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      Brute Force

      Released Jul 8, 1947 1h 38m Mystery & Thriller List
      95% Tomatometer 21 Reviews 87% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings Released from solitary confinement, prisoner Joe Collins (Burt Lancaster) learns that his supportive wife, Ruth (Ann Blyth), is refusing surgery to treat her potentially deadly cancer, unless Joe can be by her side after the operation. But while Joe is plotting his escape with fellow prisoner Gallagher (Charles Bickford), a violent incident in the prison machine shop causes the entire prison to go into lockdown mode, overseen by the mean-spirited guard Captain Munsey (Hume Cronyn). Read More Read Less

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      Critics Reviews

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      Dave Kehr Chicago Reader The escape sequence has the spatial intricacy of the heist in Dassin's Rififi, but the tone is tougher, bleaker, and more suspenseful. Apr 8, 2008 Full Review Variety Staff Variety Bristling, biting dialog by Richard Brooks paints broad cameos as each character takes shape under existing prison life. Apr 8, 2008 Full Review Tom Milne Time Out This is one of Dassin's best films. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Roger Moore Movie Nation The greatest prison break movie from the film noir era. Rated: 3.5/4 Apr 5, 2024 Full Review Brian Susbielles InSession Film What is a prison film noir features striking political parallels... Mar 7, 2023 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review The film suggests that the struggle, though it may certainly end in defeat, is not defeatist; it punctuates the moral and legal paradox surrounding both our penal system and everyday lives. Rated: 4/4 Mar 21, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Steve D Lancaster is really good but you have seen it all before. 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 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 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 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 out of 5 stars 04/05/22 Full Review paul d Jules Dassin's Brute Force is a bleak, relentless and intricate tale told with outstanding cinematography and dialogue. Burt Lancaster is mesmerizing. The film also made me wonder what criteria the censors used in 1947, because this seems to be more raw than most films before or after it. Brute Force is violent, shows prisoners systematically as the good guys and underdogs, and the prison hierarchy as evil. The film throws in strong political messages as well, just two years after WW2, with an excellent Hume Cronyn becoming a sadistic and violent autocrat that recalled the tyrants that had so recently been defeated. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Released from solitary confinement, prisoner Joe Collins (Burt Lancaster) learns that his supportive wife, Ruth (Ann Blyth), is refusing surgery to treat her potentially deadly cancer, unless Joe can be by her side after the operation. But while Joe is plotting his escape with fellow prisoner Gallagher (Charles Bickford), a violent incident in the prison machine shop causes the entire prison to go into lockdown mode, overseen by the mean-spirited guard Captain Munsey (Hume Cronyn).
      Director
      Jules Dassin
      Screenwriter
      Richard Brooks
      Production Co
      Universal International Pictures, Mark Hellinger Productions
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jul 8, 1947, Limited
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Nov 10, 2016
      Runtime
      1h 38m
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