Customer Reviews

Brighton Rock

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We make our own sordid hell and then we live in it, and the innocents among us deserve what they get because they can't tell the difference. Not exactly Graham Greene with his Catholic conflicts, but this excellent film written by Greene (and Terence Rattigan) from Greene's novel certainly sets up the issues. Brighton Rock is an excellent movie, scarcely dated, and features one of Richard Attenborough's most effective performances. His Pinkie Brown will wipe away all those avuncular grandfathers and Santas he's been playing the last few years. Please note that elements of the plot are discussed

Pinkie leads a small criminal gang in Brighton in the late Thirties. The gang's former leader was betrayed by a man named Fred Hale. When Hale is spotted in the guise of newspaper reporter Kolley Kibber passing out coupons near the Brighton pier in a promotion stunt for the paper, Hale's health is about to fail. Pinkie and the gang face Hale in a pub, then follow him through the streets of Brighton waiting for an opportunity to kill him. On the Brighton pier Hale meets Ida Arnold, a blowzy, cheery woman he encountered in the pub, and pleads with her to stay with him. She agrees, but then must leave him for a moment to retrieve a handkerchief. Frightened out of his wits, he gets on a tunnel of frights ride...and at the last moment Pinkie slips into the seat next to him. Hale is dead before the ride ends. Now Pinkie realizes there are a couple of loose ends. He kills one and marries the other, an innocent young waitress named Rose who saw more than she should have. A wife, after all, can't testify against her husband. Before long, Pinkie is plotting a double suicide for himself and Rose. Naturally, she'll go first. I'm not giving anything away, but things at last don't turn out Pinkie's way.

Did I mention? Pinkie is a puritanical sociopath. He doesn't smoke, doesn't drink and prefers to use a straight razor. He's 17. His gang has only three other members, all older. He dominates them because he knows what he wants, he's calm and he doesn't hesitate to take action. He can become violent, but with all the emotion of a snake. He marries his young waitress to get an alibi. While she naively loves him with all her heart, he can barely keep from showing his impatience and revulsion for her. On the Brighton pier together she sees a recording kiosk where people can make a record of their voices. Make a recording for me, she begs Pinkie, so I'll always have something that tells me how you feel. While Rose, outside the booth and unable to hear, gazes at him through the glass, Pinkie speaks into the mike. "You wanted a recording of my voice, well here it is. What you want me to say is, 'I love you'. Well I don't. I hate you, you little slut... " They don't have a gramophone so Pinkie knows she can't play the record. Pinkie wants security and power. He sees both slipping away as stronger competition from another gang moves in, as his own gang starts to crumble and as the relentless Ida Howard dogs his steps, pulling the police behind her. It all comes together in the rain late at night on the pier.

Attenborough was 24 when he played Pinkie. It was his breakthrough performance, and he's so good it's a wonder he wasn't typecast. Pinkie's age is not made much of; we learn it only when we learn he is underage, as is Rose, and must utilize a corrupt, aged lawyer to arrange the marriage ceremony. The off-hand way we realize how young Pinkie is makes his youth and his cold behavior even more disturbing. Hermione Baddeley as Ida, loud, vulgar and loving a drink and a good time, and William Hartnell as Dallow, the senior member of Pinkie's gang and a hard man with a certain degree of loyalty, are excellent. One of the major stars is Brighton, itself, and how it has been photographed. There's the pier and the rides and the beach chairs, of course, but this Brighton also has grubby and depressing boarding houses, loud pubs and narrow, dark streets and alleys. The location photography brings out all the grit and desperation.

Graham Greene is even more worth reading as he is watching; try his novels and "entertainments," including Brighton Rock. Even so, these three movies with screenplays by Greene are great movies, produced in just three years: Brighton Rock (1947), The Fallen Idol - Criterion Collection (1948) and The Third Man - Criterion Collection (2-Disc Edition) (1949). The Region two Optimum/Canal DVD of Brighton Rock, available from AmazonUK, is in fine shape. It's one more reason to have a region-free DVD player.

('Young Scarface' is the American Title for 'Brighton Rock')

`Brighton Rock' is essentially a tale of a teenage gangster, Pinkie Brown, and his attempts to silence a potential witness, Rose, to a crime. John Boulting (Thunder Rock, 1942; I'm All Right Jack, 1959) directed it in 1947 and was producer by his twin brother Roy. The screenplay was adapted from the Graham Greene novel of the same name by Terence Rattigan. There are significant differences at the ending of the film in relation to the novel (the book is more brutal) but I think that it takes nothing away from the film or the book. Due to BBFC rules at the time some changes had to made to the intended ending (the record scene) of the film because they wanted it to have a happy ending, which I think in retrospect made it better. The only feature really missing is the strength of character development one could only expect from a novel. However saying all that, the adaptation is excellent.

`Brighton Rock' featured two brilliant performances from Richard Attenborough (In Which We Serve, 1942; A Matter Of Life And Death, 1946) as Pinkie and Carol Marsh as Rose. Richard's performance is a career highlight for him, which could be regarded as the emergence of the `angry young man' in British cinema, but it was Carol's performance that I really loved. Her performance of innocence is something we so rarely see in modern cinema that it is remarkably refreshing to watch. One thing worth pointing out though is that Rose in the novel was not quite as pretty and we see more of her family life and the possible reason for her attachment to Pinkie. Carol Marsh never made many other significant films that I feel it's a bit of a shame because I think we've missed something there. I place her performance alongside Dorothy Malone's bit part in `The Big Sleep' (1946) who we also never saw enough of sadly.

Cinematography on `Brighton Rock' was by Gilbert Taylor who would later work on films such as `Repulsion' (Polanski, 1965) `Dr Strangelove' (Kubrick, 1964) and the much loved `Star Wars' (Lucas, 1977). Other films adapted from Graham Greene novels worth watching are `This Gun For Hire' (Tuttle, 1942) which has a similar theme and the excellent `The Third Man' (Reed, 1949). I loved this film and I loved the novel and I recommend both to you.

`Brighton Rock' is ranked No.15 in the BFI Top 100 British Films.

I can't believe this is not available on Region 1 yet. Get it on region 2 from Amazon.co.uk. Well worth it.

I purchased Brighton Rock from Amazon and I thought it was a very good british gangster movie. a young richard attenborough plays a gangster named pinkie Brown. he essentially tries to cover up a murder by marrying a super-sweet and naive waitress(a great performance by carol marsh as the sweet waitress Rose who doesn't really realize that pinkie doesn't love her but just using her for his own selfish gains. pinkie gets whats coming to him in the end. I thought this was a finely acted british gangster movie with standout performances, especially by richard attenborough as pinkie,(And like someone said here already... it's amazing he wasn't typecast as a mobster for this great performance!) carol marsh as his naive and sweet lover waitress,Hermione baddeley- as the lady who tries to protect the good waitress from the evil pinkie brown mobster-knowing he was probably involved in more then one murder or two.and william hartnell as pinkies henchmen who does some protecting of the young waitress himself. great movie all around. I enjoyed it.very reccommended !! I am glad I bought this movie!

We make our own sordid hell and then we live in it, and the innocents among us deserve what they get because they can't tell the difference. Not exactly Graham Greene with his Catholic conflicts, but this excellent film written by Greene (and Terence Rattigan) from Greene's novel certainly sets up the issues. Brighton Rock is an excellent movie, scarcely dated, and features one of Richard Attenborough's most effective performances. His Pinkie Brown will wipe away all those avuncular grandfathers and Santas he's been playing the last few years.

Pinkie leads a small criminal gang in Brighton in the late Thirties. The gang's former leader was betrayed by a man named Fred Hale. When Hale is spotted in the guise of newspaper reporter Kolley Kibber passing out coupons near the Brighton pier in a promotion stunt for the paper, Hale's health is about to fail. Pinkie and the gang face Hale in a pub, then follow him through the streets of Brighton waiting for an opportunity to kill him. On the Brighton pier Hale meets Ida Arnold, a blowzy, cheery woman he encountered in the pub, and pleads with her to stay with him. She agrees, but then must leave him for a moment to retrieve a handkerchief. Frightened out of his wits, he gets on a tunnel of frights ride...and at the last moment Pinkie slips into the seat next to him. Hale is dead before the ride ends. Now Pinkie realizes there are a couple of loose ends. He kills one and marries the other, an innocent young waitress named Rose who saw more than she should have. A wife, after all, can't testify against her husband. Before long, Pinkie is plotting a double suicide for himself and Rose. Naturally, she'll go first. I'm not giving anything away, but things at last don't turn out Pinkie's way.

Did I mention? Pinkie is a puritanical sociopath. He doesn't smoke, doesn't drink and prefers to use a straight razor. He's 17. His gang has only three other members, all older. He dominates them because he knows what he wants, he's calm and he doesn't hesitate to take action. He can become violent, but with all the emotion of a snake. He marries his young waitress to get an alibi. While she naively loves him with all her heart, he can barely keep from showing his impatience and revulsion for her. On the Brighton pier together she sees a recording kiosk where people can make a record of their voices. Make a recording for me, she begs Pinkie, so I'll always have something that tells me how you feel. While Rose, outside the booth and unable to hear, gazes at him through the glass, Pinkie speaks into the mike. "You wanted a recording of my voice, well here it is. What you want me to say is, 'I love you'. Well I don't. I hate you, you little slut... " They don't have a gramophone so Pinkie knows she can't play the record. Pinkie wants security and power. He sees both slipping away as stronger competition from another gang moves in, as his own gang starts to crumble and as the relentless Ida Howard dogs his steps, pulling the police behind her. It all comes together in the rain late at night on the pier.

Attenborough was 24 when he played Pinkie. It was his breakthrough performance, and he's so good it's a wonder he wasn't typecast. Pinkie's age is not made much of; we learn it only when we learn he is underage, as is Rose, and must utilize a corrupt, aged lawyer to arrange the marriage ceremony. The off-hand way we realize how young Pinkie is makes his youth and his cold behavior even more disturbing. Hermione Baddeley as Ida, loud, vulgar and loving a drink and a good time, and William Hartnell as Dallow, the senior member of Pinkie's gang and a hard man with a certain degree of loyalty, are excellent. One of the major stars is Brighton, itself, and how it has been photographed. There's the pier and the rides and the beach chairs, of course, but this Brighton also has grubby and depressing boarding houses, loud pubs and narrow, dark streets and alleys. The location photography brings out all the grit and desperation.

Graham Greene is even more worth reading as he is watching; try his novels and "entertainments," including Brighton Rock. Even so, these three movies with screenplays by Greene are great movies, produced in just three years: Brighton Rock (1947), The Fallen Idol - Criterion Collection (1948) and The Third Man - Criterion Collection (2-Disc Edition) (1949). The Region two Optimum/Canal DVD of Brighton Rock, available from AmazonUK, is in fine shape. It's one more reason to have a region-free DVD player.

`Brighton Rock' is essentially a tale of a teenage gangster, Pinkie Brown, and his attempts to silence a potential witness, Rose, to a crime. John Boulting (Thunder Rock, 1942; I'm All Right Jack, 1959) directed it in 1947 and was producer by his twin brother Roy. The screenplay was adapted from the Graham Greene novel of the same name by Terence Rattigan. There are significant differences at the ending of the film in relation to the novel (the book is more brutal) but I think that it takes nothing away from the film or the book. Due to BBFC rules at the time some changes had to made to the intended ending (the record scene) of the film because they wanted it to have a happy ending, which I think in retrospect made it better. The only feature really missing is the strength of character development one could only expect from a novel. However saying all that, the adaptation is excellent.

`Brighton Rock' featured two brilliant performances from Richard Attenborough (In Which We Serve, 1942; A Matter Of Life And Death, 1946) as Pinkie and Carol Marsh as Rose. Richard's performance is a career highlight for him, which could be regarded as the emergence of the `angry young man' in British cinema, but it was Carol's performance that I really loved. Her performance of innocence is something we so rarely see in modern cinema that it is remarkably refreshing to watch. One thing worth pointing out though is that Rose in the novel was not quite as pretty and we see more of her family life and the possible reason for her attachment to Pinkie. Carol Marsh never made many other significant films that I feel it's a bit of a shame because I think we've missed something there. I place her performance alongside Dorothy Malone's bit part in `The Big Sleep' (1946) who we also never saw enough of sadly.

Cinematography on `Brighton Rock' was by Gilbert Taylor who would later work on films such as `Repulsion' (Polanski, 1965) `Dr Strangelove' (Kubrick, 1964) and the much loved `Star Wars' (Lucas, 1977). Other films adapted from Graham Greene novels worth watching are `This Gun For Hire' (Tuttle, 1942) which has a similar theme and the excellent `The Third Man' (Reed, 1949). I loved this film and I loved the novel and I recommend both to you.

`Brighton Rock' is ranked No.15 in the BFI Top 100 British Films.

I can't believe this is not available on Region 1 DVD yet. Get it on Region 2.

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE FEBRUARY 2011 UK "BLU RAY" REISSUE ***

I not sure 'what' exactly has been 'digitally remastered' on this BLU RAY reissue (as the cover loudly proclaims), but it sure ain't the print.

There are scratches on the negative, lines in some scenes, blurriness in others and a general slapdash feel to the whole thing. If this has been supposedly restored, then I can't see where...

If you're a lover of the film, then I'd say hire the BLU RAY 'before' you buy to avoid disappointment...

Periodic strong segments and some good performances still don't bring this film as a whole above a mid-level production. Worth watching, but only occasionally riveting. Very interesting to see the young Richard Attenborough as the gangster Pinkie Brown. I think Johnny Depp might have modeled some of his performances at least partly on this Pinkie Brown.

I am reading the book Brighton Rock and I am finding it hard going so I purchased the original DVD version of the title hoping it would help me understand the story line a little better. Although I did enjoy this DVD version, it seems to have very little resemblance to the later book.

I was really excited about this movie, but I found it underwhelming and at times just plain bad. I need to read the novel, and maybe it was the accents that threw me (beings that it was hard to hear and or follow at times) but that's never been an issue with me before, especially if the movie is good. That isn't to say that `Brighton Rock' is bad, but it just didn't do it for me like I wanted it to. Overall, the performances were stellar, except for Richard Attenborough, who I found to be a major weak link. Seriously, what is with all the boundless praise for his performance? I found it clichéd and at times totally unbelievable. The actors around him certainly drove the film for him. The direction was also nicely crafted and the mood was set beautifully, with expert cinematography that milked the screen, creating a character all its own in Brighton.

Still, the film is lacking.

I found it a struggle to get on board with the films actual prose, which I found to be ineffectively constructed. The idea of a hoodlum marrying a girl he loathes just to drive her to suicide so she can't squeal on him for bumping off a rival is far fetched and really needs serious innovation used to give it even the remotest air of honesty. I mean, if he was so willing to kill a man why wouldn't he kill the girl? It just doesn't make sense, and I don't get the impression from `Brighton Rock' that it wanted us to suspend disbelief.

Still, I can't say that this was a total waste because it wasn't. Like I said, the supporting cast was seriously stellar, especially Carol Marsh who sunk her teeth into that naïve role of Rose, the beautiful waitress who marries a monster. The final scene, with the record, is phenomenally played out.

Hauntingly effective considering the lack of conviction I got from the film as a whole.

Hermoine Baddeley and William Hartnell were equally impressive, but I find it sad that the main thing I got from this film was the insatiably need to own a suit like the one Hartnell's character Dallow sports throughout the entire film.

Alas, the film needed that extra something to take it over the edge, but it never got it. This is sad since it had all the makings of a memorably crime thriller. While it remains visually captivating, the lack of follow-through (plot-wise) makes `Brighton Rock' a failed attempt at something great.