Brighton Rock is a novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 by Graham Greene

Graham Greene

Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...

, published in 1938, and later made into films, a 1947 film and a 2010 film

Brighton Rock (2010 film)

- External links :* * * * from BBC Films...

. The novel is a murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 thriller set in 1930s Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

. The title is a reference to a confectionery

Rock (confectionery)

Rock is a type of hard stick-shaped boiled sugar confectionery most usually flavoured with peppermint or spearmint. It is commonly sold at tourist resorts in the UK ; in Ireland in seaside towns such as Bray and Strandhill; in Gibraltar; in Denmark in towns such as Løkken and Ebeltoft; and in...

 traditionally sold at seaside resorts, used as a metaphor for human character. The novel ties into Greene's earlier 'entertainment' A Gun for Sale

A Gun for Sale

A Gun for Sale is a 1936 novel by Graham Greene.This novel was made into a film in 1941 and renamed This Gun for Hire, which was also the title of the book's U.S. edition. Alan Ladd was cast as Raven in the film....

, Raven's murder of mob boss Kite, mentioned in A Gun For Sale, allows Pinkie to take over his mob and thus sets the events of the novel in motion.

Plot summary

Charles "Fred" Hale comes to Brighton on assignment to anonymously distribute cards for a newspaper competition (this is a variant of "Lobby Lud

Lobby Lud

Lobby Lud is a fictional character invented in August 1927 by the Westminster Gazette, a British newspaper, now defunct. The name derives from the telegraphic address of the newspaper .-Scheme:...

" in which the name of the person to be spotted is "Kolley Kibber

Kolley Kibber

Kolley Kibber is a fictional character from Graham Greene's 1938 novel Brighton Rock. He was portrayed by Alan Wheatley in the 1947 film adaptation. His name is a reference to Colley Cibber, the English playwright....

"). The antihero of the novel, Pinkie Brown

Pinkie Brown

Pinkie Brown is a fictional character, the main character and antihero of Graham Greene's 1938 novel Brighton Rock.-Character overview:In the novel, Brown is portrayed as an up-and-coming gangster, the teenaged leader and enforcer of a powerful gang in the Brighton underworld...

, is a teenage sociopath

Antisocial personality disorder

Antisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...

 and up-and-coming gangster. Hale had betrayed the former leader of the gang Pinkie now controls, by writing an article in the Daily Messenger about a slot machine racket for which the gang were responsible. Ida Arnold, a plump, kind-hearted and decent woman, is drawn into the action by a chance meeting with the terrified Hale after he has been threatened by Pinkie's gang. After being chased through the streets and lanes of Brighton, Hale accidentally meets Ida again on the Palace Pier, but eventually Pinkie murders Hale inside the Dante's Inferno funfair ride. Pinkie's subsequent attempts to cover his tracks and remove evidence of Hale's Brighton visit lead to a chain of fresh crimes and to an ill-fated marriage to a waitress called Rose who unknowingly has the power to destroy his alibi

Alibi

Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...

. Ida decides to pursue Pinkie relentlessly, because she believes it is the right thing to do, and also to protect Rose from the deeply disturbed teenage gangster she has married.

Although ostensibly an underworld thriller, the book is also a challenge to Roman Catholic doctrine concerning the nature of sin

Sin

In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...

 and the basis of morality

Morality

Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...

. Pinkie and Rose are Catholics, as was Greene, and their beliefs are contrasted with Ida's strong but non-religious moral sensibility.

Main Characters

Pinkie: The anti-hero of the story, merciless to his victims, simultaneously obsessed and repulsed by sex and human connection. He is the leader of 'the mob' despite being the youngest at 17.

Dallow: Pinkie's second in command - the only member of the mob Pinkie feels he can confide in.

Cubitt Another mob member who lives at 'Frank's' with Pinkie and Dallow. He leaves the gang when Pinkie reveals that he (Pinkie) killed Spicer.

Spicer: An aging mob member resident at Frank's. From the beginning he expresses discomfort with the gang's increasing violence. Pinkie's mistrust of him leads to him being murdered by Pinkie for fear of him being 'milky' and leaking incriminating information to Ida Arnold or the Police.

Rose: A poor, modest, and naive girl who becomes Pinkie's girlfriend and wife. She is also a Roman Catholic like Pinkie and falls in love with him despite his advances on her being purely to keep her from giving incriminating evidence. Pinkie is usually repulsed by her but later has the occasional feeling of tenderness towards her.

Ida Arnold: Ida takes up the role of the detective, hunting down Pinkie to bring justice to Hale. Although this is her original motive, when she finds out that Pinkie is marrying Rose she does so to save the girl. Ida represents the force of justice in this novel, and in contrast to Pinkie and Rose is on the side of 'Right and Wrong'. She acquires information from Cubitt once he is cast out of the gang which significantly aids her investigation.

1944 play

Richard Attenborough

Richard Attenborough

Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...

 and Dulcie Gray

Dulcie Gray

Dulcie Gray, CBE was a British singer and actress of stage, screen and television, a mystery writer and lepidopterist.-Early life and career:...

 starred in the original theatrical production at the Garrick Theatre

Garrick Theatre

The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...

 in 1944. Gray's performance as the luckless waitress Rose led to her being offered a contract with Gainsborough Pictures

Gainsborough Pictures

Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...

. However, she was passed over for the role of Rose in the 1947 film version of Brighton Rock, in favour of Carol Marsh

Carol Marsh

Carol Marsh , born Norma Simpson, was an English film actress known for winning the part of Rose in the film Brighton Rock after thousands auditioned for the part....

.

1947 film

Greene and Terence Rattigan

Terence Rattigan

Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...

 wrote the screenplay for a 1947 film adaptation, produced and directed by John and Roy Boulting

John and Roy Boulting

John Edward Boulting and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting , known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for their popular series of satirical comedies in the 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:The twin brothers were born in Bray, Berkshire, England...

, with assistant director Gerald Mitchell. The film starred Richard Attenborough

Richard Attenborough

Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...

 as Pinkie, Carol Marsh

Carol Marsh

Carol Marsh , born Norma Simpson, was an English film actress known for winning the part of Rose in the film Brighton Rock after thousands auditioned for the part....

 as Rose, William Hartnell

William Hartnell

William Henry Hartnell was an English actor. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play the Doctor in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...

 as Dallow, and Hermione Baddeley

Hermione Baddeley

Hermione Baddeley was an English character actress of theatre, film and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Room at the Top and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here...

 as Ida. The climax

Climax (narrative)

The Climax is the point in the story where the main character's point of view changes, or the most exciting/action filled part of the story. It also known has the main turning point in the story...

 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

Peacehaven

Peacehaven is a town and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. It is located above the chalk cliffs of the South Downs approximately six miles east of Brighton city centre, on the A259 road...

. In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the film was released under the title Young Scarface.

1997 radio

Ken Whitmore

Ken Whitmore

Ken Whitmore, born Hanley, Staffordshire, December 22, 1937, is a prolific author of radio plays, stage plays, short stories and poetry. His writing is characterised by black comedy and fantastic ideas, such as the complete disappearance of a man’s house, family and dog and the need for all...

 adapted Graham Greene's story for a 1997 BBC Radio

BBC Radio

BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...

 dramatisation directed by John Yorke and starring Stephen Mackintosh as Pinkie, Maurice Denham

Maurice Denham

Maurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:...

 and Kenneth Cranham

Kenneth Cranham

Kenneth Cranham is a film, television and stage actor. He starred in the title role in the popular 1980s comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon. He also appeared in Layer Cake, Gangster No. 1, Rome, Oliver! and many other films. He is probably best known to horror genre fans as the deranged Dr...

.

2004 musical

Film composer John Barry

John Barry (composer)

John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...

 and lyricist Don Black wrote together a musical version based on Greene's novel. The show opened in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

's Almeida Theatre

Almeida Theatre

The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...

 on 20 September and ran until 13 October 2004. However, poor reviews meant it failed to get a West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 transfer.

2011 film

Rowan Joffe

Rowan Joffé

Rowan Marc Joffé is a British screenwriter and director. He is the son of director Roland Joffé and actress Jane Lapotaire, and half-brother of actress Nathalie Lunghi....

 directed a film adaptation which was released in 2010

Brighton Rock (2010 film)

- External links :* * * * from BBC Films...

, starring Sam Riley

Sam Riley

Sam Riley is an English actor and singer.-Early life:Riley was born in Menston in the Metropolitan District of Bradford in West Yorkshire, the son of "a textile agent and nursery-school teacher". He was educated at Uppingham School...

  and Andrea Riseborough

Andrea Riseborough

-Early life:Riseborough grew up in Whitley Bay. In reference to The Long Walk To Finchley, she has described her parents as "working-class Thatcherites"....

 as 'Pinkie' and Rose respectively. It also starred Dame Helen Mirren as Ida Arnold. Location filming for the Pier scenes took place in Eastbourne

Eastbourne

Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...

 in October 2009, with Eastbourne Pier

Eastbourne Pier

Eastbourne Pier is a seaside pleasure pier in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on the south coast of England.The proposal for a pier was first mooted at the end of 1863, and highly favoured by the town’s major landowner, the 7th Duke of Devonshire...

 standing for Brighton's Palace Pier. Filming of the scenes involving the Regency Cafe took place in Page Street, Westminster

Westminster

Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

, on December 6, 2009. A chronological departure from Greene's novel is the film setting, early 1960s England and not the 1930s as in the original. The film was featured at the 54th London Film Festival

London Film Festival

The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...

 in October 2010 in the coveted surprise film slot.

External links

• Brighton Rock, online text at the Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  website