Force of Evil (1948)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

Please don't spend money on this.

Lack of good storyline.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I caught this on Turner, drawn by the presence of John Garfield, a fine actor. I expected a run of the mill film noir but was surprised to find that the flick exceeded expectations. The script is extremely well-written, without the purple prose one often finds in this genre. The acting is excellent all around. The direction keeps the story line going. Also worth mentioning is the excellent score, a bit reminiscent of Copland, by one David Raksin. The dialogue contains a few bits of populist and anti-capitalist bluster, but considering the director and writer was a Commie, I suppose it's to be expected. This one keeps your attention throughout, and is well worth watching.

An unethical and cynical lawyer called Joe Morse (John Garfield) , with an older brother he wants to help , becomes a partner with a client in the numbers racket . But his elder brother Leo (Thomas Gomez) is one of these small-time operators who wishes to stay that way , opting not to deal with the mobsters (Roy Roberts , Paul Fix) who control the big-time . His employees are like family to him as his secretary, Doris Lowry (Chamberlain) , is like a daughter , then Joe falls in love for her . As the ambitious attorney attempts to save his brother from the mob boss's takeover of the numbers operation . The upright , though criminal brother refuses the help of the amoral advocate at law and he is ultimately forced to confront his conscience . This enjoyable film contains emotion , thrills , suspense , charming intrigue about corruption , and a lot of elements of Noir cinema . Main actor and screenwriter/director were pursued by American government during ominous period of Mccarthismo. Thought-provoking writing credits , written by Polonsky ; being based on a novel novel "Tucker's People¨ by Ira Wolfert . Very good and sizzling acting by John Garfield as a corrupt lawyer . Garfield had a sad as well fruitful life , as he signed a contract with Warner Brothers, who changed his name to John Garfield . Won enormous praise for his role of the cynical Mickey Borden in ¨Four Daughters¨ (1938). Appeared in similar roles throughout his career despite his efforts to play varied parts , being his best film : ¨Body and soul¨ . He played in adventure movie as ¨The sea Wolf¨ , historical as ¨Juarez¨ , drama as ¨Tortilla flat¨, a cameo in ¨Jigsaw¨ and the noir classic ¨The postman always rings twice¨. Active in liberal political and social causes, he found himself embroiled in Communist scare of the late 1940s. Though he testified before Congress that he was never a Communist, his ability to get work declined. While separated from his wife, he succumbed to long-term heart problems, dying suddenly in the home of a woman friend at 39. His funeral was mobbed by thousands of fans, in the largest funeral attendance for an actor since Rudolph Valentino. Excellent support cast gives magnificent acting such as Thomas Gomez as Leo Morse , Marie Windsor as Edna Tucker , Roy Roberts as Ben Tucker, Paul Fix as Bill Ficco and introducing the attractive Howland Chamberlain . Atmospheric and appropriate cinematography in black and white by George Barnes who along with James Wong Howe , John Alton and Nicolas Musuraka are the main cameramen of Noir genre . In order to show cinematographer George Barnes how he wanted the film to look, Abraham Polonsky gave him a book of Edward Hopper's Third Avenue paintings . Thrilling as well as evocative musical score by the David Raskin (Laura) . Adequate photography in black and white filled with lights and shades , portentous interpretations and dark as well as twisted intrigue have made this a film nor classic . The motion picture was well directed by Abraham Polonsky and it was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1994 . Director Polonski was removed from the credits for a time after release, due to the blacklisting of supposed Communist sympathizers at the time . Polonsky was named as a member of the Communist Party by Hollywood 10 member Edward Dmytryk in Dmytryk's 1951 testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee , when the blacklisted director "named names" to revive his Hollywood career and effect a return from exile in Europe . After being named by former fellow O.S.S. member Sterling Hayden, Polonsky himself was arraigned before HUAC in 1951 . He was blacklisted and went into exile . As director and screenwriter , Polonsky was an "auteur" of three of the great film Noirs made in the last century: Body and soul (1947) screenplay , directed by fellow CPUSA member Robert Rossen, who kept his career by "naming names" , Force of evil (1948) which he wrote and directed , and Odds against tomorrow (1959) which he wrote using a front . Blacklisted after his uncooperative appearance before HUAC in April 1951, Polonsky did not get a chance to direct another film until 1968, when he helmed the production of the revisionist Western Tell them Willie Boy is here (1969), which he turned into an indictment of genocide . It wasn't until 1968 that he was credited on a film, for the screenplay for Don Siegel's exegesis of police corruption, Madigan (1968). Polonsky has a short career and after the release of the well-reviewed "Willie Boy," he helmed his last failed picture , the more light-hearted Romance of a horse thief (1971).

"Force of Evil" (1948), directed by Abraham Polonsky, stars John Garfield, Thomas Gomez, Roy Roberts, Beatrice Pearson and Marie Windsor. A tough, bleak film noir shot through with gutter poetry, this is a film that has clawed its way to its rightful position as one of the very best gangster films ever made, with Martin Scorsese acknowledging the influence it has exerted on him and his films.The screenplay is by Polonsky and Ira Wolfert, based on the latter's novel, "Tucker's People". The script is sharp as a hoodlum's knife, and the narration spoken by Garfield is written as though it were blank verse and the dialogue is very highly stylized which gives the film the feeling of a Shakespeare play. Radical stuff even today, the tale of near-Biblical proportions of the betrayal between brothers is a small masterpiece of amorality, guilt and finally a glimmer of redemption.John Garfield plays the lawyer of gangster Ben Tucker (Roberts) who seeks to consolidate and control the numbers racket in New York. However, Garfield's older brother, Tomas Gomez seeks to stay as a small time operator of the illegal lottery, thus causing friction between Garfield and his boss.With frequent allusions to the tale of Cain and Abel and a near Judas-like betrayal, Polonsky's direction is nothing short of beautiful, as is the photography by George Barnes. A scene in a coffee shop late at night, full of brooding and dread is an example of pure cinema. It is one of our greatest losses then, that Polonsky was blacklisted by Joseph McCarthy's House of Un-American Activities Committee and prevented from directing for over two decades. Acting, direction and photography seamlessly intertwine here to form one of the very great films of the forties.

Is money good? Is greed good? Are they necessary? Are they evil? These and other questions aren't necessarily answered, as much as pondered in this tale of a lawyer hired by a numbers racket group and then being embroiled into their lifestyle and the inner schemes. In the beginning we see John Garfield as an amoral self-absorbed individual and his older brother, played by Thomas Gomez, as more of a moral, decent hard-working man, who still works in his own betting office, where people place their bets. Gomez brought Garfield up and sacrificed for him, and John appears to be ungrateful, now living like a king with no qualms about the money he earns and how he earns it. "Money's money, isn't it?" But, as this film noir progresses we are shown that things aren't all black and white, as a lottery ticket. We are allowed to see Garfield as human, with feelings and he is even given a love interest, who happens to find something to love about him. What seems like a dark example of a film noir really feels as a biblical-style tale of salvation for John Garfield's character, with the comparisons of brothers John and Thomas to Cain and Abel, and Jacob and Esau. Others may not see as deeply into it as I, but it is riveting and intense viewing, for all film noir buffs. The ending may perplex some, as it doesn't so much end as move to another chapter that's left to your imagination. But, as one of the more socially and culturally important film noirs ever made, Force of Evil is essential to all lovers of film. Entertaining, yes. But, maybe you can learn something, too.