Night and the City
| Night and the City | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Jules Dassin |
| Produced by | Samuel G. Engel |
| Written by | Austin Dempster William E. Watts |
| Screenplay by | Jo Eisinger |
| Based on |
Night and the City 1938 novel by Gerald Kersh |
| Starring |
Richard Widmark Gene Tierney Googie Withers Herbert Lom |
| Music by |
Franz Waxman (United States) Benjamin Frankel (United Kingdom) |
| Cinematography | Max Greene |
| Edited by | Nick DeMaggio Sidney Stone |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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101 minutes (UK) 96 minutes (USA) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Night and the City is a 1950 film noir directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney and Googie Withers. It is based on the novel of the same name by Gerald Kersh. Shot on location in London and at Shepperton Studios, the plot revolves around an ambitious hustler whose plans keep going wrong.
Director Dassin later confessed that he never read the novel the movie is based upon. In an interview appearing on The Criterion Collection DVD release, Dassin recalls that the casting of Tierney was in response to a request by Darryl Zanuck, who was concerned that personal problems had rendered the actress "suicidal," and hoped that work would improve her state of mind. The film's British version was five minutes longer, with a more upbeat ending and featuring a completely different film score. Dassin endorsed the American version as closer to his vision.
The film contains a very tough and prolonged fight scene between Stanislaus Zbyszko, a celebrated professional wrestler in real life, and Mike Mazurki, who before becoming an actor was himself a professional wrestler, which leads to the death of Zbyszko's character
Harry Fabian (Widmark) is an ambitious American hustler and con man operating in London, always looking for a better deal. He maintains a fractured relationship with the honest Mary Bristol (Tierney), nightclub owner and businessman Phil Nosseross (Sullivan), and Helen (Withers), who is Phil's estranged wife. While attempting a con at a wrestling match, Fabian witnesses Gregorius (Zbyszko), a veteran Greek wrestler, arguing with his son Kristo (Lom), who has organised the fight, and who effectively controls all wrestling in London. After denouncing Kristo's event as tasteless exhibitionism that shames the sport's Greco-Roman traditions, Gregorius leaves with Nikolas (Richmond), a fellow wrestler. Fabian catches up with the two and befriends them, having realised that he can host wrestling in London without interference from Kristo if he can persuade his father to support the enterprise.
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Wikipedia