Roger Moore & Tony Curtis are The Persuaders (1971)

I was a young boy of 5 when ITV first screened the Persuaders. I was a huge fan of Roger Moore's even then and The Persuaders has remained my all time favourite television series. They just simply do not make them like this any more.

The Persuaders! was an action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most expensive of Sir Lew Grade's international action adventure series".

Despite its focus on the British and American markets, the show was popular elsewhere. It won its highest awards from Australia and Spain while Roger Moore and Tony Curtis were decorated in Germany and France for their acting. It persists in the memory of European filmmakers and audiences, having been casually referenced in 21st century productions from Sweden, France, Britain and Germany.

The Persuaders starred Tony Curtis as Danny Wilde, and Roger Moore as Brett Rupert George Robert Andrew Sinclair, 15th Earl of Marnock, referred to through most of the series by his courtesy title of Lord Brett Sinclair, two international playboys. Much of the humour of the show derived from playful observations about the differences between British and American customs. The show ended after one season, in consequence of failing to make an impact on US TV, thereby releasing Roger Moore to star in the popular Bond films. Roger Moore had been directly involved in the production of the series, and the need for an American co-star was deemed by all imperative to ensure a television release in the USA. An overture to Rock Hudson was rejected, as it was by second choice Glenn Ford. A list of candidates was then sought from ABC America. Tony Curtis agreed to the series project and flew into England in April 1970 to commence location filming, only to create headlines of a different type by way of his arrest at Heathrow Airport for possession of cannabis. He was fined £50.

The Persuaders! are two equally-matched men from different backgrounds who reluctantly team together to solve cases which the courts cannot.

• Danny Wilde (Tony Curtis) is a rough diamond, educated and moulded in the back slums of New York City, who escaped by enlisting in the U.S. Navy. He later became a millionaire in the oil business. (Curtis himself suffered a tough childhood in the Bronx, and served in the US Navy. He was 46 when he made The Persuaders, but performed all his own stunts and fight sequences.)
• Lord Brett Sinclair (Roger Moore) is a polished Harrow and Oxford educated English aristocrat; a former British Army officer and an ex-racing car driver, who addresses his comrade-in-arms as "Daniel".

Now globe-trotting playboys, the men meet on holiday in the French Riviera, instantly disliking each other and destroying a hotel bar with their fist-fight. Arrested, they are delivered to retired Judge Fulton (Laurence Naismith) who offers them the choice of spending ninety days in jail or helping him right errors of impunity. Grudgingly, Wilde and Sinclair agree to help solve Fulton's initial case. He then releases them from any threat of jail.

The men develop a sparing affection for each other, and are soon stumbling into more adventures: sometimes by chance, sometimes due again to Judge Fulton. Although the Judge recurs in the series, he has no formal relationship with his two agents. Several episodes depict his finding a way to convince Wilde and Sinclair to act on his behalf. For instance, in "Angie, Angie" he easily convinces one of the pair. In "The Man in the Middle" he endangers his agents, so that they must act in his behalf. When they are short of cash, he lures them with money. In "Powerswitch" he manipulates events from the shadows, with Sinclair and Wilde not knowing of the Judge's involvement.

In episode 12, "That's Me Over There", it appears that Sinclair has had a longstanding interest in crime-fighting, as he has had installed a dedicated telephone line for an informer on a master criminal. In episode 17, "Five Miles to Midnight", he tells Joan Collin's character that he personally works for the Judge because it has given him something worthwhile to do after his failed motor racing career; Wilde never reveals nor explains his reasons.

The Persuaders titles and synthesiser theme, by John Barry establish the background and current identities of the protagonists via split-screen narrative technique: two folders, one red, one blue, labelled Danny Wilde and Brett Sinclair simultaneously narrate their lives. As the biographies approach their current ages, a series of four short sequences combine live footage with torn newspaper clippings, connoting their excitingly peripatetic lifestyles. The conclusion shows them together enjoying a life of sport, drink, women, and gambling. The titles were specifically designed so that neither actor would appear to have top billing, something both Moore and Curtis stipulated when they agreed to co-star.

The title sequence retains a cinematic technique cachet among professional film editors. In 1995, Peugeot released an advertisement for the 306 car, with the theme of the opening title sequence, the split screen process and even the voice of Michel Roux, who dubbed Tony Curtis in the original series. In 2007, France 2 satirically used it to introduce a report about relations between the newly-elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his first Prime Minister Francois Fillon Moreover, the same channel reprised the satire for the 13 October 2007 episode of On n'est pas couche about the strained relationship between McLaren Formula One drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

Both Brett Sinclair & Danny Wilde drive signature cars: Danny Wilde drives a Red left-hand-drive Ferrari Dino 246 GT, Brett Sinclair drives a UK-registered Bahama Yellow right-hand-drive Aston Martin DBS with V8 wheels and markings. As with Simon Templar (Roger Moore's character from The Saint television series), Lord Brett Sinclair's car has Personalised number plates of his initials; Templar’s were “ST 1”, Sinclair’s are “BS 1” (Except for one scene in the episode "The Gold Napoleon" where the car had its original UK registration number PPP 6H instead). In fact, the true owner of the plates at the time, Billy Smart Jr permitted their fictional use. The Aston Martin from the show was sold by the factory after filming ended, via HR Owen in London, to its first private owner. It was restored to a very high standard in recent years by the Aston Martin factory and is still in private ownership in the UK. Danny Wilde’s car bears Italian registration plates, 221400.MO (the 'MO' component represents the city of Modena, which happens to be the headquarters and manufacturing base of Ferrari). The exact whereabouts of the Dino today is unknown but it is reliably believed to be alive and well in Italy with a private owner.

The concept of The Persuaders originated in one of the final episodes of The Saint titled "The Ex King of Diamonds", wherein Simon Templar (Moore) is partnered with a Texas oilman (Stuart Damon) in a Monte Carlo gambling adventure. Liking that combination, Robert S. Baker and Lew Grade funded a new series. Unusually, production of the series began and continued without contracts among the producers and Moore. Moreover, Moore's role as producer is not obvious from watching the series, but Curtis confirmed the fact: "Roger was always like the host with the show, because it was his company that was producing it. I would say he was the largest independent owner of it; Roger and his company owned it with Bob Baker, and Sir Lew owned the rest of it."

At the time, the twenty-four episode The Persuaders! was the most expensive British television series produced, each episode costing £100,000, ( 2007:£1,800,000 ) for location filming in France, Spain, Sweden, and Italy, and star salaries. One of the series' unusual production aspects was that Roger Moore was — officially and practically — his own wardrobe artist, stemming from genuine sartorial interest and marketing his line of clothes by the Pearson and Foster firm.

There has been much speculation over the years concerning the professional relationship between Roger Moore and Tony Curtis on- and off-set. In her autobiography, Second Act, Joan Collins detailed how they did not get along when she was a guest star. She cited Curtis's foul temper for why the set of the "Five Miles to Midnight" episode was tense. Episode director Val Guest, in a 2005 interview to the British Film Institute confirmed Collins's assessment of Curtis:

Yes, it was great fun doing The Persuaders, despite Tony Curtis. [laughter] I'll tell you a funny story about that:

"Tony was on pot at the time, and I used to have to say 'Oh, go and have a smoke'm', because he always had some gripe of some kind, and, one day, we were shooting on the Croisette, in Cannes, and we’d been roped off our little thing, and there were crowds all around watching us film and everything, and Tony Curtis came down to do his scene and he was just carrying on at the wardrobe saying, 'You didn’t do this, and you should have done that... and in Hollywood you would have been fired....' And dear Roger Moore walked over, took him by the lapels, looked him straight in the eyes and said, 'And to think those lips once kissed Piper Laurie'. [laughter] Well, the whole of the Croisette collapsed, the unit collapsed, and, I must, say even Tony had to laugh, but we were asked to do another... we got the award that year for the best TV series, I think it was, and they wanted to do a repeat, and I remember Roger saying, 'With Tony Curtis, not on your life', and he went on to become James Bond, so he did all right."

—Val Guest, Director

In his autobiography, Still Dancing, Lew Grade notes that the actors "Didn't hit it off all that well", because of different work ethics. Despite third-party claims, Curtis and Moore consistently maintained they had an amicable working relationship. Moore says: "Tony and I had a good on- and off-screen relationship, we are two very different people, but we did share a sense of humour".

In a 2005 interview, Curtis referred to Moore with affection and revealed he would not participate in a remake of The Persuaders! without Moore.

Lew Grade was always keen to break into the American TV market, which is why he kept coming up with series featuring American actors (Man in a Suitcase, The Champions, The Baron). Failure to do so would often lead to cancellation. But The Persuaders made little impact in the US, where it aired opposite Mission Impossible on Saturday nights. It was very much a case of "mission impossible" for the British series to "persuade" audiences to switch over despite the fact that Impossible was itself not in the top 30 of all programs in 1971. The show was pulled by ABC before all 24 episodes were shown.

Four pairs of episodes from the series were re-edited into four individual TV movies for the ITC American market, entitled The Switch, Mission: Monte Carlo, Sporting Chance and London Conspiracy. A fifth episode pairing was planned, simply entitled The Persuaders, but never completed. This format, too, did little to spark American interest.

In Britain the show fared much better, placing easily in the top 20 of all shows in 1971.

The series' popularity in Britain earned it re-runs on Channel 4, Granada Plus, Bravo and ITV4 in the 1990s and 2000s. When the pilot episode Overture was screened as part of Channel 4's nostalgia strand TV Heaven in 1992, that series' host, comedy writer Frank Muir, said in a Radio Times interview that The Persuaders "must have been the best bad series ever made... absolute hokum". However, BBC Radio 5 presenter Dave Aldridge later asked: "Was seventies TV really this good?"

Oliver Twist (1948)

Oliver Twist was made in 1948 and was the second of David Lean's two film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels. Following the success of his 1946 version of Great Expectations, Lean re-assembled much of the same team for his adaptation of Dickens 1838 Novel, including Producers Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allen, Cinematographer Guy Green, Desighner John Bryan and Editor Jack Harris. Lean's then-wife, Kay Walsh, who had collaborated on the screenplay for Great Expectations, played the role of Nancy. John Howard Davies was cast as Oliver, while Alec Guinness portrayed Fagin.

In 1999,the British Film Institution placed it at 46th in its list of the top 100 British films.

A woman in labour makes her way to a parish workhouse and dies giving birth to Oliver Twist (John Howard Davies). As the years go by, Oliver and the rest of the child inmates suffer from the callous indifference of the officials in charge: Beadle. Mr. Bumble (Francis L. Sullivan) and matron Mrs. Corney (Mary Clare). At the age of nine, the hungry children draw straws; Oliver loses and has to ask for a second helping of gruel ("Please sir, I want some more").

For his impudence, he is promptly apprenticed to the undertaker Mr. Sowerberry (Gibb McLaughlin), from whom he receives somewhat better treatment. However, when another worker maligns his dead mother, Oliver flies into a rage and attacks him, earning the orphan a whipping.

Oliver runs away to London. The Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley), a skilled young pickpocket, notices him and takes him to Fagin (Alec Guinness), an old man who trains children to be pickpockets. Fagin sends Oliver to watch and learn as the Dodger and another boy try to rob Mr. Brownlow (Henry Stephenson), a rich, elderly gentleman. Their attempt is detected, but it is Oliver who is chased through the streets by a mob and arrested. Fortunately, a witness clears him. Mr. Brownlow takes a liking to the boy, and gives him a home. Oliver experiences the kind of happy life he has never had before, under the care of Mr. Brownlow and the loving housekeeper, Mrs. Bedwin (Amy Veness).

Meanwhile, Fagin is visited by the mysterious Monks (Ralph Truman), who has a strong interest in Oliver. He sends Monks to Bumble and Mrs. Corney (now Bumble's domineering wife); Monks buys from them the only thing that can identify Oliver's parentage, a locket containing his mother's portrait.

By chance, Fagin's associate, the vicious Bill Sikes (Robert Newton), and Sikes' kind-hearted girlfriend (and former Fagin pupil) Nancy (Kay Walsh) run into Oliver on the street and forcibly take him back to Fagin. Nancy feels pangs of guilt and, seeing a poster in which Mr. Brownlow offers a reward for Oliver's return, contacts the gentleman and promises to deliver Oliver the next day. The suspicious Fagin, however, has had the Dodger follow her. When Fagin informs Sikes, the latter becomes enraged and murders her, mistakenly believing that she has betrayed him.

The killing brings down the wrath of the public on the gang. Mr. Brownlow and the authorities rescue Oliver, while Sikes accidentally hangs himself trying to escape over the rooftop, and Fagin and his other associates are rounded up. Monks' part in the proceedings is discovered, and he is arrested. He was trying to ensure his inheritance; Oliver, it turns out, is Mr. Brownlow's grandson.

Alec Guinness's portrayal of Fagin was considered anti-semitic by some. Guinness wore heavy make-up, including a large prosthetic nose, to make him look like the character as he appeared in George Cruickshank's illustrations in the first edition of the novel. As a result of objections by the Anti-defimation League of B'nai Brith and the New York Board of Rabbis, the film was not released in the United States until 1951, with seven minutes of profile shots and other parts of Guinness's performance cut. It received great acclaim from critics, but, unlike Lean's Great Expectations, another Dickens adaptation, no Oscar nominations. The film was banned in Israel for anti-semitism and in Egypt for portraying Fagin too sympathetically.

Oliver Twist
Directed by	David Leane
Produced by	Ronald Neame Anthony Havelock-Allan
Written by	Screenplay: David Lean Stanley Haynes Novel: Charles Dickens
Starring	Alec Guinness Robert Newton Kay Walsh John Howard Davies Anthony Newley
Music by	Arnold Bax
Cinematography	Guy Green
Editing by	Jack Harris
Distributed by	Rank Organisation
Release date(s)	United Kingdom: June 30, 1948 United States: July 30, 1951
Running time	United Kingdom: 116 minutes United States: 105 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

TV Times (1968)

This edition of TV Times dates back to 1968 and gracing the cover is the great Violet Carson as Ena Sharples from Coronation Street. Below, is an article on Violet's brief departure from the Street to visit Australia in order for her to be able to attend the National Television Awards.

Doctor Who's 20th - Radio Times (1983)

Back in 1983 Doctor Who celebrated his 20th Anniversary. The Radio Times paid their own tribute to the great man. There was a special feature length story broadcast on BBC 1 entitled the Five Doctors, although to be perfectly honest, it wasn't a patch on The Three Doctors. Inside the Radio Times itself was a special feature (See below) a Who's Who's Who.

A good enough story I suppose, but I lost interest in Doctor Who after the late, great Jon Pertwee turned into Tom Baker!

Christmas Radio Times (December 1968)

The cover from the 1968 Christmas edition of The Radio Times... Some of the legendary stars gracing the cover include, Morecambe and Wise, Ken Dodd, Lulu, Benny Hill, Leslie Crowther and Cilla Black.

Cloppa Castle - Episode Six: A State of Emergency

There is a crisis in the castle, in fact as we speak another crisis has appeared. Firstly there has been a series of thefts at the local castles and the King wants to ensure that nothing happens at his own castle. He has to attend a meeting on security with King Cedric the Depleted. The other crisis I spoke of comes in the form of a strike by the castle guards.

They have gone on strike and are having a lie in as protest. The guards want two pence a week increase in pay but the King is adamant that he will not pay them. Mudlin's attempt at producing a burglar alarm ends in failure (no surprises there). It is now up to Cue-ee-dee and albrite to solve the issue of security. The King eventually goes off to his security conference and a little quiet descends on the castle. Before he goes, however, he instructs Cue-ee-dee to make sure the security is vert tight.

Cue-ee-dee intends to make sure that even a mouse could not enter the castle without him knowing about it. A few days later, a strange shape is seen climbing the castle walls.

The burglar alarm instantly captures him and ties him up and sends him to the dungeon. It turns out to be the King who has returned to test the castle security. Eventually the King agrees that he has been a little hard of late and gives in to the guards demands for extra money. The condition attached though, is that they first remove all trace of that burglar alarm.

Blondie: Sunday Girl (1979)

"Sunday Girl" was the hit UK number-one single by Blondie, it remained in the No 1 position for three weeks in May 1979. It was Blondie's second UK number-one single after "Heart of Glass"; it was, however, never released as a single in the US.

The song was written by Chris Stein and was the fourth single to be taken from the album Parallel Lines in the UK and most other parts of the world. The French language version of the track was first released in the UK on the "Sunday Girl" 12" single; in France and the Netherlands, it was the B-side of the 7". For Blondie's first greatest hits album The Best of Blondie in 1981, producer Mike Chapman created a special mix which incorporated one verse sung in French. The bilingual version appears on the 2002 compilation Greatest Hits.

The single had an unusual release in Australia, with some dispute among fans as to whether it reached No1 there or failed to chart. This is because of its initial release as the lead single from Parallel Lines, due to its being reminiscent of "In The Flesh", Blondie's first hit in Australia. "Sunday Girl" failed to chart, however, and was later re-released as a double A-Side with "Heart of Glass", on the back of its UK success. As a result, it was eclipsed by the disco track, and is rarely recognised as having charted in its own right.

Preceded by "Bright Eyes" by Art Garfunkel

UK Number One Single 26 May 1979 - 9 June 1979

Succeeded by "Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward

Christmas TV Times (December 1972)

This Christmas edition of the TV Times dates back to 1972 and gracing the cover are Jack Smethurst and Rudolph Walker from the classic, yet controversial sit-com, Love Thy Neighbour.

Joe 90 Top Secret (No 11)

Joe 90 Top Secret Magazine No 11 was published on March 29th 1969. Features are Agents' Fotofile (readers photographs) The B.I.G. R.A.T. Tells the story of The Busiest Airport in the World. Joe's Hobbies (The Story of Space Travel Told in Stamps No. 11, a competition to win 50 Corgi 1912 Rolls-Royce "Silver Ghosts") World Intelligence Network (Information and Jokes) Champions of Sport - Jack Nicklaus and the Great Britain Eleven No. 1 Goal Keeper - Gordon Banks. There was also a full-page advertisement for Mac's Car From Kelloggs Sugar Smacks:

Sun Hill's finest - Remembering Burnside

Christopher Ellison as Frank Burnside was my favourite all time character from Thames Television's classic cops drama, "The Bill." Christopher Ellison made Frank Burnside the best cop on the box since John Thaw's excellent portrayal as Jack Regan in, that other Thames classic, "The Sweeney"

DCI Frank Burnside first appeared in the first episode of The Bill (after the pilot), "Funny Ol' Business - Cops and Robbers", broadcast on 16 October 1984, as a guest character from the Flying Squad, then a DS. He is a former colleague of Sergeant Bob Cryer who makes no secret of his dislike of Burnside. Burnside is thought to have slipped through the net of Operation Countryman, the Met's anti-corruption drive in the 1970s, and revels in his notoriety. When PC Jim Carver arrests a small-time car thief, Burnside arrives at Sun Hill to appeal for the man's release. Cryer is appalled at the suggestion, and urges DI Roy Galloway to block the request. However, Burnside explains that the prisoner is a valuable police informant, and manages to persuade DI Galloway to secure his release. The incident creates much ill-feeling within the station, particularly among Sgt Cryer and PC Carver.

DS Burnside reappears twice more in the episodes "Ringer" and "The Chief Superintendent's Party". By this time, his apparent villainy is an open secret at the station, and few are pleased to see him, least of all Sgt Cryer and DI Galloway. However, DS Burnside is indifferent to their hostility, and sets his sights on WPC June Ackland. Burnside is too thick-skinned to sense her obvious repulsion towards him, and June takes great delight in stringing him along. However, other Sun Hill officers take exception to his pursuit of her, prompting DC Mike Dashwood to intervene. He informs Burnside that June is Galloway's mistress, forcing the rogue detective to switch his sights elsewhere.

He was called "Tommy" when in series one and two, but when he appeared as a regular character from 1988 onward his first name was changed to "Frank" as there was a real-life "Tommy Burnside" serving in the Metropolitan Police at the time.

By 1988, The Bill had switched to a twice-weekly half-hour format, with significant cast changes. Galloway's departure from the series creates a vacancy for a new DI, and the first half-hour episode, "Light Duties", sees officers taking bets on who the new incumbent will be. DS Ted Roach has his own sights set on the job, and is appalled to learn that DS Burnside is a rival candidate. When Burnside takes the post in the episode "Just Call Me Guv'nor", DS Roach and Sgt Cryer are outspoken in their views on the appointment of an apparently corrupt officer.

It soon becomes clear that DI Frank Burnside is far removed from his previous incarnation. Besides a new rank and Christian name, Burnside acquires a new outlook. The sneering wide-boy of the hour-long shows is replaced with a darker and more authoritative character. His apparent corruption is explained away by Inspector Christine Frazer as a result of Burnside having worked undercover on Operation Countryman, forcing Sgt Bob Cryer to swallow his pride and welcome DI Burnside to Sun Hill. However, DS Ted Roach is far harder to win round.

Despite their similarities, both having maverick tendencies, but ultimately on the right side of the law, DI Burnside and DS Roach have an uneasy working relationship. Roach's increasing bitterness at having been passed over for promotion, coupled with a thinly-disguised drink problem, make him almost unmanageable for his senior officers. When matched with DI Burnside's explosive personality, the two officers physically come to blows. However, their similar policing styles and views lead to them developing a mutual respect. As the police force becomes more politically correct, maverick officers such as DI Burnside and DS Roach are increasingly seen as a dying breed. As such, their working relationship becomes one of mutual dependency, each watching the other's back when either of them sail too close to the wind. When DS Roach walks out of the job following an assault on Inspector Monroe, DCI Jack Meadows caustically remarks that it is "the end of an era for DI Frank Burnside."

Meadows' prophecy is proven right later when DI Burnside mysteriously fails to show for work. It is explained that Burnside has been taken out on a "special operation", prompting his colleagues to speculate that he is working undercover. As the years go by, a succession of DIs take Burnside's office.

In 1998, The Bill returned to the hour-long format. In October of that year, DI Burnside returned to the series in a two-part story, "Cast No Shadow" and "Betrayal". The story follows an investigation led by DS John Boulton and DC Jim Carver into a protection racket, which leads them to Manchester. Carver is shocked to discover that his former boss is one of the main players in the operation, and he and Boulton are forced to take DI Burnside back to Sun Hill in handcuffs. Meadows is openly hostile towards his former colleague but, reminiscent of Sgt Bob Cryer ten years earlier, he is forced to backtrack when it emerges that DI Burnside is working undercover. Furthermore, Burnside had been promoted to the rank of DCI within the field, and is now on an equal footing with Meadows.

DCI Burnside then appears semi-regularly in The Bill. He is now head of the elite Crime Operational Command Unit, and his work frequently brings him into contact with Sun Hill officers, investigating high profile cases. One such investigation leads to him arresting DC Jim Carver on suspicion of murder. Despite their rocky start, DCI Burnside took the impressionable young DC Carver under his wing during his reign as DI, and is sorry to see his friend's sad fall from grace. Carver begins drinking heavily following his enforced move back to uniform, marking a steep decline into alcoholism. When he wakes from a drunken stupor to find a murdered prostitute beside him, it seems Carver's career is over. However, DCI Burnside manages to solve the murder, and urges Carver to seek help for his addiction.

DCI Burnside is the principal character in the episodes in which he appears, and the popularity of these episodes paved the way for a spin-off series, Burnside. The six-part series, three consecutive two-part stories, follows Burnside's new role as a DCI with the National Crime Squad, described in the show's publicity as the English equivalent of the FBI. The series is much grittier than The Bill, as its post-watershed timeslot enabled stronger language and more violent scenes. Although each two-part story focuses on a different crime, the series is underpinned by a story arc, which explores DCI Burnside's pursuit of gangland boss Ronnie Buchan. Buchan had murdered Burnside's best friend years earlier, and Burnside is determined to use his newfound influence as head of a team within the NCS to bring Buchan to justice. The series ended with Burnside vowing to nail Buchan by whatever means necessary.

Despite the popularity of DCI Burnside's character in The Bill, his spin-off failed to take off, and was axed after just one series

Brighton Rock (1947)

Late 1930s and Brighton is run by vicious gangs. One of which is led by the Teenager, Pinkie Brown. After killing a man at the fairground, he tries to establish a watertight alibi - even if it means marrying a potential witness to prevent her giving evidence against him.

Brighton Rock was an excellent 1947 British drama film directed by John Boulting and starred Richard Attenborough as Pinkie (reprising his breakthrough West End creation of the character some three years prior), Carol Marsh as Rose, William Hartnell as Dallow and Hermione Baddeley as Ida. It was Produced by Ray Boulting and Charter Film Productions. The film was adapted from the 1938 novel, Brighton Rock by Graham Greene. In the United States, Brighton Rock was retitled Young Scarface.

When Brighton Rock was retitled Young Scarface for its American release, the implication was clear. Here was a British thriller in the tradition of the American gangster movie, a genre dating back to such durable classics as Little Caesar and the original Scarface.

American gangster movies emerged out of the 1930s Depression, a time of power struggles between organised crime leaders vying for control of illicit or unobtainable commodities. The British tradition arose from the similar black marketeering and 'spiv' culture of wartime and post-war rationing and deprivation. Although the film's preface announces its location as a Brighton "in the years between the two wars... now happily no more", the clothes and mannerisms of Pinkie's gang place them very much within the familiar archetype of the wartime spiv.

Graham Green's novel had been written in 1937, towards the end of the depression. John Boulting was initially attracted by the way it so vividly evoked a sense of place. "The setting was not a backdrop; it was one of the characters." The Boultings' film uses its locations well, richly depicting the town's bar rooms, racetracks, cafes' and Boarding houses, and benefiting from Harry Waxman's superb atmospheric cinematography.

A contemporary Daily Mirror reviewer accused the film of, "false, nasty, cheap sensationalism." However, most critics then and since, have warmed to the realism of the setting, noting how homeliness of the tea shops and the seaside pierrot shows perfectly complements the menace of the gangsters' activities, their rivalry with other groups and internal conflicts.

It is a contrast also encapsulated in the two leading performances. Richard Attenborough and Hermione Baddeley had already appeared in a stage version of the novel, as had William Hartnell who plays Pinkie's Henchman, Dallow. Attenborough's astonishing performance as perversely puritanical teenage gang leader Pinkie has an edgy intensity which is counter-pointed by Hermione Baddeley's warm and vibrant portrayal of touring player Ida.

Brighton Rock was not the only new and distinctive British crime movie to appear in the immediate post-war years, but the fine contributions of its participants, both behind and in front of the cameras have made it the most memorable. It remains the most celebrated antecedent of later works like, The Criminal, Get Carter and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

THE

MONTHLY FILM BULLETIN

Published by

THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE

Volume 14, No.168, December 1947, pages 170-1

BRIGHTON ROCK (1947)

Drama. Placards announce the arrival in Brighton of Kolley Kibber, journalist out on a circulation stunt. He is recognised by a gang led by Pinkie Brown, a 17-year-old boy, as being responsible for the death of Kite, the gang's former leader, and Pinkie resolves to kill Kolley. Kolley disappears, and later, when his body is washed ashore, the faked verdict at the inquest is "heart failure". Pinkie provides himself with an alibi which forces him to marry Rose, a waitress, who has evidence that would destroy it. Ida Arnold, a friend of Kolley's, never satisfied with the verdict on him, decides to take a hand. The police are slow to act, but Ida saves Rose just as Pinkie has staged a suicide pact and Pinkie falls into the sea. Rose is sent to a convent with her faith in the worthless Pinkie still unimpaired.

Brighton Rock is disappointing and difficult to follow. Those who have not read the book will be completely at sea, and those who have will be irritated at the tricks played with a superb story. One requires a knowledge of race-gang language to understand what the characters are talking about. The photography, especially in the latter half, is good, but there is not enough Brighton to be seen. It is well acted. Richard Attenborough, as Pinkie, is all Pinkie should be, ruthless, craven, sinister and sadistic, and he looks and lives the part. Carol Marsh, a new find, is a restrained Rose, and Hermione Baddeley, as always, is fruity, common and kind.