Night and the City (1950)

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Jo Eisinger (screenplay)
Gerald Kersh (novel)

Release Date:

April 1950 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Sport | Thriller

Plot:

Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) is a London hustler with ambitious plans that never work out. One day...

Plot Keywords:

Scheme | Arena | Hustler | Wrestler | Wrestling

Cast

Richard Widmark	...	Harry Fabian
Gene Tierney	...	Mary Bristol
Googie Withers	...	Helen Nosseross
Hugh Marlowe	...	Adam Dunn
Francis L. Sullivan	...	Philip Nosseross
Herbert Lom	...	Kristo
Stanislaus Zbyszko	...	Gregorius
Mike Mazurki	...	The Strangler
Charles Farrell	...	Mickey Beer
Ada Reeve	...	Molly the Flower Lady
Ken Richmond	...	Nikolas of Athens (as Ken. Richmond)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adelaide Hall	...	Singer (scenes deleted)
Eliot Makeham	...	Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)
Betty Marsden	...	Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

101 min | USA:96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | USA:Approved (certificate #14096) | Germany:16 | Finland:K-15 (new rating: 2001) | France:U | Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1950-1965) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A

Filming Locations:

East End Docks, London, England, UK

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Trivia:

Jules Dassin has stated that he did read the novel "Night and the City" until after the film was completed.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Philip is meeting with Harry, and holding Kristo's business card, during a medium shot, Philip is holding the card with one hand, then in an immediately following close-up shot, he is holding the card with two hands, then in the immediately following medium shot, he is again holding it in one hand again.

Quotes:

Adam Dunne: Harry is an artist without an art.
Mary Bristol: What does that mean?
Adam Dunne: Well, that is something that could make a man very unhappy, Mary, groping for the right level, the means with which to express himself.
Mary Bristol: Yes, he is that. Is not he? I like that, Adam. It is a very nice thought.
Adam Dunne: Yes, but it can be dangerous.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Savages (2007)

Soundtrack:

Again

I Love Its Energy And Shameless Attitude

Bizarre, madding film noir; a fascinating marriage of style and substance. It's Fellininesque, with Jules Dassin taking the viewer to a strange world that exits underneath the facade of the ordinary. With its nihilistic view of life on Earth, the film anticipates films like "Touch of Evil" and "Blue Velvet." The London setting is an important character, presented in an almost surreal manner. The acting in the film is brilliant. Richard Widmark's frenetic, sweaty, over the top performance adds the right touch of madness that the movie seems to call for; this is perhaps Widmark's best work ever. Francis L. Sullivan is also memorable as Phil Nosseross, and Googie Withers steals a lot of scenes as Sullivan's bitter wife. Herbert Lom beautifully underplays his Mafioso, and Stanislaus Zbyszko is unforgettable as Lom's father. Dassin is not interested in holding back, and his hackish style seems to be a sign of the director's state of mind at the time he was making the film (Dassin was facing the possibility of being blacklisted). Anyhow, this is a compelling movie, highly recommended to fans of classic cinema.