Night and the City (1950) - Random Movie Review #4 - Part 2

(Read part 1 here: https://silienasrandomreviews.blogspot.com/2019/03/night-and-city-1950-random-movie-review.html)

Fabian the businessman 

It is now the morning. A banner is being lifted outside a building. The banner reads “Fabian Wrestling Promotion”. Harry’s wrestling empire has officially gone into business.

Inside the building is a busy scene. Muscular men punch bags, do push-up and practice wrestling on the ring, under the training of Gregorius. Everyone is hard at work and is clearly enthusiastic about what they are doing.

In the midst of the enthusiasm, a man called Stranger buys a ticket into the building only to laugh at Gregorius’s training. Strangler was the wrestler in the fight club where Harry first met Gregorius, and he is also part of Krito’s gang. He comes with a clear intention to discourage Gregorius from continuing doing wrestling on his own.

But someone in the building doesn’t want to let this slide.

Harry comes out from a private room. He is dressing in an expensive suit, and walks and talks as if he owns everything in the place. He no longer the sly-looking man talking in a sweet and lengthy tone we knew before. He stands straight, and talks very little, with full-on confidence. He has essentially become a different person.

And he is ordering Strangler to get out of the building.

And everyone stands up before Strangler right after Harry raises his voice.

After throwing Strangler away, Harry orders people around. He tells the men to continue training, and Nikolas to take a break. Everyone listens to him without question.

And he also receives a name tag and tips the delivery boy a hefty amount of tip.

After failing to use Strangler to intimidate Harry, Kristo rushes into the building by himself. Kristo comes with a contract with the permission for Harry to use the building to promote wrestling and present Nikolas to fight in a tournament. Harry listens to the contract, understandably worried. Yet, there is not a single trace of the sly, flattering attitude he displayed earlier when he first met Kristo. This is more like a concerned attitude of a businessman in front of his potential partner than an attitude of a lowlife hustler trying to get people to believe him.

Unfortunately, Kristo doesn’t come to announce the contract. He tears the contract in front of Harry and warns him to move somewhere else to promote wrestling.

Harry isn’t freaked out. Just when Kristo is about to leave in satisfaction, Harry calmly tells Kristo to see his “partner”. And he drags out… Gregorius.

Krito quickly realizes that the stack is against him. If anyone has enough power to stand against him, that’s his own father. He tries to convince Gregorius that Harry is a hustler, but fails. Gregorius believes that Harry is a good friend, a hard worker and a passionate lover of the Greek wrestling spirit. Coupled with his dissatisfaction with the way Kristo organizes his fight club, Gregorius has put all hope on Harry for a good wrestling match. Gregorius even defense Harry against his own son.

Failing to talk Gregorius out of sticking to Harry, the furious Kristo can only request Harry to give his father what he promises, clean wrestling. 

He then leaves the overjoyed Harry screaming orders to his enthusiastic “followers” as they return to training.

It’s amazing to see how much Harry has changed just in a few days. He went from a sacredly loser, begging for attention and support from other people, to a confident businessman, shouting orders to other people and bravely standing up for himself. His movement is slower and more deliberate, he knows exactly what he’s doing (because if he doesn’t, it’s hard to imagine how he is able to command so many people in his building). This sudden change makes us wonder, how did he transform so fast?

We soon have our answer when Harry goes into his private room.

A certain Mr. Hoskins from a hotel Royal Tudor wants to talk with Harry. According to him, Harry managed to get himself, Gregorius and Nikolas two expensive rooms for three weeks straight without payment. So Mr. Hoskins has come to demand £287 in payment on that day or he has to ask the three men out of his hotel.

And then, this is when we realize that the “confident businessman” attitude earlier is not entirely genuine.

Harry first becomes very aggressive to Hoskins, using the same tactic he used to Kristo. He attempts to use his reputation to dominate the conversation, similar to when he called Gregorius into the scene. When he is quickly dismissed by Hoskins, the confident mask suddenly falls off. He goes back to the promises we see him do earlier in the movie, telling Hoskins how hard he works and how he will pay everything quickly if he is given more time. He basically goes down to his knees.  

The aggressive Harry...

...and a begging Harry.

And of course, Hoskins doesn’t take the promise seriously.

And so, all the intimidating image is just a mask. We can’t blame him though, he just has to act strong in front of a respectable man who has put trust into him. If he isn’t doing it for the old man’s sake, he has to do it for his own reputation. He is a pretty good actor though, and he has everyone who hasn’t got to see inside his private room fooled.

Unfortunately, because this is just an act, he can’t maintain the attitude for long, no matter how elaborate the act is. The sole reason why he is able to win over Kristo is because he is holding Gregorius in his hand. When it’s time to confront Hoskins, he hardly has anything to counteract him. Even when he uses his reputation to dominate the conversation, he seems a bit unsure of himself, much less than when he does that to Kristo. He can only win when he knows who he has to deal with.

In short, Harry hasn’t changed at all.

Nevertheless, he is now faced with the hotel payment and there’s no way around it. The only way to obtain enough money for that is getting Helen to pay for him, and that’s through the license for Helen as he promises before. Harry calls Helen and arrange a time for her to get her license

And we get to see how Harry gets his license: from a friend who makes fake papers.

And no one suspects anything, at least for now.

This business will survive!

The movie then cuts to Phil. He is now talking to a furious Kristo. Kristo is furious because he has asked Phil to stop Harry through his assistants and yet Harry is still running his business like nothing has happened. Kristo has also somehow found out that Phil is even backing Harry’s business. Kristo explains to Phil that there is no way the business will success, but the heart of the problem is that Harry is conning Kristo’s father and he doesn’t like that.

Phil remains unemotional throughout the conversation. He hints to Kristo that he isn’t emotionally attached to Harry, and he would do anything for Kristo if it helps bring Harry to him. He first offers to stop backing, then promises Kristo that he will teach Harry a lesson.

Phil seems pretty indecisive about what to do, and Kristo is extremely confused who Phil really is. Nevertheless, the two men soon reach an agreement.

And so, Phil meets Harry on a busy street and tell him he is going to stop backing the business without providing any reason.

Harry, of course, starts pestering him to go back to backing with all the promises. Phil doesn’t back down. But in his indecisive mood, he casually slips out to Harry that it would be better if he managed to get Strangler to fight with Nikolas. Phil doesn’t seem to be aware of what he is saying though.

The desperate Harry is looking for something to hold on, and he fails to realize that Phil is just talking nonsense. Harry immediately promises Phil to get Strangler for a match in exchange to more backing. Phil, in an attempt to get Harry off his back, just says yes and moves on.

And soon, it turns out that Phil should have been more cautious of what he said.

It’s now the evening. Strangler is having fun in a luxury bar. Harry also walks into the same bar and meets Beer. And the first thing Harry asks is where Strangler is.

 

Harry has put on the businessman mask again. He puts a £100 deal on Nikolas vs Strangler, and he says it in the most serious voice he can put on. He hears from Beer that the news of him overpowering Kristo has been passed around, and uses it to fuel his determination. The serious tone he is showing seems a bit over-the-top to Beer; so Beer, much like Phil, puts £200 and jokes that Harry can’t get Strangler to fight Nikolas. Harry stands up and walks toward Strangler.

The two men choose a table next to Strangler, and Harry pretends to mock Strangler while praising Nikolas. This of course triggers Strangler and he jumps on Harry in a fit of rage. Still smiling, Harry tells Strangler to go to the gym to see Nikolas if he wants to fight that much, then runs away after having pissed off Stranger enough.

And so it goes. Strangler storms into Harry’s gym where Nikolas and Gregorius are chilling out. He insults the old man, and Gregorius gets provoked enough to agree for a fight to happen. Harry sorts out his contract and goes back to Phil for the rest of the money.

Victory is not final 

Phil, of course, isn’t ready for all of this.

Phil is totally horrified by what Harry has done. He was perfectly calm and collected before this latest news, trying slowly and methodically to get Harry off his back without getting his hand dirty. And each time he packs a (discrete) punch, Harry rises again from the ruin. And this last time, he gave Harry an impossible task, thinking he would just run around in vain. And Harry completed just that.

Phil can no longer keep his cool. He can no longer pretend not to know anything. So, in a moment of overwhelming shock and anger, he announces to Harry that he is calling Kristo to deliver the new about Strangler, effectively revealing to Harry that he has never on his side in the first place.

That is a devastating news to Harry. Phil has long been considered the only source of support for Harry and it could very much mean chaos to his business. But on the other hand, Phil is already acting out of character. He just can’t keep his cool, agreeable mask on anymore. As this is obviously his last effort to get rid of Harry, he is sending Harry the message that he is on the losing side. 

So, when Harry finally comes to term with the fact that Phil has never been his ally, he strikes back forcefully. He promptly announces to Phil that he will still survive without his help. Calling Kristo won’t help Phil one bit, because Harry has already got Gregorius on his side. In short, Harry has already got everything in control.

And that is the last blow for Phil. He is no longer involved with Harry and he can’t do anything to stop Harry anymore. He is forced to admit defeat, but not without delivering his last blow: refusing to give money to Harry. 

And it is actually a pretty powerful attack. Harry can only survive because he has a source of money. Money has been an overlooked but crucial factor behind his business. Harry has come to Phil just for the money, and fails. He has no choice but to get the money himself.

And the only way to do it is to lure Mary out of the house and steal the saving she has put aside.

Back at the gym, something unexpected happens. Gregorius and Strangler are having a heated quarrel to dominate each other. The quarrel soon turns into a nasty fight right on the training ring. No one is able to stop them, not even Harry.

The two wrestlers are now two mindless angry rams trying to kill each other. Like two rams fighting, anyone standing in between will be crushed to death. Nikolas tries to pull Gregorius out of the fight and is thrown out of the ring with a broken wrist. Harry also attempts to interfere but is pulled away. Finally, everyone is forced to stay outside and watch the mess unfolded. And during the fight, we see Harry shouting for Gregorius, surprisingly with all the sincerity we have never seen from him before.

Finally, just as Kristo arrives, Gregorius wins the battle. He leaves Strangler lying on the ground victoriously… while also looking just as exhausted as his opponent.

And he dies, of exhaustion, before Kristo’s eyes.

Gregorius wins, but no one is happy for him. 

Even Strangler isn’t happy to see the sight, especially when he learned that the reason why he is at the gym is because Harry provoked him.

No one is happy with Gregorius winning.

And everyone knows who to put the blame on.

The savage night

The next 17 minutes plays out like a sequence of a surreal nightmare. We see Kristo’s men driving in the street, passing news about Harry to shady men, in dark, noisy streets, in crowded clubs and stadium. There is now a prize on Harry’s. No one says anything. We don’t get to see the faces of the men. They are like ghosts and demons, sneaking in the dark corners of London, only waiting to be summoned. And now they are all summoned, to roam the darkness for a skinny, sleazy fellow.

Darkness covers the entire sequence. We can’t even see Harry’s face clearly. And when we do see him, he looked all scared and beaten up. There is the sound of the streets, and some talking. However, they have no substance. Every sound we ever get to hear is mixed up in a chaos of noise. No one speaks. They just run and chase, in the street then in a construction ruin. There is no human connection, at all.

There is no human connection, which means no one acts remotely like a human. The shady men chase Harry together, but they also compete with each other to reach Harry first, so that they can claim their hefty prize. We see one of the men holding a knife, with the full intention to kill. At one point we get to witness a “friend” of Harry who discretely calls Kristo to tell him about Harry’s location. Even Harry does things he wouldn’t dare to do before. He kills the man with the knife, pushing him down a stair. And it seems like he also kills the cheating friend off-screen. 

 

Everyone is desperate. There is no humanity here, only people stomping on each other, and the dark.

And sandwiched between this sequence are slower scenes of other characters and things falling apart. Mary is enjoying some comfort from Adam after being betrayed by Harry when suddenly Kristo’s men rush into the room in search for Harry. Mary’s brief peace is disrupted, and she is forced to hit the street to find Harry. 

Phil also takes a hit. He finds out Harry is now the underworld’s most wanted man is about to enjoy his victory. But then a determined Helen comes to him and tells him she is leaving. Helen has already got her club ready, and she has no more reason to stay around with Phil. He can do nothing to hold her back.

 

Helen doesn’t get out scott-free either. Shortly after she officially opens her club, a young policeman shows up to check on her license. Everything is in order, Helen’s club and license is legit, until some water drips onto the license, revealing a secret even Helen doesn’t know.

With nowhere else to go, Helen comes back home to Phil. But too late, Phil has already killed himself out of grief.

A savage night. It could just have been Harry running away from something like he does after every scheme. But tonight, it's different. Harry has touched too many people. And now when Harry goes down, everyone is going down with him.

And it starts all over again...?

It’s approaching day time. Harry is now totally worn out. He is out of breath. He can barely run. He is heading toward Anna’s boat; it is the only safe thing in front of him.

And he finally gets some rest. Anna, luckily, become the only “friend” Harry knows that doesn’t have ill intention on him.

But at this point, Harry doesn’t have enough energy to find a hiding anymore. For the first time in his life, Harry admits to himself that he is powerless. When he sees a shadow on the bridge which he assumes is Krito’s men, he no longer wants to evade. He stands up and tells Anna to go upstairs. He braces himself to face his fate.

And to his surprise, the shadow belongs to… Mary

It soon becomes the first scene at the beginning of the movie again. Harry admits his latest get-rich-quick scheme is a failure. He implies he wants to be somebody. Mary comforts him, saying he doesn’t need to be somebody because he is already great in her eyes, and the two reconcile. It’s the end of another night, another stupid scheme. Harry returns to be a normal guy. The couple return to their house and go to work again. After all it’s just a typical day in the life of Harry and Mary, right?

Only that… Harry doesn’t want to stop.

Harry suddenly thinks of another scheme. He wants to fake his death to claim the prize of Kristo. He tries to convince Mary to get involved, with the same old empty promise of it being another “fool-proof idea”, just like thousands of “ideas” he comes up with.

And of course, Mary isn’t going to put up with it anymore. No one can, after such a life-shattering experience. Mary walks out of the boat, furious and heartbroken.

Harry just lets his second chance for life slip past him.

It could have ended well. He and Mary could have gone home.

On the bridge stands Kristo. He has somehow tracked Harry down to the boat. He is standing there waiting for Harry to come out.

And then he sees…

As Harry chases after Mary, he catches sight of Kristo on the bridge. Harry suddenly has a plan. He makes it look like Mary is on Kristo’s side and turns himself in, while demanding the prize from Kristo, for Mary.

He is effectively implanting the “fool-proof idea” he was talking about, without Mary.

And for Mary.

It is predictable how it ends afterward. Harry immediately gets killed by Strangler. Mary witnesses the killing and breaks down. Adam comes to the scene with the police to arrest Kristo’s gang. Adam takes the sobbing Mary home.

And the sun is rising, signaling the end of a night.

My thought of Harry

So that was it, the story of the life and death of a loser who refuses to learn from his action. Harry’s downfall is completely his fault. He saw time and time again that he would go nowhere with his get-rich-quick ideas. Every scheme always ended up in him running away from something. This latest scheme was no different than the others, and it also started in the same pattern (Harry saw an opportunity to make quick money, he conned a bunch of people into funding him, something went wrong and everyone found out he was a liar, and he ran away). When you don’t learn from your action, life will eventually catch on you.

Or so everyone thinks. But is that the end of the story? Is Harry such an unlikeable, conning husler?

If we go back to the scene where Harry goes to work in the Silver Fox (in part 1), it is quite unclear what job Harry does there. It is later revealed that Harry’s job there might be finding a way to get customers for the club. And Harry certainly doesn’t attract his customers by straightforward marketing. Instead, he pretends to have some connection with random people, gains their trust, then lures them into the club. And as demonstrated in the earlier café scene, the scheme works beautifully.

Looking at the “marketing” scheme, the big plan for the wrestling business, and maybe the idea of the small energy-saving cube very early on in the movie, we have to admit that his ideas are pretty creative. Harry just has a way to see opportunity in things people wouldn’t waste a second to think about, and he has the ability to make it work, at least on paper.

Phil can say anything about Harry being a loser, but the fact that he keeps Harry in his club for such a long time despite all the antics speaks volume about how important Harry is in the club. Phil definitely values Harry’s talent, even though he may not admit to it.

And that isn’t all. Harry does not only have talent in spotting opportunity. He also have the gut to actually push the ideas into action. Everyone can think of a good idea once in a while, but it actually takes courage to act on the idea. Who would have thought of actually going out and asking for funding for an energy-saving cube that may or may not work? Who would dare to approach a legendary wrestler and convince him to join in an unknown business venture? Who would go out to provoke an aggressive wrestler just to set up a match between him and his opponent? Of course the way he conducts his plans is questionable, but he certainly has enough gut to carry them out.

Bravery and determination are what set Harry apart from the crowd. We never get to see Harry give up on anything, unless the situation is too obviously impossible. No matter how much obstacle Phil throws on his way to get him off his back, Harry always find a way to get back up. There is really no giving up for Harry. Once he promises, he fulfills. Get a license for a club in exchange for money? He does it. Get Strangler involved in a fight? He does it. He is so determined that he pushes Phil in a corner and forces him to admit defeat.

Bravery and determination are also something everyone is scared of Harry for. His plans do fail eventually, he has never has any success. That is why he is labeled “hustler” by almost everyone. But everyone is also intimidated by the fact that Harry carries out his ideas in the first place. There is a reason why people turn him down when he asks for funding. It’s not only because he has low success rate, but also because his plans sound so absurd that no one can imagine it can success. There is no one with the same level of imagination and optimism as Harry to see opportunity in the plans. It does take a lot of gut to plunge into such a risk.

And that is also the reason why he is able to keep every of his schemes running for so long before he is forced to run away. That is the reason why he is able to fool so many people into thinking he knows what he is doing, even the legendary Gregorius. After all, aren't real leaders determined and confident and full of passion?

Harry is truly a force of nature. And Mary has seen it in him.

And Harry could be a wild success, if only he knew how to balance his burning passion with a bit realism.

One weakness Harry has is his own short-sightedness. Harry just can’t think of anything long-termed. He is extremely good at thinking of ideas, but he has no capacity to draw a long-term plan for his plan to sustain long enough. His attitude is pretty much like a child, thinking of an absurd idea and going on to make it work, only to realize that it takes more work to make it happen than to think of it. Harry is only left with an ability to improvise. This explains how Harry is always on edge and wears so many masks at the same time. One minute he is a stern, confident businessman, the next minute he becomes a weak guy begging for mercy. Harry spends too much time and energy reacting to whatever thrown on his side. He certainly does not go provoke Strangler because he has planned it long ago; he only does that because Phil suggests so.

Furthermore, as hinted several times in the movie, Harry has a less than healthy motivation for his passion. He has a long history of being underestimated. He was not valued by people around him for his talent. This has become a fuel for his unstoppable determination. He wants to finally prove to the world that he has enough talent to be respected. He just wants to finally be “somebody”. He just wants to take the glory all for himself. Does that energy-saving cube help improve the life of anyone? Is Fabian Wrestling Promotion created with the aim to help improve the status of wrestling? No. Every scheme Harry comes up with has to help boost his own status first. This sure guarantees a self-centered attitude toward the long-term plan, and this will not serve Harry well in the long run, as he has seen it countless time.

His short-sightedness and his egoism are the two biggest flaws Harry has. So big that they manage to ruin his life.

But given the two weaknesses, does it mean Harry is a self-centered psycho who only does things and stomps on people? 

My answer: not really. While it is true that Harry is motivated by his selfish need to be respected, he does not have any ill will while carrying out his plans. Harry isn’t just pushed by his selfish need, he also has Mary in mind. He is doing all of that not only for himself, but also for Mary. He also wants her to shine with him. At the start of the movie, we can already see how he calls Mary “Dutchess”. And if he didn’t love her, what possibly had put him into his final act of redemption: handing himself over to Kristo?

And we also get to see random acts of kindness from Harry. Harry may be selfish, but he does show kindness to people he deems worthy. There seems to be a genuine bond between Harry and Gregorius. When Gregorius is fighting with Strangler, Harry is the one who cheers for the old man. And when Harry sense that Kristo is going to the boat to capture him, he tells Anna to go upstairs, as he doesn’t want her to get involved in the matter, or at least witness a killing.

Deep down, Harry is just an poor angry soul, trying hard to be accepted.

Adam, who seems to be Harry’s counterpart, embodies everything Harry should be. Adam is also incredibly creative (with his toys and furniture), but he knows his limit. He knows how to finish what he starts, and he knows which ideas are too crazy to be carried out.

And most of all, he knows when to stop. He knows not to get too many people involved in his plan.

He also has the tender heart of Harry, and he doesn’t let it be buried in his thirst for power.

Because, he creates to serve himself and other, not to prove himself to anyone.

Conclusion

On the surface, Night and the City’s plot is an action-packed movie about a loser failing big time while trying to get rich quick. But behind that surface is an incredibly in-depth character study. This is not only a story of a loser, it’s also a story of the people around him. Everyone is calling Harry a loser, but they are also harboring their own demons. Phil and Helen are involved in a silent power struggle. Kristo and Gregorius are struggling with balancing between their relationship and a passion. Most of Harry’s friends are sacredly lowlifes and one of them is a covert opportunist. No one is completely pure.

And one loser, while minding his own scheme, accidentally stirs up the demons and get some of the people invested in him.

There is just nothing more I can say about the incredible depth of this seemingly simple movie.