Brighton Rock (1947)

Director:

John Boulting

Writers:

Graham Greene (novel)
Graham Greene (screenplay)

Release Date:

December 1947 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Plot:

Pinkie Brown (Richard Attenborough) is a small town hoodlum who's gang run a protection racket based at Brighton race course...

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Boy | British Noir | Beach Resort | Seaside | Psychopath

Cast

Richard Attenborough	...	Pinkie Brown
Carol Marsh	...	Rose Brown
Hermione Baddeley	...	Ida Arnold
William Hartnell	...	Dallow, henchman
Nigel Stock	...	Cubit, henchman
Wylie Watson	...	Spicer, henchman
Alan Wheatley	...	Fred Hale, alias Kolly Kibber
Harcourt Williams	...	Lawyer Prewitt
George Carney	...	Phil Corkery
Victoria Winter	...	Judy, gang moll
Reginald Purdell	...	Frank, blind gang member
Campbell Copelin	...	Police Inspector
Charles Goldner	...	Colleoni
Marianne Stone	...	Lazy Waitress (as Mary Stone)
Harry Ross	...	Bill Brewer

Also Known As:

Young Scarface (USA)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 (1948) | Iceland:16 | Sweden:(Banned) (1947-1957) | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1991) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1994) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Brighton Pavilion, Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK

Company:

Charter Film Productions

Trivia:

Brighton Borough Council refused permission for use of the race course because of the damage association with gang crime would do to the town's image (see the on-screen disclaimer at the start of the film).

Quotes:

Mother Superior: [while comforting Rose after Pinkie's death] You or I cannot fathom the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Brighton Rock (2010)

Perfect Pinkie

A lean, mean, steely adaptation by Graham Greene of his own 1938 novel, now regarded as a classic in British cinema. Although cited as 'watered-down' by fans of the book, one thing that cannot be undermined in this film is the quality of the casting. Twenty-five year old Richard Attenborough's convincing and perfect performance as vicious juvenile gangster Pinkie Brown must have left Greene gob-smacked whilst Carol Marsh (as Pinkie's despairingly innocent girlfriend, Rose), William Hartnell and Hermione Baddeley serve to bring Greene's supporting ensemble of seaside characters memorably to life. Certain aspects of the novel are lost or muddled on screen - Pinkie and Rose's obsession with Catholicism is patchy whilst the former's fear of sex is kept minimal, robbing the character of some of the depth that Greene conveyed in his book. Attenborough and the supporting players however are so graceful in their roles that any shortcomings are more than forgiven and the ending - again, a cause of controversy to some - , in the eyes of this reviewer, is a masterstroke.