The Brute Man (1946)

Director:

Jean Yarbrough

Writers:

Dwight V. Babcock (story)
George Bricker
(more)

Release Date:

1 October 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

His brain cried "Kill, kill, kill!"

Plot:

A facially deformed and mentally unhinged man wreaks his revenge on those who deformed him with a series of brutal murders.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Revenge | Disfigurement | Broken Back | Fire Escape

Cast

Rondo Hatton	...	Hal Moffet AKA 'The Creeper'
Tom Neal	...	Clifford Scott
Jan Wiley	...	Virginia Rogers Scott
Jane Adams	...	Helen Paige
Donald MacBride	...	Police Captain M. J. Donelly
Peter Whitney	...	Police Lieutenant Gates
Fred Coby	...	Young Hal Moffet
Janelle Johnson Dolenz	...	Joan Bemis (as Ja Nelle Johnson)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary Ann Bricker	...	Mary Ann Obringer (uncredited)
Tristram Coffin	...	Police Lieutenant / voice of radio announcer (uncredited)
Peggy Converse	...	Mrs. Obringer (uncredited)
Pat Costello	...	Car 22 Patrolman (uncredited)
Joseph Crehan	...	Police Commissioner Salisbury (uncredited)
John Gallaudet	...	Police Guard (uncredited)
John Hamilton	...	Professor Cushman (uncredited)
Warren Jackson	...	Jeweler (uncredited)
Karen Knight	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Patrick McVey	...	Detective at Helen's Apartment (uncredited)
James Nolan	...	Police Dispatcher (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Policeman at Helen's Apartment (uncredited)
Oscar O'Shea	...	Mr. Haskins - Grocer (uncredited)
Jack Parker	...	Jimmy - Delivery Boy (uncredited)
Lorin Raker	...	Mr. Parkington - Mayor's Secretary (uncredited)
William Ruhl	...	Policeman at Helen's Apartment (uncredited)
Cy Schindell	...	Crowd Control Policeman (uncredited)
Charles Wagenheim	...	Pawnbroker (uncredited)

Directed by
Jean Yarbrough

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dwight V. Babcock		story
George Bricker
M. Coates Webster

Produced by
Ben Pivar	....	producer

Cinematography by
Maury Gertsman

Film Editing by
Philip Cahn

Art Direction by
John B. Goodman
Abraham Grossman

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman
Edward R. Robinson

Makeup Department
Carmen Dirigo	....	hair stylist
Jack P. Pierce	....	makeup director

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ralph Slosser	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Joe Lapis	....	sound technician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Vera West	....	gowns supervisor

Music Department
William Lava	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Charles Previn	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Hans J. Salter	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Hans J. Salter	....	musical director (uncredited)
Paul Sawtell	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Frank Skinner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Raymond Kessler	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• NTA (1974) (USA) (all media)
• Image Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Cheezy Flicks Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Admit One Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Lorber Classics Associates (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Sony Corporation of America (198?) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Cheezy Flicks Entertainment  dvd artwork and summary

Also Known As:

Runtime:

58 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Tristram Coffin, who appears briefly as a police lieutenant, doubles as the voice of the radio reporter.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Police Dispatcher:Attention all cars, attention all cars: general alarm. Car 22, go to 733 Spring Avenue, it's a 341, that is all.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: The Brain (#3.27)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Liebestraum No 2 A Sharp Minor

An Extremely Well-Made Little B Picture

Guys, the next time you look in the mirror and don't like what you see, try telling yourself that at least you're not Rondo Hatton. Hatton suffered with the congenital disease acromegaly, which, as Webster's puts it, is "chronic hyperpituitarism marked by progressive enlargement of hands, feet and face." He lived to the age of 52, being felled by a heart attack shortly after making his last film, "The Brute Man," in 1946. This is an extremely well-made little B picture, featuring fine acting by all, a compact story and some real suspense. In it, Hatton plays a former college BMOC who became disfigured after a lab accident and who, years later, begins a murder spree against all his former pals and teachers that he blames for his current condition. He also befriends a pretty, blind piano teacher, who naturally doesn't recoil automatically from the big lug's unique physiognomy. These scenes, with big Rondo and the blind woman, will likely cause most viewers to recall Frankenstein and the blind hermit in "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935), just as his later sacrifices on her behalf are reminiscent of Chaplin's for his blind flower girl in "City Lights" (1931). No, "The Brute Man" is not nearly in the same league as those two immortal classics, but still remains a fine entertainment nevertheless. "Frankenstein" makeup man Jack Pierce contributed his great talents to this film, too, making Hatton (I would imagine) even more of a sight than he was ordinarily. It's hard to feel much sympathy for Rondo's "Creeper" character, cold-blooded psycho that he has become, but somehow, we DO still feel some, to the actor's great credit. Oh, by the way, this DVD looks just terrific; an absolutely first-rate transfer from the fine folks at Image Entertainment.