Nightbeat (1947) User Reviews

entertaining and over the top late 1940's drama with a film noir touch

[mb014f2908 · 7/10 · 19 December 2007]

I finally caught this film on a DVD copy bought off ebay. I had wanted to see it for years largely based on what i'd read about it in British film books and for Christine Norden, Britain's answer to Rita Hayworth's Gilda in this performance. Norden did not disappoint; she looks stunning, slinked convincingly, sang huskily, vamps superbly. Her scenes with Maxwell Reed were the film's high points; they are both so over the top in their different styles that it works quite well and is certainly a strong contrast to the demure Anne Crawford in her good girl role. Norden's career in British films was short but made an impact, she was Britain's bad girl before Diana Dors inherited the mantle. As for the plot, well not to worry, it is eminently predictable and very 1940's, but moves along at a fair clip.

Fair Cop

[writers_reign · 6/10 · 14 September 2016]

This movie surely deserves some kind of award for it's startling fresh- as-paint storyline, even more original given the year, 1947. Get this; two guys bond during their time in the armed forces in World War Two. Comes demob day and they're back in Civvy Street. But what to do, how to earn a crust. The solution is breathtaking; one joins the police force and the other joins a gangster's payroll. You couldn't make it up. Christine Norden made three films that year but this is the one that gets to 'introduce' her. She made only 12 films in total but certainly made an impact. Here she plays the 'good-time' girl who does a little singing on the side, specifically in the night club owned by Maxwell Reed, an early graduate of the Forestry Commission School of Acting and in another life the first husband of Joan Collins. All sorts of people pop up here, not least Sid James, newly arrived in England from South Africa, and milking his role as piano-player grass to the limit. Again it was Ann Crawford who sold it for me but it turned out to be entertaining in its own right.

Entertaining British thriller from the 40's.

[ronevickers · 7/10 · 31 July 2012]

In many ways this film is a clear attempt, by a British studio, to emulate the successful film noirs prevalent in the USA. To a great degree it achieves that objective, mainly through the lively cameo performances from Christine Norden, Maxwell Reed and Sidney James. The scenes containing those characters are among the best in the film. The story is lively-paced and passes the time quickly. However, where the film falls down is in its poor editing, and the lacklustre performances of the two leading males. In particular, Hector Ross displays about as much animation and personality as a glove puppet. His performance has to be seen to be believed. Overall though Nightbeat is an entertaining film.

Maxwell Reed gives his eyebrows another workout

[howardmorley · 7/10 · 9 January 2017]

Another user comment on another Maxwell Reed film told of his eyebrows, gave me my summary title, which had me smiling.He certainly worked them vigorously in this film noir of an early post war racketeer, returning commando servicemen, (Ronald Howard/Hector Ross) and the longstanding girlfriend who has been faithful all during the war (the late tragic Anne Crawford).What made me smile was seeing Sid James playing a nightclub pianist called Nixon.It was films like this which established his acting credentials and which Tony Hancock envied in their early comic TV/radio collaborations.

Nasty Jackie (Christine Norden) who plays the nightclub singer, sticks Ronald Howard's commando knife into Maxwell Reed's chest and kills him out of pique because he didn't love her enough.How will Ronald establish his innocence, perhaps Anne can help?This is an above average 1947 British produced film noir which I awarded 7/10.

Christine Nordelph shines

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 30 September 2018]

Nordelph shines in this with smouldering sensuality as the precursor to Diana Dors.Mind you it wasn't that difficult since she was appearing with three extremely poor leading me.What this film really needed was a Stewart Granger,James Mason or Herbert Lom.This was a fairly average crime thriller of the period.Which meant that it was rather more races than its prewar equivalents

Doesn't fulfil early promise

[wilvram · 5/10 · 10 May 2020]

Nightbeat gets off to a strong start with our two heroes, newly demobbed, taking on local wide boys, then joining the police, setting the scene for a tale of no-nonsense ex-servicemen versus the spivs and crooks who got rich while they were away. This is reinforced with the appearance of Maxwell Reed as an ebullient super-spiv complete with wide-brimmed hat, dress-coat and perpetual grin, who is a rival for the affections of Anne Crawford. Reed was an actor whom it was not always possible to take seriously, but he's in his element in this part. The bad news is that he's gradually given less and less to do as the film deteriorates into a cut-price version of an American Noir involving Christine Norden as a hard-as-nails good-time girl, and a murder in a nightclub. It all becomes increasingly tedious. No surprise that frequent producer and former actor Harold Huth rarely occupied the director's chair again. Sid James has one of his earliest roles as a dissolute-looking pianist and habitual police informer.

No Angels

[Theo Robertson · 4/10 · 8 April 2017]

NIGHTBEAT struck me with its premise. "After the war is over, two army pals take opposite paths in civvy street. One becomes a petty criminal, the other becomes a policeman" Right away I was reminded of ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES where two characters make their own decisions which will test their friendship. This isn't how things unravel

Right from the outset there's a distraction and that is the two protagonists are shown wearing British army uniforms with sergeant strips. No matter the nationality of a sergeant they're all from working class stock but the characters speak with entirely posh accents that not one person in Britain speaks anymore , not even the British royal family, In fact in comparison to the two sergeants the Queen sounds like she comes from a sink council estate. This is painfully distracting to this egalitarian reviewer

As I said the plot doesn't really follow the ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES route and I found myself constantly wondering why the story couldn't have been told much better. It's not a terrible film but I did expect more from a British film noir and it's impossible to have convincing working class rough characters when they're played ex public school sounding people

Interesting British noir

[clanciai · 9/10 · 26 December 2019]

Two soldiers coming home from the war both join up in the police force, while the sister of one of them is the other's sweetheart. But during the war that sister (Anne Crawford) has started working with a night club owner and got an apartment from him, and he wants to marry her. Her father is a policeman, and when her soldier friend joins the police force she leaves him to eventually marry the night club owner. Her brother gets sacked from the police and starts working for the night club. Another girl (Christine Norden, a blonde,) gets mixed up with Felix the night club owner, and when he finally marries Anne Crawford, the blonde gets furious. Complications follow and run wild. It's a fascinating story of ex-soldiers finding an ordered existence after the war, one succeeding, the other failing, but eventually after the ultimate complication of a murder they and the sister find each other again. It's not a great film, there are no great film stars, the acting is mediocre, but the story and the intriguing environment with its many plots make ineed the film worth watching.

Lowlifes, glamour, spivs, what's not to like?

[lucyrfisher · 9/10 · 17 November 2022]

Felix (Maxwell Reed) Fenton's nightclub is an oasis of glamour in rationed, post-war, cold, dirty Britain. Others have told the story.

I love Anne Crawford, and she is icily beautiful. Here she is supposed to be "class", the "good girl" in contrast to Christine Norden's rotter. But she's really not a very nice character - she is waspish and peevish, and rude and offhand to her devoted fiancé. She has been set up in a flat by Felix, her employer (he owns an off-licence as well as a nightclub), paying less than the rent. Felix wants to marry her and she accepts favours from him while giving nothing back.

Films like this showed a glamorous world that most movie-goers couldn't afford. For me, the songs and the fight scenes go on too long, but they were probably also audience-pleasures.