Night and the City 1950

Night and the City

1950 · United States · Directed by Jules Dassin · 95 min

TenseBleak Great first watch · Easy Film noir

Jules Dassin’s Night and the City (1950) exists in American and British versions with different scores and running times. The 1992 film starring Robert De Niro is a separate adaptation.

Edited by Monocurator

Night and the City: American or British version?

The 95-minute American and 101-minute British versions are two presentations of Jules Dassin’s 1950 film. They have different scores as well as different running times. The 1992 film with Robert De Niro is a separate adaptation.

The two versions of Dassin’s film
PresentationWhat changes
American95 minutesCriterion’s listing

Music by Franz Waxman. AFI records that the studio replaced Benjamin Frankel’s score and shortened the film by approximately six minutes for its American release.
British101 minutesCriterion’s complete British version

Music by Benjamin Frankel. This is the longer British presentation included in Criterion’s edition. The score makes comparison worthwhile even before you begin looking for differences in the edit.

Criterion’s edition details · AFI’s production history

Start with the American presentation used in this guide. If Harry’s restless journey stays with you, try the British version next and listen to how the music changes the same streets. A longer runtime alone is not a reason to call one version definitive.

How is the 1992 Night and the City different?

Irwin Winkler’s film stars Robert De Niro and Jessica Lange and moves Gerald Kersh’s story from London’s wrestling world to New York’s boxing clubs. As AFI explains, it is another film version of the novel. Look for the year and lead actor when choosing: Widmark in 1950, De Niro in 1992.

What to expect

Dassin makes London a nocturnal maze of stairways, alleys, clubs, and exhausted bodies. Richard Widmark’s speed turns ambition into a physical condition, while the US and British versions preserve distinct score and runtime histories.

How to ease in

The primary guide uses Criterion’s 95-minute US presentation; Criterion also includes a complete 101-minute British version. In either one, follow Harry’s promises—each creates the next person who needs him to fail.

Heads-up

A quick, non-exhaustive note Includes sustained wrestling violence, murder, strangulation, criminal exploitation, betrayal, intimate coercion, and fatalistic distress.
Momo's Note May contain spoilers Who is Momo? →

A London hustler tries to control professional wrestling and discovers that every shortcut places him deeper inside another person’s territory.

I watch Harry run as though speed can become a country of his own. The city keeps proving otherwise: every doorway belongs to someone, and every favour already has a border.

Open the note ↓

I watch Harry run as though speed can become a country of his own. The city keeps proving otherwise: every doorway belongs to someone, and every favour already has a border.

— Momo

Momo guiding the way into this film

Credits & versions

Credits
Cast
Richard Widmark · Gene Tierney · Googie Withers
Screenplay
Jo Eisinger
Production
Samuel G. Engel · Twentieth Century Productions, Ltd.
Cinematography
Max Greene

Version map

Criterion US presentation95 min · US95 minutes is attached only to the named Criterion US presentation. No unsupported cut, score, territory, frame rate, source element, or restoration detail is inferred.Runtime reference · Checked 2026-08-21
Criterion complete British version101 min · UKCriterion identifies a complete 101-minute British version alongside the 95-minute US presentation.Checked 2026-08-21

Where to go next

Want a gentler, shorter, or stranger next film? Ask Momo for something like this →
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More from 1950 → More by Jules Dassin →

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