Brighton Rock ***** (1947, Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell, Alan Wheatley, Carol Marsh) – Classic Movie Review 724

Richard Attenborough gives an inspired, chilling performance as the psychotic young tearaway Pinkie Brown in the Boulting Brothers’ marvellous 1947 film version of Graham Greene’s classic novel Brighton Rock.

The 24-year-old Richard Attenborough gives an inspired, memorably chilling performance in one of his finest roles as the psychotic young tearaway Pinkie Brown in producer Roy Boulting and director John Boulting’s marvellous 1947 film version of Graham Greene’s classic 1938 novel Brighton Rock.

Adapted by the author himself, along with the playwright Terence Rattigan, it effectively captures the flavour of Greene’s anguished conscience-stricken, religious-tormented landscape, while delivering a bracingly salty flavour of the vintage Brighton of the 1940s.

[Spoiler alert] On the other hand, the film’s ironic ending, in which Rose’s damaged recording of Pinkie’s voice sticks and repeats ‘I love you’ was changed against Greene’s wishes from his original story, in which Rose is about to hear the entire recording and will realise that Pinkie hated her. The Boulting Brothers apparently thought the film censors were likely to object to Greene’s more tragic original ending. Greene strongly objected to the film’s final scene as sentimental but the Boulting Brothers prevailed.

A reporter is murdered in a fit of revenge by Pinkie and his thuggish gang of little punks, but Pinkie has established a fake alibi for the time of the killing. However, the murder was a witnessed by a silly 16-year-old waitress called Rose (Carol Marsh), whom Pinkie soon finds he is going to have to marry in return for her silence.

Conceived and shot as a film noir thriller, Brighton Rock delivers strongly and enjoyably on that front, and it is visually impressive since Harry Waxman’s black and white cinematography is outstanding. It boasts larger than life but still believable performances from a fine, vintage cast, as well as atmospheric, polished, imaginative direction by a fired-up John Boulting.

Acting-wise, it is Attenborough’s film, but also giving notable performances are Marsh, Alan Wheatley as Fred Hale, the gang boss whom Pinkie also eventually murders, and Hermione Baddeley as the vengeful Ida Arnold, the reporter’s entertainer chum.

William Hartnell as Dallow, Harcourt Williams as Prewitt, Wylie Watson as Spicer, Nigel Stock as Cubitt, and George Carney as Phil Corkery are also essential ingredients.

Reginald Purdell, Charles Goldner, Virginia Winter, Basil Cunard, Harry Ross, Constance Smith, Campbell Copelin, Marianne Stone, Harry Ross, Joan Sterndale-Bennett, Lina Barrie, Norman Watson, John Martel, Wally Patch and Anna Steele are also in the cast.

It was screened to the trade and cinema distributors on 25 November 1947 and had its world premiere in Brighton on 8 January 1948, followed by a gala premiere at the Warner Cinema, Leicester Square, in London’s West End on 9 January 1948. It caused an uproar in Britain because of its depictions of crime and violence.

It was a hit in British cinemas in 1948 but less successful in the US (released as Young Scarface). By 1 April 1950 the film earned a gross of £147,124 in the UK of which £94,902 went to the production company, Charter Film Productions.

Much location filming was done in Brighton, although some was shot in the studio. The scenes where Fred Hale is pursued through Brighton were shot with hidden cameras, capturing footage of unaware Brighton residents and tourists. The climax takes place at Brighton’s Palace Pier, but takes place in the nearby town of Peacehaven in the novel.

Charles Goldner plays Colleoni, The Colleoni gang was modelled after the real-life 1930s Sabini racetrack gang that fought public battles with straight razors to control crime at racecourses in southern England, including one battle in Brighton. Former Sabini gang member Carl Ramon was technical adviser, teaching Attenborough how to behave as Pinkie, and appears in a non-speaking cameo as a barman.

It was remade in 2010 as Brighton Rock with Sam Riley.

Carol Marsh (born Norma Lilian Simpson; 10 May 1926 – 6 March 2010) trained at the Rank Organisation’s charm school before joining the studio’s repertory company at Worthing. She replied to a newspaper advertisement for a 16 or 17-year-old girl, ‘frail, innocent, naïve and tolerably but not excessively pretty’, and was selected as Rose from the more than 3,000 applicants who auditioned.

She was 21 but later said she had an emotional age of about 10 and was ‘preyed upon’ during filming: ‘People were very, very cruel. Why didn’t they just leave me alone? I’ve never seen the film and I couldn’t bear to.’

The great and good Richard Attenborough died on August 24 2014, at the age of 90.

The cast are Richard Attenborough as Pinkie Brown, Hermione Baddeley as Ida Arnold, Carol Marsh as Rose Brown, William Hartnell as Dallow, Harcourt Williams as Prewitt, Wylie Watson as Spicer, Nigel Stock as Cubitt, Alan Wheatley as Fred Hale, Virginia Winter as Judy, Reginald Purdell as Frank, George Carney as Phil Corkery, Charles Goldner as Colleoni, Lina Barrie as Molly, Joan Sterndale-Bennett as Delia, Harry Ross as Bill Brewer, Campbell Copelin as Police Inspector, Marianne Stone as Lazy Waitress, Norman Watson as Racecourse Evangelist, Ronald Shiner as the Look-Out, Constance Smith as singer, Virginia Winter, Basil Cunard, Lina Barrie, John Martel, Wally Patch and Anna Steele.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 724

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com/

William Hartnell and Richard Attenborough in a scene from Brighton Rock.