Brute Force
Director: Jules Dassin
Year Released: 1947
Rating: 2.5
A fairly efficient, ever so slightly rough-around-the-edges men-in-prison film, with desperate Burt Lancaster trying to break out with the help of some friends - likewise, nasty cop Hume Cronyn (fantastic at being sleazy and manipulative) uses dirty tactics to usurp Lancaster's plans. This genre is literally flooded with masterpieces - Le Trou, The Shawshank Redemption and A Man Escaped being but three - and though it doesn't belong in that class, it's serviceable. To its credit, it does a fair job of giving some background info on Lancaster's cellmates, particularly their past trouble with some troublesome women.
