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Brighton Rock (1947) (DVD)

8/10

Stars: Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell, Carol Marsh, Nigel Stock, Alan Wheatley, Wylie Watson

Director: John Boulting

Claustrophobically menacing version of Graham Greene's novel - he co-wrote the screenplay with Terence Rattigan - with Attenborough, repeating his stage role, genuinely unpleasant as Pinkie Brown, a teenage hoodlum at large in postwar Brighton, marrying a hapless waitress (Marsh) to prevent her squealing on his lethal doings.

Streets ahead of the recent remake, this is a sordid but strong, tense and realistic thriller, with scarcely a lapse in pace and tension. A restored version with some half-a-minute of additional footage.

David Quinlan

UK 1947. UK Distributor: Optimum. Black and white.
91 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: PG.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 15 Feb 2011