Brighton Rock

[poliphilo]

If you think (as I tend to do) of Richard Attenborough as a cute little ball of snaggle-toothed twinkliness then this is an eye-opener- the movie in which he gives Jimmy Cagney a run for his money. He's in his 20s and he's playing a teenage racketeer. Picture Lord Richard; he's got a soft doughy face, right? But here he's beautiful- in an 'I am the angel of death' sort of a way- thus proving that beauty isn't a matter of regular features but an emanation that great actors can turn on and off at will.

The film, directed and produced by the Boulting brothers (better known for mildly satirical comedies like I'm All Right Jack) is authentically chilling, with tasty noir cinematography, great use of South Coast locations and a twisted, slightly bonkers Catholic dimension to it that comes of having Graham Greene as your script writer.

My fellow Whovians may like to note that William Hartnell appears in a supporting role as an ageing wide-boy in a loud check suit. Very good he is too.

Comments

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

I got my Netflix Solaris, the Russian version, in the mail yesterday. Report to come.

Thanks for giving me so much to add to my queue! Brighton Rock's next.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Excellent.

I was at school near Brighton and I had a happy time spotting locations.

Ooh there's the railway station...

And now we're in the Lanes....

Brighton is a fascinating town. The Lanes are at the heart of it- a network of narrow winding streets left over from when it was a fishing village- now full of very expensive antique shops.

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

When I was in my 20's there was a local rock band around named "Brighton Rock". My friend Kenny did lights for them, and sometimes he used to let me help.

I"ll have to look for this movie...I wonder if the library has it, in the archives...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

They might well do. It was made in 1947 if that's any help.

I Googled the film last night and some of the things that came up were related to a band. I wonder if this is the same band Kenny worked with or whether the name has been reused.