Brute Force

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Alec B Its often hinting at the greatness seen in Dassin's later stuff but this still moves quickly and the finale is great. I like Hume Cronyn's performances as the villain as him playing against type sort of becomes part of the character's unique psychopathy. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/07/24 Full Review Steve D Lancaster is really good but you have seen it all before. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/24 Full Review nick s Great sets, excellent acting and dialogue. The movie had a gritty, down to earth feel, and the suspense meant that it never got dull. The antagonists had as much depth as the heroes. A bit of philosophy to boot. Brute Force seems ahead of its time. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Very realistic view of prisons. Prisons are like this and therefore this is a great film. The men are packed tightly in each frame. The close ups are art. The deaths are astounding. The sad fact is America has millions of people in prison. Prison guards are dumb, mean, and over paid. Hume Cronyn is the cruel Captain but gets his. The singer at the beginning has a violin at the end with a humming that annoys. The Richard Brooks' dialogue is simplistic. The flashbacks to beautiful women could be cut and more prisoner communication added. Shawshank Redemption is a fairy tale compared to this gutsy film. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review santafe j An excellent star-studded cast giving top notch performances in a terrific prison drama. I stumbled upon this at TCM and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is from 1947 and would be very entertaining if it were in theaters today. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review stu b Burt Lancaster stars as Joe Collins, an inmate at Westgate Penitentiary who dreams--like every other Joe in the joint--of breaking out. Standing in the way of his newly-hatched plan are a cruel and sadistic captain of the guards, a two-faced inmate who is all too willing to curry favor by blowing the whistle on the whole thing, and--of course--good old fashioned bad timing and even worse luck. All of it happens under the increasingly befuddled eye of the grossly ineffectual Warden Barnes, who ceded his authority to Captain Munsey a long time ago. Lancaster leads a fine cast of Hollywood character actors, most of them near the start of their long careers (the film was released in 1947), including (as Collins' cellmates) Jeff Corey, Howard Duff, John Hoyt, and Whit Bissell. Hume Cronyn is all barely bottled-up rage and underplayed evil as Munsey, Charles Bickford is terrific as the cynical old prison vet Gallager, and Art Smith is quietly spectacular as the alcoholic, seen-it-all prison doc. Also with Yvonne De Carlo and Ann Blyth, seen briefly in flashback, as two of the women our anti-heroes left behind. Directed with flair. in black-and-white, by Jules Dassin. Taut and suspenseful, and a golden oldie that's very much worth seeing. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/05/22 Full Review Read all reviews

Brute Force

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