Released: 1950

Dir.: Jules Dassin

First time viewing reaction.

When you mix Hollywood Noir with British Noir, add Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, and a healthy dose of Herbert Lom, you get Night and the City. A gripping non-stop story of ambition exceeding one’s grasp.

Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) is a hustler on the loose in London. He works hard and talks fast for what amounts to peanuts, but there is big money to be had in London and that comes in the form of wrestling promotion. Harry stumbles on an opportunity when he meets Gregorius the Great (Stanislaus Zbyszko), who’s just had an argument with his son, Kristo (Herbert Lom), the man who has a monopoly on wrestling in London. Gregorius finds Kristos’ brand of wrestling grotesque, and an insult to its Grecco-Roman roots. Witnessing this, Harry moves in for the kill, befriending Gregorius.

On paper, what Harry is proposing seems simple enough, offering a more traditional form of wrestling as a form of entertainment, with Gregorius, and his protégé Nicholas of Athens (Ken Richmond) as the initial draw. Surely there is room for two brands of wrestling in the big city. However, Harry needs 400 pounds startup money.

Things quickly become complicated for Harry when person after person, including Harry’s long suffering girlfriend Mary (Gene Tierney), turn him down for loans. All the while, Kristo is threatening Harry to stay out of the wrestling game. Undaunted, Harry secures his funding, with the wrong people, setting off a sequence of events which blurs Harry’s role of wrestling promoter and fireman, as Harry must stay one step ahead of all the fires that seem to be popping up in front of him. For every time he gets the upper hand, a new crisis flares up that he must maneuver and fast talk his way through.  

This is a film noir that elicits the emotions that if Harry wasn’t such a tragic figure, the events that unfold would be otherwise comical. At first Harry relishes the competition and one up man ship with Kristo. Rubbing Kristo’s nose in it every time Harry scores a victory, and shamelessly using Gregorius against his own son. This of course solidifies Kristos’ resolve to destroy Harry, something Harry is tragically unaware of until it is far too late. Harry, nothing more than a two-bit hustler has poked the wrong giant.

On the other hand, Night and the City is that strange kind of noir underdog story. For all his faults, you do find yourself routing for Harry as his life unravels like a slow-motion car wreck that you know is going to end badly. To hell with wrestling, Gregorius, all the fast talking, why can’t Harry just cut his losses and get out? He needs the hustle, it’s what keeps him alive. He becomes consumed by his own ambition, weaving a web so complex he can no longer control it. Tragedy lead his friends to abandon him, opting for the reward offered by Kristo for his head.

The only one left is Mary, who can no more protect him than a box of Kleenex. Harry pleads with her to betray him, so she can collect the reward. It is a powerful choice and makes for a powerful conclusion.

Is Harry really a bad guy? He’s a con man. You can’t trust him. Harry can charm your socks off, but would he cut off your legs at 50 shillings a leg? Probably not. He doesn’t seem to be made of that kind of stuff. Harry seems to know his place in the world, until ambition gets the better of him. However, he should have known better. In the world of Night and the City there is an absence of firearms, appropriate to the London setting, which is replaced by simple, human brute force. It doesn’t get more personal than that. Wrestling as entertainment? Entertainment can be a very tough racket, and this is a brilliant film.

Night and the City is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.