Brighton Rock (1948)

Pinkie Brown is a small-town hoodlum whose gang runs a protection racket based at Brighton race course. When Pinkie murders a journalist called Fred Hale whom he believes is responsible for... See full summary »

Director:

John Boulting

Writers:

Graham Greene (from the novel by), Graham Greene (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Attenborough	...	Pinkie Brown
Hermione Baddeley	...	Ida Arnold
William Hartnell	...	Dallow
Harcourt Williams	...	Prewitt
Wylie Watson	...	Spicer
Nigel Stock	...	Cubitt
Virginia Winter	...	Judy
Reginald Purdell	...	Frank
George Carney	...	Phil Corkery
Charles Goldner	...	Colleoni
Alan Wheatley	...	Fred Hale
Carol Marsh	...	Rose
Lina Barrie	...	Molly
Joan Sterndale-Bennett	...	Delia
Harry Ross	...	Brewer

Storyline

Pinkie Brown is a small-town hoodlum whose gang runs a protection racket based at Brighton race course. When Pinkie murders a journalist called Fred Hale whom he believes is responsible for the death of a fellow gang-member, the police believe it to be suicide. This doesn't convince Ida Arnold, who was with Fred just before he died, and she sets out to find the truth. She comes across naive waitress Rose, who can prove that Fred was murdered. In an attempt to keep Rose quiet Pinkie marries her. But with his gang beginning to doubt his ability, and his rivals taking over his business, Pinkie starts to become more desperate and violent.

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Plot Keywords:

british noir | based on novel | gang | protection racket | police | 

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Taglines:

Graham Greene's Shocking Thriller of the RAZOR GANGS!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 1948 (France)

Also Known As:

Brighton Rock

Filming Locations:

Brighton Pavilion, Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,626, 21 June 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$223,887, 30 October 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC),Charter Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filming took place in Brighton using hidden cameras in amongst the real-life crowds. This was mainly because the Brighton authorities objected to the way their town was being depicted as a haven for gangsters.

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Goofs

As Fred Hale (Alan Wheatley) makes his abortive run away from Pinkie's gang to the railway station in the centre of Brighton, when he sees his way blocked he turns and catches a number 40 bus leaving from the bus stand. The next shot shows the bus leaving - except that it's now a number 6.

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Quotes

Rose: People change.
Ida: I've never changed. It's like those sticks of rock. Bite one all the way down, you'll still read Brighton. That's human nature.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: Brighton today is a large, jolly, friendly seaside town in Sussex, exactly one hour's journey from London. But in the years between the two wars, behind the Regency terraces and crowded beaches, there was another Brighton of dark alleyways and festering slums. From here, the poison of crime and violence and gang warfare began to spread, until the challenge was taken up by the Police. This is a story of that other Brighton - now happily no more.

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Connections

Featured in Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film (2014)

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Soundtracks

Let Bygones Be Bygones
(uncredited)
Written by Joseph George Gilbert
Sung by Hermione Baddeley and the pub patrons

User Reviews

A classic dark tale of a gang's destruction and implosion.

For many, black and white gangster movies are cliché ridden, badly accented escapades for the masses. Once you've seen one you've seen them all with the Godfather in 1970's having finally broken the Hollywood mould. Wrong... far earlier than that, in the UK, this film helped to define the genre by being different, moody, dark and very thoughtful.

A surprisingly difficult and hard edged performance by Richard 'Dicky' Attenborough is the centre of this movie, as the youthful gang leader hell bent on doing whatever it takes to safeguard his own back.

As great as the book, and evoking of a bygone era, this film is essential viewing for its camera work as much as anything else.

A genuine classic movie in the over-done gangster genre, one I will definitely come back to in time.