Brighton Rock (1951)

Thanks for the memories!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I recently discovered this little gem of a movie and enjoyed it immensely. It is a dark film noir type of film that looks as though it was made on a modest budget by the infamous Boulting Brothers.Pinkie Brown (Richard Attenborough) is head of a "mob" that runs a protection racket out of a Brighton race track. Members of his group, of which he is the youngest include: Dallow (William Hartnell), Pruitt (Harcourt Williams), Spicer (Wylie Watson) and Cubitt (Nigel Stock) who run their operation from a seedy rooming house.Pinkie sets out to eliminate his competition in the person of Fred Hale (Alan Wheatley). During the pursuit of Fred, Fred becomes acquainted with Ida Arnold (Hermoine Baddeley)whom he helps with a gift. Shortly after their meeting, Fred is eliminated by Pinkie. The police report lists Fred's death as suicide but Ida knows better and sets out to prove it Miss Marple style.Ida'a investigation turns up a naïve young waitress Rose (Carol Marsh) who apparently knows more than she seems. Pinkie too becomes interested in Rose for the simple reason that she could implicate him in Fred's murder. Pinkie begins to "court" the young waitress to the point that they get married on the premise that a wife cannot testify against her husband. Ida discovers that Rose and Pinky are together.In the meantime, dissension among the members of the gang results in another murder. Becoming increasingly paranoid, Pinky devises a suicide pact with Rose to escape persecution but has ulterior motives. Ida suspects that Pinkie is up to something and goes to the police. Meanwhile Pinky and Rose go to an isolated spot to carry out their pact when........................................................Attenborough, whose friends called him "Dickie" is outstanding as the baby faced small time hoodlum. He was only in his early 20s at the time.His dead pan expression is positively terrifying. Baddeley on the other hand, also turns in a top notch performance as the boisterous snooping Ida.From the useless trivia department, Alan Wheatley who plays Fred, was The Sheriff of Nottingham in the Richard Greene Robin Hood series of the early 60s.

"I never knew the old" Brighton "before the war" with its razor-slashing protectionist race gangs, crooked lawyers and ineffective police. We seldom travelled out of London. "I really got to know it in" those post-war days of safe family holidays by the sea - the excitement of the beach, ice cream sodas on the West Pier, cinemas in the evening.....(No prize for recognising my reference to the opening of the great film that appeared two years later!)Part of my fascination with the 1947 "Brighton Rock" is of course affection for a place I grew to love and know so well during the course of many happy vacations with my parents in those far-off days. I was even drawn to eventually settle in a sort of mini-Brighton complete with Regency squares and balconies and the sound of screaming seagulls, 37 miles along the coast to the east. But I digress.....What particularly surprised me on a recent viewing of the film was not only how well it has worn, but the extreme darkness of its nightmare vision of a gangster-ridden society. For a British film of the late '40's it is unusually violent and shot through with a bleakness that outstrips much of the Hollywood noir of the period. Was there ever a more vicious young thug than Richard Attenborough's enormously effective portrayal of the 17 year old Pinkie Brown who runs his protectionist racket from a seedy backstreet dwelling? Pointless to write at length when so much has already been written. (An excellent user comment on this site from laika-lives says it all). Simply let me record my admiration for the Boulting Brothers, especially John the director, for demonstrating an understanding of pacing and montage that almost equals the best work of the great Carol Reed, particularly in the terrific opening quarter of an hour when the unfortunate and terrified Fred is finally tracked down to meet his doom on the Ghost Train at the end of Palace Pier. They don't seem to do sequences like this with such style any more. A good enough reason, I would have thought, for shunning a recent remake!

British film noir announced the arrival of Sir Richard Attenborough as the young, baby-faced (albeit with a large scar) gangland leader (Pinkie Brown) whose tenuous grip on his volatile mob of stand-over men and misfits is tested, forcing him to assert his authority, but pushing him to the brink of psychosis as his minor empire disintegrates amid in-fighting, pressure from the law and competitors seeing an opportunity to muscle-in.William Hartnell significantly elevated his status in British films with his portrayal of the wily, experience-hardened and brutally calm right-hand man, a reassuring presence to the under-siege Pinkie, until he senses the embattled leader's weaknesses. For his part, though much of what his character displays is faux bravado, Attenborough remains chilling as the almost psychotic thug, one of the best performances of his acting career.The scene in which the demented Pinkie callously hurls an innocent victim through second-story balustrades to the ground below is one of those moments in film you never forget, not only the event, but director Boulting's pacing, tightly edited photographic angles, and the stunned reactions of those who witness the abhorrent and opportunistic murder (it has that same callous and sinister tone that Richard Widmark conjured in his infamous scene in "Kiss of Death"). While better known for his production credits, director John Boulting shows a talent for suspense and edgy storytelling (relative to the era) in a landmark British film that's well worth the time.

So much has already been said of this film its pointless to type out the story but this is absolutely without shadow of a doubt the finest British gangster film ever made and one of the greatest British films ever made. Richard Attenborough was very almost typecast as hoodlums and gangsters (the hundred pound window, London belongs to me, boys in brown, dancing with crime) his performance here is not uncagney like (via public enemy) phycotic seething brooding filled with rage fear hate and despair. He seems to bear a grudge against religious and authoritative figures he also appears to be homosexual in one scene he goes berserk to find fellow gang members and their girlfriends drinking and acting flirtatious and promiscuous he even threatens to kill when a fellow gangster says his wife is going to make a man of him on their wedding night and then the next morning after their wedding night he hasn't slept with his wife. his best friend tells her "not to worry hes just busy hes got stuff on his mind" she tells pinkies best friend "i don't want to be on his mind ever i just want be with him" implying she hasn't 'BEEN' with him in fact by the end of the film I'm not sure he has slept with her at all. You can fill in the blanks why does a 17 year old lad wind up this vicious and angry where are his parents what lead him to the place where he is now why the hatred toward religion ? even his nick name pinky brown... you have to wonder ... the relationships hes forged with other members of the gang are quite interesting also the former leader seems to have been somewhat of a father figure to pinky and hes trying to forge that same relationship with Dallow (william hartnel) who is clearly the brains of the outfit and would be the leader of the mob if he wasn't scared of pinky as everyone is he knows fine well what pinky is capable of he gets a good indication in the first few minutes of the film. Pinky isn't used of people standing up to him and not fearing him he doesn't like the fact the town is now increasingly ran by colleani he hates it and the rest of the mob know if it wasn't for pinkies murderous reputation they'd be finished. Pinkies relationship with women also worth noting the only time he shows his wife anything but hostility is when hes hurt and wants mothering.1947 Was the year england took America's crown albeit briefly as the worlds finest producer of gangster films as this They Made Me A Fugitive and Black Memory stormed onto British screens, we had previously had a few films that dealt with small scale gangsters (the man from Chicago) and young hoodlums (bad boy) but we had always been weary of the kind of film America had been producing in fact the British censors blocked an attempt to produce a screen version of the play The Blue Cafe which dealt with organised crime in London's seedy Soho district and No Orchids For Mss Blandish was filmed in America complete with fake American accents but here finally in 1947 we were treat to a reflection of our own homegrown gangsters on screen no there's no ring of tommy gun fire but believe me the violence and sheer darkness of these films are just as gripping intense and shocking.To those who question attenboroughs legitimacy as a 17 year old saying hes unbelievable i say that its a cultural difference here people leave school at 16 (at the earliest) they can leave home get a job and start a family in fact i know people doing that right now and back then people were leaving school at 14 so yes attenboroughs performance is actually a lot more believable than you'd give it credit for.Flat out Masterpiece !!!