Brute Force
The second of three films that Burt Lancaster made for Mark Hellinger, the writer-producer who discovered the former acrobat and turned him into a movie star. The first of these was "The Killers (1946)" and the three-picture contract was completed with "Criss Cross (1949)," a film Hellinger never lived to see, as he died before production began. His widow insisted that Lancaster honor the contract he had with her husband.,The character Soldier is in prison after taking the blame for a murder that took place when he was serving in Italy with the U.S. Army. Therefore, he would not have been in a civilian state prison. He would have been sent to the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, as he would have been court-martialed while still being a member of the U.S. Army. At the very least, he would have been sent to a federal prison if he'd somehow (highly unlikely) been able to get sent to a civilian facility.,Dr. Walters: [to Captain Munsey] That's why you'd never resign from this prison. Where else whould you find so many helpless flies to stick pins into?,Starring Burt Lancaster - Hume Cronyn - Charles Bickford as the men on the "Inside" Yvonne De Carlo - Ann Blyth - Ella Raines - Anita Colby as the women on the "Outside",Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Seul le cinéma (1994),Tannhäuser Overture
(uncredited)
Written by Richard Wagner
Heard when Munsey is interrogating the convict,Burt Lancaster and cellmates plot a daring breakout. Okay, sounds like a thousand other prison movies, but what makes this the top of the prison genre are the elements. Watching the characters in this gem is like staring down a cobra- they're so fascinating. There are the unique cellmates: meak accountant Whit Bissell driven over the edge, a learned, elder prisoner (Charles Bickford) the tough Burt Lancaster, etc. etc. Most memorable is Hume Cronyn (his greatest film performance) as the soft spoken, neat-nick psychotic Captain Munsey, a prison official who takes so much delight in beating prisoners, he plays his favorite music and strips to his t-shirt during beatings! Grand screenwriting by future director Richard Brooks. Cellmates have only one wall decoration, a picture of a glamour girl. She reminds each cellmate of a different woman who caused them to do time. The dialog crackles loudly: (Sample- Bickford to Lancaster about a cellmate plotting a break: "He said next Tuesday is the day of the break. He's been saying that about every Tuesday for the last twelve years. Twelve years from now, he'll be saying the same thing....") Hey Universal, put this wonderful classic on VHS!,