Cinema
Brighton Rock
John Boulting · 1947
Synopsis
Brighton, June 1935. The gang leader Kite has just died, shortly after a newspaper exposed the town's rackets, and his gang, now led by Pinkie Brown, seventeen, holds the journalist Fred Hale responsible. Hale happens to be in town for a publicity stunt: under the name of Kolley Kibber, he scatters cards that entitle the finder to a prize, and the first person to recognise him aloud will receive more. Pinkie's men track him down in a pub, and he loses himself in the crowd of holidaymakers.
Context
The film was adapted from Graham Greene's novel nine years after its publication; the Boulting brothers acquired the rights and Greene wrote the screenplay, drawing on an earlier version by Terence Rattigan. The ending of the book was softened on screen, and who wanted this change is not established: Greene claimed it, while other accounts maintain that he found it sentimental. To be able to shoot in the town, the producers preceded the film with a title card stating that today's Brighton was a cheerful, welcoming resort, and that the Brighton of the interwar gangs had disappeared.
Who it is for
Ninety-two minutes, in English with French subtitles; Richard Attenborough plays the young gang leader.
Prizes and reception
Released in the United States in 1951 under a cruder title, Young Scarface, after a premiere in Brighton in January 1948.
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