This is simply one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. It's a prototype for Scorsese's great gangster films -- cut-throat nihilism intertwined with Catholic superstition to create a world where the guy who slits your throat is the same one that lies awake at night worrying that he's going to (literally) burn in hell. Perhaps you'd expect nothing less with Graham Greene writing the screenplay from his own novel, but the writing is great throughout -- from the terrified Fred's desperate attempts to score a protective date ("my, you work fast, don't you?") to Pinkie Brown's deranged malapropism for a suicide pact ("a suicide pax... that's Latin for peace, you know it?") -- the script is a non-stop collection of great dialog and inspired storytelling. The acting is electric from Richard Attenborough's teeth-gritting paranoia to Carol Marsh's sweet but dangerous naiveté.
If you're into noir and gangster movies this is one of the must-see films.
If you're into noir and gangster movies this is one of the must-see films.