Night and the City (1950) 92 Minutes

Netti seemed certain as he stepped up to the plate with his preamble. “It’s all in the timing” he reminded the Crew, and the consensus seemed this Pick was well timed indeed.

In our history we have tried from time to time to honor landmarks in cinema with our Selections. Slim recently (and belatedly) honored the passing of Roy Scheider with ‘Marathon Man,’ and Tooda used Hitchcock’s birthday as the pretense for his offering to the “misogyny cycle” ‘Vertigo.’ We have also had oddly timed coincidences surround some Picks. Chris Penn passed away weeks after MOFO brought him to the Stucco in ‘Reservoir Dogs,’ and director Richard Franklin died within seven days of Slim killing the Crew with the dreadful ‘Road Games.’

Timing indeed is everything, and Netti took the sad occasion of the Great Richard Widmark’s passing to treat the Crew with this slam bang noir classic. Further proving the point about the magic of a Pick’s timing, I dragged my heels this week getting this page completed and during that time (as MONA has pointed out in an enormous comment below) ‘Night and the City”s director Jules Dassin joined Widmark in the endless night that awaits us all.

This was the second full screen presentation in two weeks, and Max Greene’s stirring photography looked beautiful nine feet tall and eleven feet wide. Pat Towne joined the Membership for the Pick, but Wiener and Jaja missed yet again.

The aforementioned Widmark and Dassin both join our Canon here. This is the debut as well of Herbert Lom, and Gene Tierney.

Next week, Wildcard Slim returns to SELECTOR status, and as of this writing (April Fools Day) it seems as though Mother Nature will send us indoors for his follow up to ‘Marathon Man.’

“If you ain't got socks you can't pull 'em up, can you?”

Written by: Jo Eisinger

Directed by: Jules Dassin

BBD Comments:

This went a long way to get the bad taste of ‘Night of the Demon’ out of my mouth.

That Netti Slam Dunked is beyond debate. ‘Night and the City’ may well be my favorite of his Selections and that it was a perfectly timed tribute to the late Richard Widmark makes it all the better. It is of some genuine amazement that we sadly also lost Dassin this week. Netti’s “all in the timing” preamble becomes remarkably prescient given his passing.

Beyond this film’s obvious charms, I was truly captivated by the beautiful full-screen presentation. That the HAL 9000 can completely span the wall in Nubs’ Back Yard makes these pre-widescreen presentations visually delectable.

Netti has taken a lot of heat for some of his more indigestible Selections, but it is clear that he has hit his stride in the SELECTOR position, and I only hope my next at bat will atone for the “beige” I coated Simo’s week with following my tone-deaf ‘The American President.’

Onwards.

Brandon Comments:

It’s been a long time since one of our Members has brought a film noir to the Fabric, and ‘Night and the City’ was definitely the right choice for breaking the cherry of absence. Perfectly timed with the recent passing of Widmark, his character in the film, Harry Fabian, seems to celebrate his depth and range as an actor.

When one thinks of traditional film noir, one imagines dark city streets, claustrophobic alleys, loud bars and fistfights, crisp and sharp scenes, precarious heroes and anti-heroes, colorful lingo – and ‘Night and the City’ captures them all perfectly. I don’t know why this film never received the same adoration as others in the genre, like ‘The Maltese Falcon.’ This creepy London-based epic definitely holds its own in that company.

Netti, perfect choice for the week. And I can’t express how happy I am to follow this amazing film and keep the same theme going for as long as it holds.

Nubs Comments:

Wrestling! Wrestling! Wrestling! This is a true brilliant Noir gem, and I appreciate Netti for bringing it to us. This is my first exposure to all of the uniquely talented talent in this, and what a collaborative effort. The acting of the ensemble is so perfectly dramatic that it defines the dark noir style without falling into the campy. Well, maybe it does sometimes, but it’s forgivable. The writing and direction is so innovative and unusual that I couldn’t help but think of ‘Barton Fink.’ Was this a genius at work that was forced by the studios to work with the parameters of a “wrestling picture”? I found it a little hard to follow the story to the end, but the vision, the beauty, and the strangeness kept this piece way above water.

It was a great night, I just wish I knew who’s Pick it was. All slights aside, Peter and Netti’s new revelations on the coincidences surrounding this pick and many others throughout our history, now convince me, Movienight makes the world go round. Now that both Jules and Richard were finally inducted into the most prestigious club in Hollywood, our own, their lives were complete enough to make their exit.

Two monstrous dunks in a row for Netti, and if he brings us a new proper sized sheet, he could be a contender for M.V.P Well…Tooda, anyway you can link here to a picture of Netti in his wrestling shorts from that film or play he did?

SELECTOR Comments:

There really was no choice but to pick this film. Distant star to most, Richard Widmark, passed on Wednesday or as Nubs (ever the stickler for accuracy) pointed out it was actually Tuesday evening. Regardless, the notion that I could let this moment pass was incomprehensible. Widmark's performance spills out of the screen and drowns us in Harry Fabian's desperation. The rest of the cast stays afloat on the deluge holding their own with satisfyingly baroque portrayals. The music at times seems over-present, but when the wrestling match ensues the music is non-existent; the music's sudden absence creates a brutal and silent struggle. It's a quintessential noir film. No one is above reproach. Everyone drowns in their own desires. Yet we somehow feel a kinship with these scalawags; their striving and reaching for the brass ring aligns with our own in a gritty and wonderful way.

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