Brute Force (1947)

At a tough penitentiary, prisoner Joe Collins plans to rebel against Captain Munsey, the power-mad chief guard.

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Richard Brooks (screenplay), Robert Patterson (story)

Stars:

Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Lancaster	...	Joe Collins
Hume Cronyn	...	Capt. Munsey
Charles Bickford	...	Gallagher
Yvonne De Carlo	...	Gina Ferrara
Ann Blyth	...	Ruth
Ella Raines	...	Cora Lister
Anita Colby	...	Flossie
Sam Levene	...	Louie Miller #7033
Jeff Corey	...	'Freshman' Stack
John Hoyt	...	Spencer
Jack Overman	...	Kid Coy
Roman Bohnen	...	Warden A.J. Barnes
Sir Lancelot	...	Calypso
Vince Barnett	...	Muggsy
Jay C. Flippen	...	Hodges (Guard)

Storyline

At overcrowded Westgate Penitentiary, where violence and fear are the norm and the warden has less power than guards and leading prisoners, the least contented prisoner is tough, single-minded Joe Collins. Most of all, Joe hates chief guard Captain Munsey, a petty dictator who glories in absolute power. After one infraction too many, Joe and his cell-mates are put on the dreaded drain pipe detail; prompting an escape scheme that has every chance of turning into a bloodbath.

---

Plot Keywords:

prisoner | violence | warden | torture | suicide | 

---

Taglines:

Raw! Rough! Ruthless!

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brutalidade

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mark Hellinger Productions, Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Former Warner Bros. producer Mark Hellinger, who had started his own independent production unit at Universal-International, wanted Wayne Morris to star in his first picture, The Killers. Warners wouldn't loan Morris out, so Hellinger cast Burt Lancaster, who had made his motion picture debut in "The Killers".

---

Goofs

During the fight in the guard tower between Munsey and Collins, guard Tom seems to have been killed, but the stunt actor Tom Steele who plays him is very clearly doubling Hume Cronyn.

---

Quotes

Warden A.J. Barnes: [In the Warden's office: things at the prison have gotten progressively worse] What's the answer to it? Are we going to have to keep every prisoner in ritual solitary? Other prisons must have the same problems, but they clear them up, keep things running smoothly.
Captain Munsey: We've been through difficult times before, Warden.
Warden A.J. Barnes: Oh, never like this. And McCollum is coming tomorrow. Why? Why can't he let me alone? Everything's gone wrong. I don't know who's to blame, but... I do know that every prisoner hates ...
[...]

---

Connections

Referenced in American Grindhouse (2010)

---

Soundtracks

"Tannhäuser Overture"
(uncredited)
Written by Richard Wagner
Heard when Munsey is interrogating the convict

User Reviews

Prison Noir!

This is Westgate Penitentiary, the Warden is a weak man, the prison is practically run by the cruel and highly ambitious Captain Munsey. But the prisoners are no walk overs, they deal their own justice to those that don't tow the line, tired and fed up of mistreatment, and fuelled by the Munsey influenced suicide of a popular inmate, the prisoners, led by big Joe Collins, plot a break out, the fear of failure not even an option.

Brute Force is a cracking moody picture directed with innovation by Jules Dassin and starring Burt Lancaster (brilliant as Joe Collins), Hume Cronyn (Munsey), Charles Bickford (Gallagher) and lady support (shown in excellent flashbacks) from Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines and Anita Colby. We open in the pouring rain at the monolithic gates of Westgate Penitentiary, Dassin's camera looking up at the gate like some foreboding warning, William Daniels black and white photography is stark and making its point, all this as Miklos Rozsa's score thunders in our ears, it's clear that this is going to be a mean and moody prison picture.

So it proves to be, sure all the formula traits that lace most prison films are in here, but Dassin and his team have managed to harness an oppressive feel to put us the viewer within the walls of Westgate as well. This is a bleak place, there are six men to a prison cell, their only chance of staying sane is memories of loved ones and a unified spirit to not be put upon by the vile Munsey, we are privy to everything, we ourselves are part of the furniture. Brute Force thankfully doesn't disappoint with its ending, the tension has been built up perfectly, the mood is set, so when the ending comes it's explosive and a truly fitting finale to what has been a first rate prison melodrama. 9/10