Force of Evil (1948)
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100% of critics liked it
(13 reviews) -
74% of users liked it
(1,427 ratings)
John Garfield, in the best performance of his career, portrays Joe Morse, an ambitious attorney who has long since abandoned his scruples in favor of monetary reward. Morse now represents the interests of crime boss Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts), who plans to take over the numbers racket in New York.… More John Garfield, in the best performance of his career, portrays Joe Morse, an ambitious attorney who has long since abandoned his scruples in favor of monetary reward. Morse now represents the interests of crime boss Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts), who plans to take over the numbers racket in New York. Morse has devised a way of doing this legally and above-board, with no violence: Tucker's people will bring about the collapse of the illegal numbers racket in the city, using a race track-betting scam that will bankrupt the small-time underworld numbers banks; an investigation will ensue, along with a call for a legal numbers operation in the form of a lottery, which Tucker will control through Morse's machinations. The whole plan hinges on Morse's estranged brother, Leo (Thomas Gomez), a small-time numbers banker who is to be shielded from the collapse, and who will serve as the "legitimate" front for Tucker. Leo is the flaw in the plan, however, because not only can't he stand the sight of Joe, but he is also too honest to participate in the plan -- he doesn't want his employees, all decent people just looking to earn a living, forced into the employ of real gangsters. Joe orchestrates a series of police raids that force Leo into his corner, and Joe's plan seems to be working out, but then the whole enterprise is threatened when a rival mob, run by Tucker's former Prohibition-era partner, Fico (Paul Fix), starts pressuring Leo, trying to get to Joe and Tucker. Fico and his men aren't any different from Tucker's mob, except that they're prepared to start shooting sooner to get what they want. Tucker decides to hang tough and expects everyone, including Leo, to do the same, even when Fico starts sending thugs around to frighten everyone. Soon Joe is beset by problems on three fronts -- he wants his brother out of Tucker's combination and safe; he is trying to romance Leo's bookkeeper (Beatrice Pearson), who is too nice a girl for who he is; and his own well-being is threatened by both Fico and Tucker, and a state investigator who has already tapped the phone of Joe's otherwise respectable partner. All of these threads are pulled together in the final section of the film, which is as violent and disturbing, yet poetic and graceful a resolution as any crime film of the 1940s ever delivered. Force of Evil was star-crossed almost from the start, as many of the people involved, including star John Garfield and director Abraham Polonsky (a writer making his debut behind the camera, with help from assistant director Don Weis in doing the camera set-ups and blocking), were suspect at the time for their leftist political views. Indeed, the company that made Force of Evil, Enterprise Productions, was also in trouble for the leftist leanings of its films in the midst of the Red Scare, and went out of business just as the movie was finished -- dropped by United Artists and picked up by MGM, of all studios, Force of Evil made it into theaters during Christmas week of 1948, not the ideal schedule for something as grim (albeit great) as this film was. As it turned out, it was Polonsky's last chance to direct for more than 20 years, and Garfield's last completely successful film. And a movie that should have been a triumph for all concerned ended up a cult favorite. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Directed By
- Abraham Polonsky
- Written By
- Abraham Polonsky, Ira Wolfert
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
- In Theaters
- Dec 25, 1948 Wide
- Studio
- MGM
Critic Reviews
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
For all its unpleasant nature, it must be said that this film is a dynamic crime-and-punishment drama, brilliantly and broadly realized.
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Don Druker, Chicago Reader
A poetic, terse, beautifully exact, and highly personal re-creation of the American underworld, with an unpunctuated Joycean screenplay by Polonsky that is perhaps unique in the American cinema.
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Force of Evil is a masterpiece, usually lumped in with films noir of the period, but unique.
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Joseph Jon Lanthier, Slant Magazine
Force of Evil shows how a middling movie can still be an exemplary noir.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
One of the major themed films of the '40s.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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John Garfield
as Joe Morse
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Thomas Gomez
as Leo Morse
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Marie Windsor
as Edna Tucker
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Roy Roberts
as Ben Tucker
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Beatrice Pearson
as Doris Lowry
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Howland Chamberlain
as Freddy Bauer
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Paul McVey
as Hobe Wheelock
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Jack Overman
as Juice
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Tim Ryan
as Johnson
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Barbara Woodell
as Mary
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Raymond Largay
as Bunte
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Stanley Prager
as Wally
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Beau Bridges
as Frankie Tucker
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Allen Mathews
as Badgley
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Barry Kelley
as Egan
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Sheldon Leonard
as Ficco
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Georgia Backus
as Sylvia Morse
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Sid Tomack
as "Two & Two" Taylor
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Murray Alper
as Comptroller
- Jessie Arnold
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Sam Ash
as Man
- Margaret Bert
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Larry J. Blake
as Detective
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Mildred Boyd
as Mother
- Ralph Brooks
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John K. Butler
as Banker
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Douglas Carter Beane
as Man
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William Challee
as Gunman
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Cliff Clark
as Police Lieutenant
- John Collum
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Jimmie Dundee
as Dineen
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Ralph Dunn
as Policeman
- Jay Eaton
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Helen Eby-Rock
as Secretary
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Budd Fine
as Butcher
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Paul Fix
as Ficco
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Joel Fluellen
as Father
- Sherry Hall
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Chuck Hamilton
as Policeman
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Ray Hyke
as Policeman
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John Indrisano
as Henchman
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Perry Ivins
as Mr. Middleton
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Milt Kibbee
as Richards
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Will Lee
as Waiter
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George Magrill
as Policeman
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Bill Neff
as Law Clerk
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Paul Newlan
as Policeman
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Arthur O'Connell
as Link Hall
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Edward Peil Sr.
as Counterman
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Joey Ray
as Gunman
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Richard Reeves
as Policeman
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Shimen Ruskin
as Sorter
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Carl Saxe
as Policeman
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Esther Somers
as Mrs. Lowry
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Bobby Stebbins
as Norval
- Jim Toney
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Phil Tully
as Policeman
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Max Wagner
as Policeman
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Joe Warfield
as Collector
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Stanley Waxman
as Manager
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Mervin Williams
as Goodspeed
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Robert B. Williams
as Elevator Starter
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Margo Woode
as Receptionist
- Jim Davies
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Paul H. Frees
as Elevator Operator
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Bert Hanlon
as Cigar Man
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Frank O'Connor
as Bailiff
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Mickey Rooney
as Boy
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Frank Pharr
as Bootblack
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Bert Davidson
as Attorney
- Jim Drum
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Estelle Etterre
as Secretary
- Richard H. Gordon
- Bob Reeves
- Carl Sklover
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Diane Stewart
as Girl
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Robert Strong
as Court Reporter
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James Brick Sullivan
as Policeman
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William H. O'Brien
as Dancer
- Roger Cole
- Richard Elmore
- Carl Hanson
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Ray Hirsch
as Newsboy
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David McKim
as Cashier
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Louise Saraydar
as Hatcheck Girl
- Fred Somers
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Bud Wiser
as Policeman
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Charles Evans
as Judge
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Dave Fresco
as Gunman