Night and the City

Pros: Widmark and the rest of the cast (except Marlowe and Tierney), cinematography, DVD_bonus_features
Cons: The Hugh Marlowe-Gene Tierney romance

In 1949 Daryl F. Zanuck shipped the emerging great noir director Jules Dassin off to make "Night and the City" in London before the House Un-American Activities Committee could subpoena him to testify about his Communist Party membership during the ...

Pros: Acting, characters, cinematography
Cons: Characters played by Marlowe and Tierney are underdeveloped

Aside from the occasional lapse back into his giggling psycho “Kiss of Death” schtick, this is Richard Widmark’s best performance, most memorable character and a fine, underrated noir from Jules Dassin with some superb acting and memorable ...

Pros: A driving, never-let-up morality play, with superb atmospheric photography of a London now gone.
Cons: Highly melodramatic moments and a romantic triangle that may strike modern viewers a bit ripe.

NIGHT AND THE CITY (1950) marked the end of Jules Dassin's career as a director in Hollywood. Mentioned in McCarthy black list records, deprived of a haven by the death of his benefactor Producer Mark Hellinger, Dassin was sent to London and told to...

Pros: Lovely cinematography that dwells in the dark shadows; realistic wrestling scene that will have you gasping for air
Cons: A story without suspense or a gumshoe detective--can this be film noir?

Dark shadows, two-timing dames, Richard Widmark’s high-pitched giggle. It must be film noir.

Well, sort of.

Night and the City, directed by Jules Dassin in 1950, has the look of noir, but it may not be what you’re expecting...