BRUTE FORCE (CRITERION COLLECTION)

Details

• Release Year: 1947
• Genre: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
• Plot: As hard-hitting as its title, Brute Force was the first of Jules Dassin's forays into the crime genre, a prison melodrama that also takes a critical look at American society. Burt Lancaster is the timeworn Joe Collins, who, along with his fellow inmates, lives under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey (a riveting Hume Cronyn). Only Collins's dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains? Matter-of-fact and ferocious, Brute Force builds to an explosive climax that shows the lengths men will go to when fighting for their freedom.
• Cast: Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines, Anita Colby, Sam Levene, Jeff Corey, John Hoyt, Jack Overman, Roman Bohnen, Sir Lancelot, Vince Barnett, Jay C. Flippen, Richard Gaines, Frank Puglia, James Bell, Howard Duff, Art Smith, Whit Bissell, Bobby Barber, Guy Beach, Ralph Brooks, Paul Bryar, Howland Chamberlain, Eddy Chandler, Edmund Cobb, Claudette Colbert, Gino Corrado, William Cozzo, Rex Dale, Virginia Farmer, Al Ferguson, Alex Frazer, Chuck Hamilton, John Harmon, Herbert Heywood, Al Hill, Lee Kendall, Rex Lease, Jack S. Lee, Will Lee, Kenneth MacDonald, Fred MacMurray, Hal Malone, Frank Marlowe, Francis McDonald, Don McGill, Larry McGrath, Charles McGraw, Howard M. Mitchell, Edmond O'Brien, William H. O'Brien, Frank O'Connor, James O'Rear, Blanche Obronska, Kenneth Patterson, Charles Perry, Carl Rhodes, Sam Rizhallah, Wally Rose, Gene Roth, Jerry Salvail, Ruth Sanderson, Tom Steele, Glenn Strange, Ray Teal, Kippee Valez, Dale Van Sickel, Peter Virgo, Billy Wayne, Crane Whitley, Harry Wilson, Bud Wolfe, Jules Dassin, Richard Brooks, Robert Patterson
• Director: Jules Dassin
• Runtime: 1:38
• Company: The Criterion Collection, Universal Pictures, Upcoast Film Consultants, Inc.
• Media Format: Movie