Nightbeat

For its time (1947) this film could almost be called outrageous with its thoroughly decadent undertones. Still, what can you expect from the lanky master of sexual sleaze, Maxwell Reed (the former Mr. Joan Collins) and blond bombshell Christine Norden, here in her screen debut.

The war has just finished and the recently demobbed Kendall brothers find themselves at a loose end after getting involved in a good old-fashioned punch-up in a Westminster boozer. Idealistic fools that they are, they decide after a little friendly persuasion from their dad – himself a boy in blue - to do the ‘next best thing’ and become coppers!
One of them (played by Fed Groves) is a thoroughly decent and upright sort although a tad on the dull side. You just know that he is destined for promotion! The other brother, Andy (Ronald Howard) is rather gauche and somewhat headstrong. You just know he is destined to go awry!

Thanks to his gullible temperament and a bit of help from shady nightclub owner Felix Fenton (M. Reed) and all-round bad girl Jackie (C. Norden), employed at the club as a singer, Andy ends up getting chucked out of the force after having bought stolen goods to by presents for his new girlfriend. Yes, you can guess who that is!

Things get a bit more complicated after the brothers sister Julie (Anne Crawford) falls for Felix Fenton and wedding bells are in the air. You just know that this is a marriage destined to go wrong! For starters, Felix, rat that he is, is having a fling with Jackie who as we know is a no-good tramp manipulating the male species to her own ends. As a result, silly Andy ends up in the slammer. When goody-two-shoes Julie finds out that her louse of a husband has the occasional get-together with Jackie, the stage is set for some highly entertaining catfights complete with pulp fiction-style dialogue. That said, we are also treated to some corking one-liners between Felix and Jackie. As the situation escalates, it becomes a matter of life and death…

Maxwell Reed and Christine Norden are simply hilarious as the good-for-nothing Felix and Jackie. Reed, never the best of actors, is here perfectly cast! Oh, how can one forget an appearance by the incomparable Sidney James, ‘Mr. Adonis’ himself, in the part of a slimy club pianist. Some atmospheric location shots down by the docks and a competent direction by Harold Huth make this fast-paced romp highly enjoyable, and many may consider it in a number of respects superior to the much better known Waterloo Road.