The neon streets of nighttime Budapest are slick with constant downpours, but the storm is not only happening outside. From now on, there’s no going back: tomorrow, judge András Csanádi must reach a ruling in the case involving his lover. But tonight, justice and unfetter emotions collide… Hit and Run develops all the characteristic elements of film noir with such self-confident flair in 1955 that it would appear this genre had been an established feature in Hungary (which it was not), or that it had not been made just eight or so years after low-on-emotion, wooden social realist production cinema.
Supporting film:
The Barrier
Sorompó, Hungarian educational film, bw, 1959, dir: Miklós Kováts, Language: Hungarian, Subtitles: English, 14’
After being involved in a tragic accident, chauffeur Sándor Horváth has learnt a lesson for a lifetime: never go through a railway crossing without double checking all is clear. An interesting aspect of this short educational film made by the Transport Documentation company is that its straightforward message employs highly creative cinematic methods: the point is hammered home using a chronologically fractured structure and suspense techniques typical of films noir.
