Force of Evil (1948)
Genre: Filmnoir / Crime
Duration: 78 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Abraham Polonsky
Stars: John Garfield, Thomas Gomez and Marie Windsor
IMDb score:
7,2 (8.636)
Releasedate: 25 December 1948
Force of Evil plot
"Sensational Story Of a Numbers King Whose Number Was Up!"
Attorney Joe Morse wants to bring all independent petty gambling bosses into one powerful organization. His older brother Leo is one of those little gambling bosses and wants everything to stay as it is so he doesn't have to deal with the gangsters who dominate the gambling world.
Actors and actresses
Joe Morse
Leo Morse
Edna Tucker
Freddie Bauer
Ben Tucker
Bill Ficco
Wally
Detective Egan
Hobe Wheelock
Doris Lowry
Reviews & comments
Insignificance
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- 3220 messages
- 5589 votes
Capitalism and its inextricable corruption with a money-hungry lawyer at the center. All in all, it's not really my noir. The heavy black and white contrasts and uneasy atmosphere cannot disguise the fact that it is otherwise quite transparent in nature. The most interesting part is how the characters, with a certain moral compass, try to survive in their infected, corrupt world. How the lead role manifests itself is, strangely enough, considerably less interesting.
From the first meeting between the two brothers it is clear where this will go. Garfield still makes something of it, but the widely praised dialogues, some conversations and sometimes his voice-over, are very much about morals. In that respect, film is a bit too often the talking point. Seems forced, as Joe and Doris form a duo, which mainly comes across as strange. The final piece may be fine in itself, but with these objections up front, the impact is significantly less.
Translated from Dutch · View original
scorsese
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- 13569 messages
- 11359 votes
Excellent film in which a lawyer wants to protect his brother who has a gambling business. An excellent plot with a fairly layered story in which the relationship between the brothers is strongly developed. Quite dark in tone and John Garfield, perfectly cast in that capacity, also plays an excellent role. A promising directorial debut from Abraham Polonsky.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Bobbejaantje
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- 2365 messages
- 2119 votes
Sultry crime drama that in some ways seems like a stepping stone to The Godfather. Betrayal and pain in the world of crime have rarely been depicted so realistically in films of the 1940s. In any case, masterfully depicted by Abraham Polonsky, with numerous shots in which the characters are literally and figuratively not at the same height, often also shots from a frog's perspective, all with chiaroscuro lighting à point. Force of Evil is one of those films in which theme and form merge beautifully.
The script is not even that original, you could even call it average, but it is mainly about setting the atmosphere through images and not forgetting the acting. John Garfield is the corrupted lawyer who must face a world around him in decline, where he still tries to save what can be saved. His environment consists of racketeers and doubtful cases. Only with Beatrice Pearson as the feminine pure pole of good in a pool of destruction. John Garfield - who finds himself in the twilight zone as a noir anti-hero - is attracted to her. The female opposite - the femme fatale - is played by Marie Windsor. At times the story appears moralistic, but time and again everything and everyone - including the so-called purity in Pearson's character - is questioned. All this is accompanied by Garfield's penetrating voice over. The vast majority of the film appears to be studio work, but at the end we also see some exterior shots at New York's George Washington Bridge. Dark and intriguing work.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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