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Force of Evil
USA 1948
produced by Bob Roberts for Enterprise Productions, Roberts Pictures/MGM
directed by Abraham Polonsky
starring John Garfield, Thomas Gomez, Beatrice Pearson, Roy Roberts, Marie Windsor, Howland Chamberlain, Paul Fix, Stanley Prager, Barry Kelley, Paul McVey
screenplay by Abraham Polonsky, Ira Wolfert, based on the novel Tucker's People by Ira Wolfert, music by David Raksin
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Joe Morse (John Garfield) is a lawyer of ambiguous morals who works for
bigshot Tucker (Roy Roberts), bigshot in the numbers racket, and he's
ambitious enough to also take part in the operation ... but then Tucker
works out a scheme to put out all of the city's small number
"banks" out of business all at once and effectively take over -
which is where he hits Joe's Achilles heel, as Joe's brother Leo (Thomas
Gomez) runs one of these banks, and even though operating them is illegal
in the first place, Leo's a very honest guy of high ethics. Leo has always
despised Joe for his lack of morals, but still Joe feels responsible for
his older brother, and he does everything to keep him out of harm's way,
even if that means having Leo and staff arrested for a spell. Ultimately
though, Joe succeeds in havin Leo run the local numbers racket on Tucker's
behalf - much to the dismay of Leo, who simply isn't cut out for
racketeering and likes neither the methods nor the ideas behind it - but
he really hasn't got much choice, as many of his employees who try to
leave are bullied into obedience by Tucker's men. Only his bookkeeper
Bauer (Howland Chamberlain) thinks he knows a way out as he eventually
blows the whistle on the whole operation, but that doesn't only get him in
the crosshairs of his own operation but also of rival mobster Bill Ficco
(Paul Fix), who wants in ... and Tucker is ready to accept Ficco's offer
for a share even, even if that means certain persons have to be sacrificed
- and it's only when Joe finds Leo's dead body that he realizes how wrong
he was ... For the most part, Force of Evil is an
absolutely gripping crime drama, fueled with tense dialogue, awesome
cinematography, and John Garfield leading a great ensemble cast. Where the
film falls a tad flat though is on the romance sector: John Garfield's
love affair with his brother's secretary (Beatrice Pearson) really does
nothing to further the plot, she has "innocence" written all
over her way too bluntly, and her naivite is a bit hard to swallow. Now
this doesn't sink the film by far mind you, but it keeps it from true
greatness ...
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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