Hume Cronyn as a ruthless prison guard? I thought so too until I popped this baby in and found out just how sinister he could be as an actor. Definately a prototypical performance for future prison break movies. Speaking of which Burt Lancaster had a flair for these types of roles. His character Joe Collins is like a powder keg of visceral rage. The ideas and mood of the inmates are all channeled through him. Great acting all around and how about the gritty realism of this picture? Each frame is like watching one of those old news reels that documented the inner workings of a maximum security prison during the mid twentieth century. Underrated noir film.
one of those films that you can tell was interfered with by the studio. cronyn & lancaster are fantastic. their performances and a great ending keep this from being a total disappointment.
An extremely brutal piece of prison film. The entire film is like a critique of the way prisons are run, it shows what happens behind the scenes and goes right into the psychology, by the establishing of chcracter personality and their background, though vague, offers glimpses of these man, basically they are men like any other. They gamble, they err and they don't get better in prison. A very harsh piece that is also an allegory of power in the United States by a great artist of American cinema.
Here's a nice prison film for you, with Burt Lancast as the tough con and Hume Cronyn as the tougher sadistic guard who watches over him, a war of wills encased in a prison!. . ..
Brute Force is like a film noir version of Shawshank Redemption, except not quite as good despite its influence. The characters for the most part are pretty good (even if they're not entirely convincing) and under Dassin's direction it looks beautifully gritty. The character of Calypso was as annoying as Hume Cronyn was a weasely and rotten little shit while Burt Lancaster plays Collins almost effortlessly. The back stories involving "The Women On the Outside" seemed for the most part unnecessary, but the last ten minutes are brutal and so completely worth it.
In the "Prison film" sub-genre (?), I can't think of a better one than this noir in which prison is meant to mirror all of society. Absolutely hard-hitting without trying to shock (ala more recent fare like OZ) and bleak as all hell. BRILLIANT casting with Lancaster in the lead and with roles going to the gorgeous Yvonne DeCarlo and Ella Raines (in flashback); Howard Duff (radio's Sam Spade); Hume Cronyn (as sadistic facist prison captain); and always welcome character actors Whit Bissell and the (gravel-voiced favorite) Charles McGraw. Maybe Jules Dassin's finest hour (which is damn sure saying much). Soon to be re-released on Criterion DVD, it's one that's sure to be worth the $30!
MCT:June 10, 2008
MCT:March 25, 2008
MCT:February 9, 2008
