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Universal Pictures
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Power Packed Picture!
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
John Chard
May 30, 2015 · via TMDB
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 drama. 9/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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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
Art Smith
Dr. Walters
Whit Bissell
Tom Lister
James O'Rear
Wilson
Paul Bryar
Harry (uncredited)
Gino Corrado
Italian Father Visiting Prison (uncredited)
Al Ferguson
Guard (uncredited)
John Harmon
Roberts (uncredited)
Herbert Heywood
Chef (uncredited)
Ray Teal
Jackson - Guard (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel
Guard in Machine Shop (uncredited)
John DeCuir
Art Direction
William H. Daniels
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Bud Westmore
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Jules Dassin
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Miklós Rózsa
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Richard Brooks
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The Brother
2017
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2018
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
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Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
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2008 · 14 wins
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1978 · 13 wins
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2000 · 12 wins
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1981 · 11 wins
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