Brighton Rock (novel)

" Brighton Rock" is a novel by Graham Greene, published in 1938, and later made into a 1947 film of the same name. The novel is a murder thriller set in 1930s Brighton.

Plot summary

Fred Hale comes to Brighton on assignment to anonymously distribute cards for a newspaper competition (this is a variant of "Lobby Lud" in which the name of the person to be spotted is "Kolley Kibber"). The antihero of the novel, Pinkie Brown, is a teenage sociopath and up-and-coming gangster. Hale had betrayed the former leader of the gang Pinkie now controls. Ida Arnold, a kind-hearted and decent woman, is drawn into the action by a chance meeting with the terrified Hale, whom Pinkie murders in obscure circumstances shortly afterwards. Pinkie's attempts to cover his tracks lead to a chain of fresh crimes and to an ill-fated marriage to Rose, a waitress who unknowingly has the power to destroy his alibi. Ida pursues Pinkie relentlessly, in part to protect Rose from the deeply disturbed boy she has married.

Although ostensibly an underworld thriller, the book is also an exploration of the nature of sin and the basis of morality (Pinkie and Rose are Roman Catholics, as was Greene, and their beliefs are contrasted with Ida's strong but non-religious moral sensibility).

Film

Greene and Terence Rattigan wrote the screenplay for a 1947 film adaptation, produced and directed by John and Roy Boulting, with assistant director Gerald Mitchell. The film starred Richard Attenborough as Pinkie, Carol Marsh as Rose, William Hartnell as Dallow, and Hermione Baddeley as Ida. The climax of the film takes place at the West Pier, which differs from the novel, the end of which takes place in the nearby town of Peacehaven. The film is considered one of the most successful British films noir. In the United States, the film was released under the title "Young Scarface".

Musical

Film composer John Barry and lyricist Don Black wrote together a musical version based on Greene's novel. The show opened in London's Almeida Theatre on 20 September and closed as a flop on 13 October 2004.

* [http://www.johnbarry.org.uk/rock.shtml Brighton Rock] at John Barry: A Life In Music (with more information about the musical and a chronological overview of the events)

Further reading

* "Brighton Rock" plays an important role in the storyline of protagonist Tom Henderson in the novel "King Dork", by Frank Portman.