Brighton Rock

Very strong thriller from the Boulting brothers with a cracking performance from Dickie Attenborough as the starey-eyed Pinkie, and William Hartnell looking young(ish) and spry as his friend, henchman and conscience Dallow. Lacking some of the book's depth and darkness, but staying surprisingly faithful to many important plot points, the pace is electric and the players all excellent. The sticky squalor and roughness of the town and the time are vividly realised, and Pinkie is about as bad as they come. One of the great British thrillers, and for those familiar with the book, check out the sweet, ingenious ending.

I recently screened a very old, worn 16mm print of this film in our local pub and it went down a storm.

Richard Attenborough is screen dynamite as ruthless, petulant Pinkie Brown, the driven, teenage gangster. Carol Marsh also excels as the downtrodden Rose, Pinkie's young bride. Also worthy of a mention is Hermione Baddeley who is a scream as the brash, common Ida Arnold who shrieks like a harpie when supping Gin but has a heart of gold.

This is a great creaky, old British film and has a perfect cast. The final scene is especially touching when a technical error prevents poor little Rose from learning the truth about Pinkie's feelings for her.

Go see!

If Richard Attenborough hadn't been careful in his choice of roles he might very well have been typecast as a stone cold killer the rest of his career. It was the same problem that Richard Widmark had after Kiss Of Death. In Brighton Rock, Attenborough is absolutely riveting and charismatic as gang leader Pinkie Brown.

In the British seaside resort town of Brighton, Attenborough and his cronies run a protection racket and are being muscled by another gang who wants to take over their territory. In America this would call for a public machine gun blasting, but in the United Kingdom they do things in a bit more subtle way. After a prolonged chase through Brighton, Attenborough nails one of the other gang members Alan Wheatley in a fun house tunnel ride where there's even question that Wheatley might have slipped and fallen on his own.

But there are questions and Hermione Baddely is raising them, having been with Wheatley before he died and knowing how scared he was. There's also a witness after the fact who could destroy his alibi, a young and very innocent waitress played by Carol Marsh.

The reason Brighton Rock works so well is the terrifying portrait of Attenborough as a killer. Attenborough has to be a charismatic figure or the older members of his group would not be looking to him as the leader. They fear him too, but eventually the fear takes over the sway he has on the group.

Carol Marsh is good in her part. She's such an innocent, a Trilby like creature who Attenborough works like a Svengali over and gets her actually to marry him, just so she can't give evidence against him in Wheatley's murder. But when a couple more deaths occur, Marsh is frightened, but still entranced with Attenborough.

The final climax on the Brighton pier is as terrifying as any noir film you might see in America at that time. It even eclipses Wheatley's demise earlier which is also a highlight. Brighton Rock holds very well after 62 years and compares very well with some of the best American noir films of the time.

A two bit villain gets ideas above his station, more godson than godfather, an irritation, a vile and vicious type, although it's all gusto, teenage hype, his small mob predates the weak, provokes the fight. He's made some schoolboy errors he will regret, dug a hole and now he issues lots of threats, between a hard place and a rock, he needs to find a way to block, so he's not captured in the ever closing net. He takes advantage of the innocence of Rose, as she accepts the sham marriage that he's proposed, but Ida Arnold's on the case, she's got her sights on this scarred face, like a bloodhound on the scent, she will expose.

I hope this film is remembered for all time as it is an incredible piece of film-making. Excellent script, suspense and a wonderful performance by Richard Attenborough as the ruthless and emotionless gang leader Pinky.

Despite Brighton being known for its family orientated beaches, entertainment and pier, we see a very dark and disturbing side to this relaxed holiday town. There is a sinister feel throughout and is shot and edited very well. It was a bit hard to understand some of the dialogue at times but this did not matter as it captivates and draws you in for the duration.

I recommend it highly.