Directed by Jules Dassin • 1950 • United States
Starring Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers
Two-bit hustler Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) longs for “a life of ease and plenty.” Trailed by an inglorious history of go-nowhere schemes, he tries to hatch a lucrative plan with a famous wrestler. But there is no easy money in this underworld of shifting alliances, bottomless graft, and pummeled flesh—and Fabian soon learns the horrible price of his ambition. Luminously shot in the streets of London while Hollywood blacklisters back home were closing in on director Jules Dassin, NIGHT AND THE CITY, also starring Gene Tierney, is film noir of the first order, and one of Dassin’s crowning achievements.
Up Next in British Noir
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The Woman in Question
Directed by Anthony Asquith • 1950 • United Kingdom
Starring Jean Kent, Dirk Bogarde, John McCallumFortune teller Agnes Huston (Jean Kent), a.k.a. Madame Astra, has been murdered—but that’s about all anyone can agree on as five different perspectives on the dead woman’s personality come to ligh...
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Pool of London
Directed by Basil Dearden • 1951 • United Kingdom
Starring Bonar Colleano, Susan Shaw, Renée AshersonNotable as one of the first British films to star a Black actor and to depict an interracial romance, POOL OF LONDON centers on the sailors of the merchant ship Dunbar, who take an especially ev...
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Yield to the Night
Directed by J. Lee Thompson • 1956 • United Kingdom
Starring Diana Dors, Yvonne Mitchell, Michael CraigSuffused with unrelenting dread, this powerful “angry young woman” drama gave British star Diana Dors perhaps the finest dramatic showcase of her career. She delivers a riveting performance as...
