''Night Beat'' is a 1947 British Brit-noir, crime thriller drama film directed by Harold Huth and starring

Anne Crawford Imelda Anne Crawford (22 November 1920 – 17 October 1956) was a British film actress, born in Palestine of a Scottish father and an English mother, and brought up in Edinburgh. Biography A contemporary of Margaret Lockwood and Phyllis Calver ...

, Maxwell Reed, Ronald Howard, Hector Ross, Christine Norden and Sid James. Following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the two comrades go their separate ways; one joins the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

while the other begins a police career but becomes a

racketeer Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and ...

in post-war London. ''

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

'' described the film as a "British thriller that examines a challenging issue of its times: the problems encountered by servicemen when trying to adjust to

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

life."

Cast

as Julie Kendall * Maxwell Reed as Felix Fenton * Ronald Howard as Andy Kendall * Christine Norden as Jackie * Hector Ross as Don Brady * Fred Groves as PC Kendall * Sid James as Nixon (as Sidney James) *Nicholas Stuart as Rocky * Frederick Leister as Magistrate * Michael Medwin as Spider * Robert Cawdron as Police recruit * Robert Raglan as Detective Sergeant (uncredited)

Critical reception

The Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' wrote, "a relishably bad British crime drama set in an unreal

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was deve ...

underworld of spivs and nightclubs. It's a compendium of clichés...

Benjamin Frankel Benjamin Frankel (31 January 190612 February 1973) was a British composer. His best known pieces include a cycle of five string quartets, eight symphonies, and concertos for violin and viola. He was also notable for writing over 100 film scores ...

's score is better than the film deserves." ''

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...

'' wrote, "though its starts out strong, ''Night Beat'' metamorphoses into standard melodramatics towards the end." ''Britmovie'' wrote, "fast-paced British crime melodrama...The two lead actors are particularly wooden and it’s left to the supporting cast to add some lowlife colour; particularly Maxwell Reed’s smug villain, Christine Norden as the vampish blonde, Sid James piano playing snout and a brief appearance by Michael Medwin as an indignant petty crook."

References

External links

* 1947 films 1940s crime drama films British black-and-white films British crime drama films British Lion Films films Films directed by Harold Huth Films scored by Benjamin Frankel Films set in London 1947 drama films 1948 drama films 1948 films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{crime-drama-film-stub