Night and the City (1950)
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Synopsis: In NIGHT AND THE CITY, director Jules Dassin brilliantly fuses two styles of filmmaking, crossing the expressionist lighting and framing of film noir with the almost documentary location shooting he used for THE NAKED CITY (1948). Dassin treats NIGHT AND THE CITY's central London... In NIGHT AND THE CITY, director Jules Dassin brilliantly fuses two styles of filmmaking, crossing the expressionist lighting and framing of film noir with the almost documentary location shooting he used for THE NAKED CITY (1948). Dassin treats NIGHT AND THE CITY's central London locations as strange exotic places. As the movie opens, it is nighttime and small-time hood Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) is running from almost unseen pursuers. Harry crosses in front of St. Paul's Cathedral, and Dassin shows this familiar tourist sight from a very high angle, then immediately juxtaposes a shot of Harry escaping through bombed-out ruins. While Dassin and director of photography Max Greene shoot exteriors from high angles or from cramped doorways, they shoot interiors from low angles catching their actors against heavily contrasted backgrounds. The result is a movie full of diamond-sharp, angst-ridden visuals. NIGHT AND THE CITY is built round the dynamic febrile performance of Richard Widmark as the constantly scheming, ever-overreaching Harry. Herbert Lom is brilliant as the Greek who ruthlessly controls wrestling in London. Francis L. Sullivan, huge and slow moving, exudes menace as nightclub owner Phil Nosseross. And Googie Withers is very striking as Nosseross's smart but desperate wife. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Herbert Lom, Francis L. Sullivan, Hugh Marlowe
Screenwriter: Jo Eisinger
Story: Gerald Kersh
Producer: Samuel G. Engel
Composer: Franz Waxman
DVD Info
Release:
Feb 1, 2005
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- Monaural - English
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary - 1. Glenn Erickson - Film Scholar
- Production Interviews - 1. Jules Dassin - Director
- 2. Excerpts From A 1972 French Interview With Jules Dassin
- Featurette - 1. Two Versions, Two Scores - A Look At The British And American Scores Composed For The Film
- Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Text/Photo Galleries:
- Film Essay By Film Critic Paul Arthur
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
A dark, brooding noir, with Widmark riveting as a hustling promoter who sinks into the quagmire of his own ambitions.
Jules Dassin, in his direction, manages extraordinarily interesting backgrounds, realistically filmed to create a feeling both of suspense and mounting menace.
Inclined to go over the top, it all too clearly contains the seeds of Dassin's later -- and disastrous -- pretensions.
One of the true-blue noir classics. RIchard Widmark is a certifiable force of nature.
the rare masterpiece that earns the appellation not by announcing its grand intentions but by following them through with sublime confidence and precision
A quality cast give vivid performances in a stylish and sharply written thriller with some striking visual flourishes.
A moody piece of Wellesian chiaroscuro (shot by Max Greene, né Mutz Greenbaum) and an occasionally discomfiting underworld plunge.
Before he met Melina Mercouri and became an Artist, Jules Dassin made a number of worthwhile thrillers as a Hollywood contract director.
Related Forums

by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/22/05

by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/22/05

by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/22/05

by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/22/05
News
posted by Tim Ryan April 17, 2008
The long-awaited showdown between Jackie Chan and Jet Li in The Forbidden Kingdom got us thinking; what are the...
posted by Jeff Giles April 01, 2008
Jules Dassin, the director of films such as Night and the City, Topkapi, and Never On Sunday, has passed away of...


Top Critic