Night and the City

Released Jun 9, 1950

1 hr. 35 min.

Crime

Drama

List

82%

22 Reviews

Tomatometer

90%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Londoner Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) is a second-rate con man looking for an angle. After years of putting up with Harry's schemes, his girlfriend, Mary (Gene Tierney), becomes fed up when he taps her for yet another loan. His latest ploy, promoting an aging Greek wrestler, goes awry when the wrestler dies and everyone points the finger at Harry. Hiding out in a riverfront barge, Harry sees his grand ambitions spiral into a nightmare of fear and desperation as the underworld closes in.

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helder f

A story about a self-involved man and his gimmicks to get rich. Great performances, and photography. Script a bit too melodramatic, a mixture of neo noir and action movie, which at times feels too disingenuous. Disingenuous in the sense that it attempts to create an emotion more than to tell a compelling story. The fact that his wife or partner appears first early in the movie, then disappears only to appear again in the very last scenes is an odd choice.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/22/24

Full Review

Steve D

Hard to care what happens to anyone.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/03/24

Full Review

Blu B

All Time Classic. The cinematography is amazing with incredible use of lights and shadows with stellar camerawork and a memorable setting of seedy underground London. Widmark is amazing in this and really carries the entire film along with an excellent supporting cast. This is perfectly aced also with a franticness kicking in the last 15-20 minutes. The music is really good also. The only is the editing is really well done but there is SOOO many sides involved in this hustle job by Harry (I think 6 parties total) it is genuinely hard to understand who is double crossing who and who is being setup. However a testament to how well made this is despite not understanding everything in the weeds the big picture still makes sense and you know Harry is screwed and this won't end well. Everyone should give this a try.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/24

Full Review

Dick C

It tells one who never changes...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/05/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Acting and cinematography top notch. Story ok but hard to care about narcissist grifter. Great photography make all worthwhile, almost.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This film really represents what makes Film Noir so endearing and memorable. None of these characters come into, nor leave the film with clean hands. It's hard to gain sympathy for any of them, but that is also what makes it so great. Richard Widmark is one of thee few actors who could truly pull it off. He is slick and sick at the same time as he wiggles his way into other people's life in order to turn a buck. The double crossings come fast and furious and his noose gets tighter. The cinematography, along with the expected shadows help make the tension even harsher. One off the great films of thee genre.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

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Jules Dassin

Director

Richard Widmark

Harry Fabian

Gene Tierney

Mary Bristol

Googie Withers

Helen Nosseross

Stanislaus Zbyszko

Gregorius

Austin Dempster

Writer

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Kimberly Pierce

Ticklish Business

Dassin and his cinematographer Max Greene easily guide the tone of Night and the City with an unseen hand. The visual power of these images casts a heaviness over the narrative which wouldnt be present without these very specific stylistic choices.

Rated: 4.5/5

May 1, 2022

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Jules Dassin, in his direction, manages extraordinarily interesting backgrounds, realistically filmed to create a feeling both of suspense and mounting menace.

Apr 15, 2008

Full Review

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

A pointless, trashy yarn.

Rated: 2/5

Jan 28, 2006

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Richard Widmark plays one of cinema’s great heels in... one of the greatest film noirs set in a foreign capital.

Aug 19, 2023

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Night and the City still explodes with the ferocity of Widmark's urgent presence, his ruthless gloating and nervous laughter, and the way he grows enraged when not taken seriously.

Rated: 4/4

Feb 14, 2022

Full Review

Eric Melin

Scene-Stealers.com

One of the best noirs around ... downward-spiral noir in its purest form, even if it trades the traditional urban landscape of the American city for the mean streets of London.

Rated: 4.5/5

Oct 7, 2015

Full Review

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Synopsis

Londoner Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) is a second-rate con man looking for an angle. After years of putting up with Harry's schemes, his girlfriend, Mary (Gene Tierney), becomes fed up when he taps her for yet another loan. His latest ploy, promoting an aging Greek wrestler, goes awry when the wrestler dies and everyone points the finger at Harry. Hiding out in a riverfront barge, Harry sees his grand ambitions spiral into a nightmare of fear and desperation as the underworld closes in.

Director: Jules Dassin
Executive Producer: Darryl F Zanuck
Screenwriter: Austin Dempster, Jo Eisinger, Gerald Kersh
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 9, 1950, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 25, 2016
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm