Night and the City (1950)

Kleingauner Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) ist immer auf der Jagd nach Geld, seine ambitionierten Pläne gehen jedoch nie auf. Eines Tages lernt er in einer Londoner Box-Arena den berühmten Wrestler Gregorius (Stanislaus Zbyszko) kennen. Dabei kommt Harry die Idee, dessen Sohn, Gangster Kristo (Herbert Lom), auszutricksen, aber er hat die Rechnung ohne Kristo gemacht.
–––––––––––––––––––––––
Harry Fabian is on the run and so was director Jules Dassin! “Night and the City” is dark unsympathetic masterpiece, uncompromising right down to its bleak ending. Even the film’s title is one of the most noirish, containing two essential elements of film noir.
“Night and the City” is one of a string of wonderfully directed film noirs Dassin made in the late 1940′s and into the early 1950′s. ”Brute Force”, “The Naked City”, “Thieves Highway”, “Riffi” and this Richard Widmark marathon run, Dassin’s first European film, constitute an unbelievable string of cinematic home runs that remain unequaled. With his career in the United States over due to the McCarthy witch hunts, Dassin in exile, made his way to England, with the backing of 20th Century Fox, jumping into production on this dark morose tale of a small time scam artist who spent his life looking for his one big break. Dassin’ s post war London is cold, wet, Dickensian with remnants of the war torn city still clearly visible. From the opening scenes at St. Paul’ Cathedral where we first see Fabian running through the night to the final scenes at the Hammersmith Bridge where Fabian’s journey ends London is portrayed as an inhospitable gloomy place. This is all achieved with Dassin’s use of his camera; the angles, the strategic placement of the lens all accomplished with the talented assistance of cinematographer Mel Greene.