{"id":4946,"date":"2007-12-12T11:14:58","date_gmt":"2007-12-12T18:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4946"},"modified":"2022-02-21T15:10:59","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T22:10:59","slug":"brute-force-1947","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4946","title":{"rendered":"Brute Force (1947)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Those gates only open three times: when you come in, when you&#8217;ve served your time, or when you&#8217;re dead.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Poster-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-37642\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Poster-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Poster-768x1155.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Poster-681x1024.jpg 681w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Poster.jpg 997w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA group of prisoners &#8212; led by Burt Lancaster &#8212; rebel against a sadistic prison captain (Hume Cronyn) who is hell-bent on making their lives miserable.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ann Blyth Films<\/li>\n<li>Burt Lancaster Films<\/li>\n<li>Charles Bickford Films<\/li>\n<li>Ella Raines Films<\/li>\n<li>Escape<\/li>\n<li>Hume Cronyn Films<\/li>\n<li>Jules Dassin Films<\/li>\n<li>Prisoners<\/li>\n<li>Ruthless Leaders<\/li>\n<li>Yvonne De Carlo Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPrison breaks have been a cinematic mainstay for decades, and this relatively early outing by French director Jules Dassin is regarded by many as one of the best. However, other than featuring hunky-yet-stoic Burt Lancaster in a star-making role:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography-1024x770.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"481\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-67628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography-1024x770.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography-768x577.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography-359x270.png 359w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography.png 1385w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>and Hume Cronyn in an atypically sadistic performance:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cronyn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cronyn-1024x755.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"472\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-67627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cronyn-1024x755.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cronyn-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cronyn-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cronyn-768x566.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cronyn-366x270.png 366w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cronyn.png 1393w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>it doesn&#8217;t offer anything new to an overly familiar narrative trope. In order to successfully convince audiences to root for Lancaster and his cellmates, the prisoners are all presented as sympathetic and\/or wrongly accused, while Cronyn himself is simply a power-tripping Hitler-stand-in (clearly meant to appeal to post-war audiences). The film&#8217;s primary redeeming feature is William Daniels&#8217; atmospheric cinematography, which successfully positions this as a prime example of prison-drama-as-<em>noir<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The powerful early scene in which a stoolie (James O&#8217;Rear) is crushed to death in a prison workroom<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-ORear2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-ORear2-1024x754.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"471\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-67630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-ORear2-1024x754.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-ORear2-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-ORear2-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-ORear2-768x565.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-ORear2-367x270.png 367w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-ORear2.png 1403w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>William Daniels&#8217; <em>noir<\/em>-ish cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography3-1024x769.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"481\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-67629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography3-1024x769.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography3-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography3-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography3-768x577.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography3-360x270.png 360w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Brute-Force-Cinematography3.png 1373w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo. Listed as a film with Historical Importance in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0039224\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1947\/07\/17\/archives\/the-screen-brute-force-prison-thriller-with-hume-cronyn-marked-as.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2264brut.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/69821\/brute-force#articles-reviews?articleId=440\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/en_gb\/film\/brute-force\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Those gates only open three times: when you come in, when you&#8217;ve served your time, or when you&#8217;re dead.&#8221; Synopsis: A group of prisoners &#8212; led by Burt Lancaster &#8212; rebel against a sadistic prison captain (Hume Cronyn) who is hell-bent on making their lives miserable. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Ann Blyth Films Burt Lancaster Films Charles Bickford Films Ella Raines Films Escape Hume Cronyn Films Jules Dassin Films Prisoners Ruthless Leaders Yvonne De Carlo Films Review: Prison breaks&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4946\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4946"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81519,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4946\/revisions\/81519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}