The strange heart of Greene’s darkest novel is indelibly embodied in the soft-voiced teenaged mobster Pinkie, brilliantly played by Richard Attenborough, an unexpectedly savage entry in the celebrated actor’s large oeuvre. Not unlike Harry Lime, Pinkie is a fascinating anti-hero whose resolute instincts for both revenge and self-preservation drive him to elaborate crimes and escapes, including from his intimate relationships. Brighton Rock’s screenplay, based on the Greene novel of the same name, was co-written by Greene and Terrence Rattigan, who significantly altered the narrative structure, replacing Greene’s elegant slow-building release of information with an expository opening scene that delivers all the goods at once. As in The Third Man, ample counter voice is given to the young woman who falls for Pinkie, allowing her romantic ideals to serve a dramatically ironic note that climaxes in the film's remarkable ending which Greene, tellingly, felt was too hopeful for his novel’s true tone.