‘HALE knew they meant to murder him before he had been in Brighton three hours. With his inky fingers and his bitten nails, his manner cynical and nervous, anybody could tell he didn't belong belong to the early summer sun, the cool Whitsun wind off the sea, the holiday crowd. They came in by train from Victoria every five minutes, rocked down Queen's Road standing on the tops of the little local trams, stepped off in bewildered multitudes into fresh and glittering air: the new silver paint sparkled on the piers, the cream houses ran away into the west like a pale Victorian water-colour; a race in miniature motors, a band playing, flower gardens in bloom below the front, an aeroplane advertising something for the health in pale vanishing clouds across the sky.
‘It had seemed quite easy to Hale to be lost in Brighton. Fifty thousand people besides himself were down for the day, and for quite a while he gave himself up to the good day, drinking gins and tonics wherever his programme allowed. For he had to stick closely to a programme: from ten till eleven Queen’s Road and Castle Square, from eleven till twelve the
‘Aquarium and Palace Pier, twelve till one the front between the Old Ship and West Pier, back for lunch between one and two in any restaurant he chose round the Castle Square, and after that he had to make his way all down the parade to West Pier and then to the station by the Hove streets. These were the limits of his absurd and widely advertised sentry go.’ (Brighton Rock: Graham Greene).
‘The screen adaptation of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock opened at the cinemas on 12 December 1947.
‘In contrast to the darkness of the film, images recently found in the Studio Canal Archive Collection, held by the Mary Evans Picture Library, show lead actors Richard Attenborough and Carol Marsh enjoying all that Brighton has to offer.
‘The film tells the story of 17-year-old gang leader Pinkie Brown, played by Attenborough, as he tries to cover up the murder of a reporter who he felt was responsible for the death of a gangster called Kite.
‘As events unfold, Pinkie becomes more sadistic as he is forced into more and more desperate acts to save himself, even murdering again, and marrying his girlfriend Rose Brown, played by Marsh, so she cannot testify against him.
‘Though the film was a hit with the audience, many reviews of the time felt it was too graphic and ought not to be shown.
‘Yet, as we can see, Attenborough and Marsh were able to take time out from filming to sample the delights of the British seaside – from ice cream to a dip in the sea.’
For all images, go here.
‘It had seemed quite easy to Hale to be lost in Brighton. Fifty thousand people besides himself were down for the day, and for quite a while he gave himself up to the good day, drinking gins and tonics wherever his programme allowed. For he had to stick closely to a programme: from ten till eleven Queen’s Road and Castle Square, from eleven till twelve the
‘Aquarium and Palace Pier, twelve till one the front between the Old Ship and West Pier, back for lunch between one and two in any restaurant he chose round the Castle Square, and after that he had to make his way all down the parade to West Pier and then to the station by the Hove streets. These were the limits of his absurd and widely advertised sentry go.’ (Brighton Rock: Graham Greene).
‘The screen adaptation of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock opened at the cinemas on 12 December 1947.
‘In contrast to the darkness of the film, images recently found in the Studio Canal Archive Collection, held by the Mary Evans Picture Library, show lead actors Richard Attenborough and Carol Marsh enjoying all that Brighton has to offer.
‘The film tells the story of 17-year-old gang leader Pinkie Brown, played by Attenborough, as he tries to cover up the murder of a reporter who he felt was responsible for the death of a gangster called Kite.
‘As events unfold, Pinkie becomes more sadistic as he is forced into more and more desperate acts to save himself, even murdering again, and marrying his girlfriend Rose Brown, played by Marsh, so she cannot testify against him.
‘Though the film was a hit with the audience, many reviews of the time felt it was too graphic and ought not to be shown.
‘Yet, as we can see, Attenborough and Marsh were able to take time out from filming to sample the delights of the British seaside – from ice cream to a dip in the sea.’
For all images, go here.
