ever seen on film.

While Pinkie Brown's crimes may pale in comparison with cinematic bogeymen like Hannibal Lecter — Pinkie is a garden-variety murderer, schemer, racketeer, and despoiler of women — Attenborough's uncompromisingly nasty performance has no equal.

Brighton Rock is based on the novel by Graham Greene. It takes place during the interwar years in the seaside resort town of Brighton, home of the Brighton Racecourse, where Pinkie and his crew ply their protection racket.

Before seeing this film, my only image of Attenborough was as the middle-aged, pouchy-eyed RAF Squadron Leader of The Great Escape (1963) and as the grandfatherly CEO of Jurassic Park (1993). If I'd missed the credits, I never would have recognized him. He was 23 or 24 when he appeared in Brighton Rock, a little older than the 17-year-old hoodlum he was playing, but nevertheless he was perfectly cast.

Attenborough has the smooth, angelic face of a choirboy, but his eyes are cold and malevolent. Pinkie is a young man with no past and no future. There is no real explanation of how he came to be the way he is, and his homicidal impulses and poor planning guarantee that he is not long for this world.

The film begins with the choice Pinkie makes that will seal his downfall. It's fitting that it's a murder committed not out of necessity, but in retaliation for a perceived slight. Pinkie blames a newspaper writer named Fred Hale (Alan Wheatley) for the death of his gang's leader, so when Hale is in Brighton for a day, Pinkie sets his sights on him.

After threatening Hale in a pub, Pinkie and his henchmen — the happy-go-lucky ne'er-do-well Cubitt (Nigel Stock) and the coldly efficient Dallow (William Hartnell) — pursue Hale through the throngs of summertime beachgoers in a pulse-pounding sequence. Pinkie finally corners Hale and murders him on a carnival ride.

It's appropriate that it's a fun-house ride to hell, with painted demons and cartoonish monsters flying toward the riders, since Pinkie is himself headed to hell, and Brighton Rock is the chronicle of his dissolution.



His murder of Hale piques the interest of Ida Arnold (Hermione Baddeley), a brassy music-hall singer who spent some time with Hale on the day of his death. However, Pinkie's attempt to create an alibi for himself only creates a second possible witness — a shy waitress named Rose (Carol Marsh) — after Pinkie's elderly henchman Spicer (Wylie Watson) bungles the job of trying to create a false trail for the police to follow.

Pinkie's interest in Rose causes her to become deeply attached to Pinkie. She falls in love with him, even though she knows how wicked he is.

Pinkie's evil is inextricably tied to his Catholicism. He's not a psychopath who doesn't understand the difference between right and wrong. His rejection of goodness is a conscious decision. As he tells Rose, "These atheists don't know nothing. Of course there’s a hell, flames, damnations, torments."

Pinkie knows he is damned. He just doesn't care.

Rose is his diametrical opposite. Modern viewers might have trouble swallowing how deeply devoted Rose is to Pinkie, despite his clear disdain of her, but her love of Pinkie is a mirror of her devotion to God. It's the kind of devotion that asks nothing in return.

When Pinkie tries to convince her they should enter into a suicide pact (which he calls a "suicide pax" — as a Catholic he knows that "pax" means "peace"), she weepingly protests that it's a mortal sin. He responds, "Just one more."

If you care for the character of Rose, Brighton Rock can be a difficult film to watch. While the ending of the film is an ironic demonstration of "the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God," watching Pinkie systematically attempt to destroy such a simple, sweet-natured young woman is appalling.

On the other hand, it's his unblinking awfulness that makes Brighton Rock such a powerful film. Most film villains have something that makes them likable or fun to watch — a sardonic sense of humor, a glimmer of goodness, a tragic origin story. Pinkie has none of these things. He is a nasty piece of work, through and through.



(Originally published on my blog, OCDViewer.com.)

[cigar joe]

Great flick watched it the first time today, can't add anymore to all the above, nice reviews.