Brute Force (1947)

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Richard Brooks (screenplay)
Robert Patterson (story)

Release Date:

30 June 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

Mark Hellinger's POWER PACKED PICTURE! (re-release print ad - mostly caps)

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Prisoner | Violence | Warden | Torture | Suicide

Cast

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)
Richard Gaines	...	McCollum
Frank Puglia	...	Ferrara
James Bell	...	Crenshaw
Howard Duff	...	Robert 'Soldier' Becker (as Howard Duff Radio's Sam Spade)
Art Smith	...	Dr. Walters
Whit Bissell	...	Tom Lister
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bobby Barber	...	Jack (uncredited)
Guy Beach	...	Convict Foreman (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Convict (uncredited)
Paul Bryar	...	Harry (uncredited)
Howland Chamberlain	...	Joe's Lawyer (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler	...	Chappie (uncredited)
Edmund Cobb	...	Bradley (uncredited)
Claudette Colbert	...	(archive footage) (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Italian Father (uncredited)
William Cozzo	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Rex Dale	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Virginia Farmer	...	Sadie (uncredited)
Al Ferguson	...	Guard (uncredited)
Alex Frazer	...	Chaplain (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
John Harmon	...	Roberts (uncredited)
Herbert Heywood	...	Chef (uncredited)
Al Hill	...	Convict in Chow Line (uncredited)
Lee Kendall	...	Shorty (uncredited)
Rex Lease	...	Hearse Driver (uncredited)
Jack S. Lee	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Will Lee	...	Convict in Chow Line (uncredited)
Kenneth MacDonald	...	Cell Check Guard (uncredited)
Fred MacMurray	...	(archive footage) (uncredited)
Hal Malone	...	Young Inmate (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Francis McDonald	...	Regan (uncredited)
Don McGill	...	Max (uncredited)
Larry McGrath	...	Convict in Chow Line (uncredited)
Charles McGraw	...	Andy (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell	...	Guard (uncredited)
Edmond O'Brien	...	Inmate (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Convict (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
James O'Rear	...	Wilson (uncredited)
Blanche Obronska	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
Kenneth Patterson	...	Bronski (uncredited)
Charles Perry	...	Prisoner in Yard (uncredited)
Carl Rhodes	...	Strella (uncredited)
Sam Rizhallah	...	Convict Son (uncredited)
Wally Rose	...	Peary (uncredited)
Gene Roth	...	Hoffman (uncredited)
Jerry Salvail	...	Guard (uncredited)
Ruth Sanderson	...	Ms. Lawrence (uncredited)
Tom Steele	...	Tom (uncredited)
Glenn Strange	...	Tompkins (uncredited)
Ray Teal	...	Jackson (uncredited)
Kippee Valez	...	Visitor (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel	...	Guard in Machine Shop (uncredited)
Peter Virgo	...	Guard (uncredited)
Billy Wayne	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Crane Whitley	...	Armed Guard in Drainpipe (uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Tyrone (uncredited)
Bud Wolfe	...	Guard in Machine Shop (uncredited)

Directed by
Jules Dassin

Writing credits
Richard Brooks		(screenplay)
Robert Patterson		(story)

Produced by
Jules Buck	....	associate producer
Mark Hellinger	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa		(as Miklos Rozsa)

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(director of photography) (as William Daniels)

Film Editing by
Edward Curtiss

Art Direction by
John DeCuir		(as John F. DeCuir)
Bernard Herzbrun

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman
Charles Wyrick

Costume Design by
Rosemary Odell		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Carmen Dirigo	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Frank	....	assistant director

Art Department
John Decker	....	portrait painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Charles Felstead	....	sound
Robert Pritchard	....	sound

Special Effects by
David S. Horsley	....	special photography

Stunts
Bert LeBaron	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Jacques Gordon	....	technical advisor
Harry B. Friedman	....	publicist (uncredited)
Mark Hellinger	....	presenter (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Mark Hellinger Productions (presents)
• Universal International Pictures (UI) (as Universal - International)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1947) (UK) (theatrical)
• Deutsche Universal-Film (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Nederland NV (1949) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Nova Film (1949) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2013) (Germany) (DVD) (and Blu-ray)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Roan Group, The (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Australia:PG | Norway:16 | UK:A (cut) (original rating) | West Germany:16 (nf) | USA:Approved (PCA #12441) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1949) (passed with cuts) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Mark Hellinger Productions

Trivia:

When Munsey is beating the reporter for information on the escape, he plays the overture to Wagner's "Tannheuser". Perhaps a reference to Hitler's love of Wagner.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: 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:

Dr. Walters:Important thing, witnesses. Lucky you asked me before exactly what time it was.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Passion Play (2010)

Soundtrack:

Tannhäuser Overture

Powerful, dark drama. Great performance by Cronyn.

BRUTE FORCE This intense, powerful drama stars Burt Lancaster as Collins, a prisoner who's got to find a way out, and Hume Cronyn as the sadistic Captain Munsey, who delights in torturing the inmates. Cronyn is masterful -- cast wonderfully out of character, his slick, soft delivery takes on a skin-crawling menace. Lancaster is appropriately hard and driven, but the fact that he's breaking out to be by his dying girlfriend's side seems facile. The weakest elements of this film are the flashbacks to how his cellmates got locked up. (It seems obvious these scenes are contrived to introduce women into an otherwise all-male cast.) It turns out none of them are really bad guys except Lancaster, who appears to be some kind of gangster. We aren't given much insight into his character; we know he's smart and a leader, but he's clearly got a tendency toward violence. Ultimately, however, it's not about how they got there, but who they are when they get there. It's about what pushes a man past his breaking point and what happens after that. Weaknesses aside, this is a worthwhile, thought-provoking film with excellent performances all around.