Harry Fabian (Widmark) is a man running out of time ... fast!!.
This film comes with a strong reputation as being one of the
best of the Noir genre and rightly so.
It has all the right ingredients of luckless losers trying to
make a living in the less than salubrious parts of London, Atmospheric
lighting and cinematography, doomed lovers and the redemption of the
anti-hero who gets his wish of making something of himself but at a cost.
Widmark turns in a strong performance even if the vocabulary of 'quid' and 'pubs'
does seem a little incongruous coming from the most American of actors. Having not
read the Kersh novel of the same name I can't attest to its accuracy but you do get
a flavour of London that is a million miles away from glossy image as its portrayed in
other films of the era. In fact this is one of the strengths of the film in that it
captures a post war city on the verge of change ready to leave behind its recent past for a more
uncertain future. In this regards the film has similarities with the Long Good Friday which
also records the city on the edge of shedding its skin for the promise of a new future for
those who have so far been denied. The city itself is a main character here and with the
dimly lit streets and foggy dawns you still get a nod to the Dickensian past.
Widmark plays Harry Fabian a man of big dreams but with little talent to achieve them. Through
a slew of bad choices he throws away a future with Gene Tierneys character and destroys the
lives of those that get mixed up with him. Needless to say it doesnt end well even though
there is some form of redemption at the end.
Film Noir as a genre is not generally associated with the UK or London but this is a great film directed by
Jules Dassin a forgotten master.