Night and the City (1950)

A small-time grifter and nightclub tout takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter.

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Jo Eisinger (screenplay), Gerald Kersh (novel)

Stars:

Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers

Cast

Complete credited 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	...	Pinkney (scenes deleted)
Betty Marsden	...	Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Harry Fabian is a London hustler with ambitious plans that never work out. One day, when he encounters the most famous Greco-Roman wrestler in the world, Gregorius, at a London wrestling arena run by his son Kristo, he dreams up a scheme that he thinks will finally be his ticket to financial independence. As Fabian attempts to con everyone around him to get his scheme to work, he of course only ends up conning himself. This is an interesting tale of blind ambition, self-deception, broken dreams, and how a man who always thinks he's ahead of the game ends up tripping himself very badly.

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Plot Keywords:

british noir | wrestling | nightclub | hustler | manhunt | 

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Taglines:

The inside story of London after dark.

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Sport | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Widmark stated in an interview that he lost a great deal of weight during the production because of the all running he had to do.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Harry Fabian: [to Figler] How much are you sellin' me for?

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Alternate Versions

There are two versions of this film: the British release and the International/American release. Some examples are: a differing voice-over speech; some changed dialogue; the opening scene where Harry returns home after 3 days away is a different take and the nightclub scenes are longer in the British version. The scores of the two films are also entirely different and alternate shots are used at the ending in the British version.

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Connections

Version of Night and the City (1992)

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Soundtracks

The Right Kind
(uncredited)
Music by Lionel Newman and Charles Henderson
Played at the Silver Fox
Introduced in Road House (1948)
(US version)

User Reviews

Forgotten noir that will eventually become a classic

"Night and the City" was the final film for Jules Dassin in the U.S. before being blacklisted. He eventually moved to France but didn't make another film until 1955. Though he is best remembered for the films he did with his wife, Melina Mercouri, this is one of his great movies, a very gritty film noir with London as its background.

Richard Widmark plays Harry Fabian, a low-life con man who makes money as a tout for a club, i.e., he seeks out male tourists and gets them to spend their money there. The club is owned by Phil Nosseross (Francis L. Sullivan) and his wife Helen, who hates her husband and wants to start her own business. Working there is Fabian's girlfriend (Gene Tierney) who loves him in spite of the fact that he's constantly borrowing or stealing money from her.

Harry hits on a scheme to break into wrestling promotion in London. Unfortunately, Kristo (Herbert Lom) has it sewn up. Though his father (Stanislaus Zbyszko, a real-life wrestler) was a great wrestling champion doing Greco-Roman boxing, Kristo does not promote it. This has actually caused a rift between father and son, and Harry moves right in. With the elder Kristo on his side, Harry gets his chance to promote Greco-Roman wrestling. He gets the needed money by promising Helen that he will get her a license to open her business, though the building supposedly can't be licensed for another year. The results of Harry's project lead to tragedy as he brings everybody down with him.

Filmed in black and white only adds to the grittiness of "Night and the City" as Harry runs through London. The film moves as swiftly as he does, leading to the inevitable but exciting climax.

This was a powerhouse role for Richard Widmark, who is a slimy, desperate, and fast-talking Harry. The problem with Harry is, he's really not that good of a con man. He's sloppy. He can get guys into the club but that's about it. He rubs the wrong people the wrong way, and he makes everyone angry until finally, he's a complete untouchable as Kristo chases after him. Widmark gives us a perfect portrait. Tierney is in the film only at the request of Zanuck, who wanted to distract her from her personal problems; she has a surprisingly small role. Herbert Lom is fantastic as Kristo. Stanislaus Zbyszko, whom Dassin sought out, gives a poignant performance as Gregorius the Great. The wonderfully talented Googie Withers is great as the cold and sophisticated Helen. You totally believes she loathes her husband. And Sullivan's Nesseros is easy to loathe as a wealthy worm who plays both ends against the middle to destroy Fabian. They all end up destroying themselves.

Apparently this film did not get appropriate distribution or something, because it's a great film, now out on DVD, and very few people know it. Hopefully, like "Nightmare Alley," another film that was ill-served by Hollywood, it will continue to gain in cult status. It deserves to be seen.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 June 1950 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Night and the City

Filming Locations:

Pawsons & Leafs Limited, 5-14 St Paul's Churchyard, City of London, England, UK

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,024

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1