Brighton Rock

Although I have yet to read a single novel by Graham Greene, I have seen film adaptations of his work including Our Man in Havana, The Quiet American and The Third Man. Although Carol Reed's film set in post-war Vienna is perhaps the greatest film based on a novel by Graham Greene, one that always runs it close is the 1947 gangster drama, Brighton Rock. Against a backdrop of people happily playing in the sea, on the beach and generally enjoying a holiday by the seaside, some text explains:

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.

The story follows a vicious 17 year old gangster, Pinkie Brown, who instils fear in everyone who knows him, friend and foe alike and woe betide anyone who falls out of favour with him and his gang. The first act follows one of Pinkie's associates who has been identified in the local paper as a murderer and there is now a reward for anyone who challenges him and says "You are Kolley Kibber and I claim the Daily Messenger prize."

As Pinkie can't have someone who knows the ins and outs of his protection racket being taken in for questioning by the police, he and members of his gang are on the lookout for the man, Fred Hale, who is now living under the alias Kolley Kibber. As he nervously moves around different pubs, trying to blend in and ingratiate himself with different people by buying them drinks, he is always on the lookout for Pinkie and is growing ever more stressed and on the verge of cracking up completely. Deciding that a pub is probably not the best place to hide away, he heads to the seafront but keeps seeing faces that he rather wouldn't.


Whilst at the seafront, Fred sits next to a couple of women on deckchairs and then moves on, sporting a space next to a blonde woman. He gets talking to the seafront entertain, Ida and even gives her some money before persuading her to go with him on the ghost train. However, Ida realises that she left her handkerchief on her deckchair and rushes off, telling him to buy a couple of tickets and she'll be back shortly. Rather than wait out in the open, Fred decides to get on the ride alone and sits next to a stranger. As he is completely distracted, he doesn't notice when his companion leaves the ride and his place is taken by Pinkie. When he turns round and looks to his left, the right has just started and his fate is sealed.

The next day, the Daily Messenger is full of details about how Fred committed suicide but Ida isn't convinced and begins harassing the local policemen with her assertion that he was either driven to suicide or murdered. As the local paper had made an arrangement with Fred that he distribute cards during his time on the run which will be hidden and anyone who finds one will be paid 10 shillings by the paper, Pinkie decides to use these as an alibi by having his gang continued to place them around town after Fred's death. Pinkie was unhappy that one of them was placed under the tablecloth at Snow's Restaurant and, because none of his crew would go there, he decides to go himself. Whilst there, he meets a waitress, Rose, and the two strike up a conversation with Pinkie persuading her to take the card she found 10 minutes earlier to the paper and collect her reward. As Rose can't spend the whole day talking to Pinkie, she agrees to meet him later that night on the pier.


Brighton Rock is a very British noir with superb performances by Richard Attenborough as Pinkie, Carol Marsh as Rose and particularly Hermione Baddeley, whose Ida is a really tough character to play as Pinkie is almost an antihero who you find yourself strangely rooting for. It is very strange to look back on this film, now 64 years old and remind yourself that the remarkable young actor in the lead role is the same grandfatherly-like bloke, who looks more and more like Father Christmas every year, who is now more recognised as a director and actor.

When it comes to great British films, Brighton Rock should always be considered as one of the finest examples of filmmaking that this country has ever produced and a remarkable feat by John and Roy Boulting, the director-producer team behind the film The screenplay, by Graham Greene and Terrence Rattigan, is complex without losing the audience and incredibly gripping, right until the final scene when Rose plays the record that Pinkie recorded for her. I think this is a great film which, whilst not reaching the heights of The Third Man, is still an extraordinarily well made movie with great direction, script, acting, music and cinematography.

The Disc

Extra Features
When you load the disc, there is a trailer featuring films in the StudioCanal Collection and the trailer for Peeping Tom which can't be skipped so you have to use the scan button if you don't want to watch them every time.

Interview with Rowan Joffe (20:11, HD) is an interesting look at the film by the writer and director of the 2010 remake and he clearly knows the original film inside out, answering each question fully, enthusiastically and articulately. He talks about the film, why it is so special, some elements of his film and most of the subtexts, particularly Catholicism.

John Boulting & Richard Attenborough interviewed at the NFT in 1954 (1:07:57) is audio only with Stanley Reed interviewing the two men before a Q&A session. It is very typical of its time with an extremely polite audience, very well spoken interview subjects and interview but they do talk very well about the film and each other. You don't need to worry too much about screen burn as, whilst this is playing, photographs and information about the three men appear as a slideshow, changing very slowly. After a while, this does become a little boring so it is perhaps best to take a break about halfway through.


The Picture
I'm not exactly sure why, but the 1080p picture is surprisingly grey with much lower contrast levels than I was expecting so, rather than a stark chiaroscuro picture with inky blacks and bright whites, many scenes are grey. However, this is a step up from the DVD as it is less grey than the SD picture.

Despite this, the cinematography by Harry Waxman is absolutely stunning and the location shooting in Brighton really pays dividends, adding to the sense of authenticity and grim realism that Brighton Rock brings across.


The Sound
The LPCM 2.0 mono soundtrack is extremely clear, presenting the dialogue very well and allowing certain scenes to be actually quite tender, as some of the ones between Pinkie and Rose are, or incredibly tense and almost horrific when you can almost see the cogs in Pinkie's brain turning so you know that something remarkably violent is about to take place.

Helping create the mood and elevate both the tension and growing sense of panic at the end is the brilliant score by Hans May and it's almost as if he and Harry Waxman worked together as the visuals and music work together beautifully.

There are optional English HoH subtitles which are clearly written and aren't lost against the film whilst being free from typographical or grammatical errors, other than those committed by the characters.


Final Thoughts
I consider Brighton Rock to be one of the finest British films ever made and it really stands up to repeated viewings as you better understand the characters and the subtexts each time you watch the film. In terms of British noir, it is far better than something like They Made Me a Fugitive and is probably the finest film that the Boulting Brothers made in their illustrious career. It is a shame that the Board of Censors took exception to some of the more overtly Catholic scenes in the film and demanded that they be cut out, much to Graham Greene's dismay.

This is an extremely good disc that Optimum have released of a great film and is one that both hard-core fans and newcomers alike should seriously consider adding to their Blu-ray collection.