Brute Force (1947)

Brute Force (1947)

„Brute Force“ is a 1947 Black & White film-noir crime thriller film directed by Jules Dassin. The screenplay by Richard Brooks is based on a story by Robert Patterson.

On a dark, rainy morning at Westgate Prison, prisoners cram into a small cell to watch through the window as Joe Collins returns from his term in solitary confinement. Joe is angry and talks about escape. The beleaguered Warden, A.J. Barnes, is under pressure to improve discipline. His chief of security, Capt. Munsey, is a sadist who manipulates prisoners to inform on one another and create trouble so he can inflict punishment. The often drunk prison Doctor, Walters, warns that the prison is a powder keg and will explode if they are not careful. He denounces Munsey’s approach and complains that the public and government officials fail to understand the need for rehabilitation.

Joe’s Lawyer visits and tells Joe his wife Ruth is not willing to have an operation for cancer unless Joe can be there with her. He takes his revenge on fellow inmate Wilson, who at Munsey’s instigation had planted a weapon on Joe that earned him a stay in solitary. Joe has organized a fatal attack on Wilson in the prison machine shop but provides himself with an alibi by talking with the Doctor in his office while the murder occurs.

Joe presses another inmate, Gallagher, to help him escape but Gallagher has a good job at the prison newspaper and Munsey has promised him parole soon. Munsey then instigates a prisoner’s suicide, giving higher authorities the opportunity to revoke all prisoner privileges and cancel parole hearings. Gallagher feels betrayed and decides to join Joe’s escape plan. Joe and Gallagher plan an assault on the guard tower where they can get access to the lever that lowers a bridge that controls access to the prison.

While the escape plan is taking shape, each of the inmates in cell R17 tells their story, and in every case, their love for a woman is what landed them in trouble with the law. Munsey learns the details of the escape plan from an informer, „Freshman“ Stack, one of the men in cell R17, and the break goes badly. The normally subdued prison yard turns into a violent and bloody riot, killing Munsey, Gallagher, and the remainder of the inmates in cell R17, including Joe. The doctor breaks the fourth wall by commenting on the pain, futility and impossibility of escaping the system that imprisons all of them.

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
• Jeff Corey – „Freshman“ Stack
• John Hoyt – Spencer
• Jack Overman – Kid Coy
• Roman Bohnen – Warden A.J. Barnes
• Sir Lancelot – „Calypso“ James
• Vince Barnett – Muggsy, Convict in Kitchen
• Jay C. Flippen – Hodges, Guard
• Richard Gaines – McCallum
• Frank Puglia – Signore Ferrara
• James Bell – Crenshaw, Convict in Print Shop
• Howard Duff – Soldier (Radio’s „Sam Spade“)
• Art Smith – Dr. Walters
• Whit Bissell – Tom Lister
• Charles McGraw – Andy, Convict in Auto Shop
• Crane Whitley – Armed Guard in Drainpipe
• Edmund Cobb – Bradley, Tower Guard
• Kenneth Patterson – Bronski
• Kenneth MacDonald – Cell Check Guard
• Alex Frazer – Chaplain
• Eddy Chandler – Chappie, Guard in Auto Shop
• Herbert Heywood – Chef
• Al Bain – Convict
• Phil Bloom – Convict
• Ralph Brooks – Convict
• William Cozzo – Convict
• Rex Dale – Convict
• Jimmy Dime – Convict
• Rudy Germane – Convict
• Jack Gordon – Convict
• Richard LaMarr – Convict
• Frank Marlowe – Convict
• Mathew McCue – Convict
• Robert Milasch – Convict
• Joseph C. Narcisse – Convict
• William H. O’Brien – Convict
• Jack Perrin – Convict
• Charles Perry – Convict
• Carl Sklover – Convict
• Cap Somers – Convict
• Billy Wayne – Convict
• Guy Beach – Convict Foreman
• Al Hill – Convict in Chow Line
• Will Lee – Convict in Chow Line
• Larry McGrath – Convict in Chow Line
• Chet Brandenburg – Convict in Yard
• Jack Lomas – Convict in Yard
• Jack Perry – Convict in Yard
• Sam Rizhallah – Convict Son
• Al Ferguson – Guard
• Chuck Hamilton – Guard
• Walter Lawrence – Guard
• Howard M. Mitchell – Guard
• Frank O’Connor – Guard
• Robert Robinson – Guard
• John Roy – Guard
• Jerry Salvail – Guard
• Peter Virgo – Guard
• Dale Van Sickel – Guard in Machine Shop
• Bud Wolfe – Guard in Machine Shop
• Paul Bryar – Harry
• Rex Lease – Hearse Driver
• Gene Roth – Hoffman
• Gino Corrado – Italian Father Visiting Prison
• Bobby Barber – Jack
• Ray Teal – Jackson, Guard
• Howland Chamberlain – Joe’s Lawyer
• Don McGill – Max
• Ruth Sanderson – Miss Lawrence, Warden’s Secretary
• Francis McDonald – Pat Regan
• Wally Rose – Peary
• Kippee Valez – Prison Visitor
• John Harmon – Roberts
• Virginia Farmer – Sadie, Ruth’s Nurse
• Jack S. Lee – Sergeant
• Lee Kendall – Shorty
• Carl Rhodes – Strella
• Tom Steele – Tom, Tower Guard
• Glenn Strange –
• Harry Wilson – Tyrone
• James O’Rear – Wilson
• Hal Malone – Young Convict
• Blanche Obronska – Young Girl Visiting Prison

„Zelle R 17“ (Brute Force) ist ein Film-Noir-Krimi in Schwarz-Weiß aus dem Jahr 1947 unter der Regie von Jules Dassin. Das Drehbuch von Richard Brooks basiert auf einer Geschichte von Robert Patterson.

An einem dunklen, verregneten Morgen im Westgate-Gefängnis drängen sich die Häftlinge in einer kleinen Zelle und beobachten durch das Fenster, wie Joe Collins aus seiner Einzelhaft zurückkehrt. Joe ist wütend und spricht von Flucht. Der angeschlagene Gefängnisdirektor A.J. Barnes steht unter Druck, die Disziplin zu verbessern. Sein Sicherheitschef, Captain Munsey, ist ein Sadist, der die Gefangenen manipuliert, damit sie sich gegenseitig verraten und Ärger machen, damit er sie bestrafen kann. Der oft betrunkene Gefängnisarzt Walters warnt, dass das Gefängnis ein Pulverfass ist und explodieren wird, wenn sie nicht aufpassen. Er prangert Munseys Vorgehen an und beklagt, dass die Öffentlichkeit und die Regierungsbeamten die Notwendigkeit der Resozialisierung nicht verstehen.

Joes Anwalt besucht ihn und teilt ihm mit, dass seine Frau Ruth nicht bereit ist, sich einer Krebsoperation zu unterziehen, wenn Joe nicht bei ihr sein kann. Er rächt sich an seinem Mithäftling Wilson, der auf Munseys Veranlassung eine Waffe bei Joe platziert hatte, was ihm einen Aufenthalt in Einzelhaft einbrachte. Joe hat einen tödlichen Anschlag auf Wilson in der Maschinenwerkstatt des Gefängnisses organisiert, verschafft sich aber ein Alibi, indem er mit dem Arzt in dessen Büro spricht, während der Mord geschieht.