Directed by:
Jules DassinScreenplay:
Richard BrooksCinematography:
William H. DanielsComposer:
Miklós RózsaCast:
Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines, Anita Colby, Sam Levene, Jeff Corey, John Hoyt, Vince Barnett (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
As hard-hitting as its title, Brute Force was the first of Jules Dassin’s forays into the crime genre, a prison melodrama that takes a critical look at American society as well. 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. (Criterion)
(more)Cast
![Burt Lancaster](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/384/164384699_2ca976.png)
Burt Lancaster
USA
Best movies:
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
The Life of Verdi (1982) (series)
1900 (1976)
![Hume Cronyn](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/789/163789612_31b5e0.jpg)
Hume Cronyn
Canada
Best movies:
Cleopatra (1963)
12 Angry Men (1997) (TV movie)
Brute Force (1947)
![Charles Bickford](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272321_be30ed.jpg)
Charles Bickford
USA
Best movies:
The Big Country (1958)
Of Mice and Men (1939)
Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
![Yvonne De Carlo](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/280/280895_212b31.jpg)
Yvonne De Carlo
Canada
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Roots (1977) (series)
Band of Angels (1957)
![Ann Blyth](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/165/576/165576583_46e5d9.jpg)
Ann Blyth
USA
Best movies:
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Brute Force (1947)
Thunder on the Hill (1951)
![Ella Raines](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/843/163843288_6da5cd.jpg)
Ella Raines
USA
Best movies:
Brute Force (1947)
Phantom Lady (1944)
Tall in the Saddle (1944)
![Anita Colby](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/612/162612401_1b0850.jpg)
Anita Colby
USA
Best movies:
Brute Force (1947)
Cover Girl (1944)
Mary of Scotland (1936)
![Sam Levene](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/120/455/120455767_17e517.jpg)
Sam Levene
Russian Empire
Best movies:
After the Thin Man (1936)
...And Justice for All (1979)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
![Jeff Corey](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/871/164871666_c9eb1b.png)
Jeff Corey
USA
Best movies:
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Little Big Man (1970)
In Cold Blood (1967)
![John Hoyt](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/036/677/36677235_9136bf.jpg)
John Hoyt
USA
Best movies:
Spartacus (1960)
Cleopatra (1963)
Julius Caesar (1953)
![Vince Barnett](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/496/496842_f4803d.jpg)
Vince Barnett
USA
Best movies:
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
After the Thin Man (1936)
Scarface (1932)
![Jay C. Flippen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/157/987/157987354_8bbbfd.jpg)
Jay C. Flippen
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
The Killing (1956)
The People Against O'Hara (1951)
![Richard Gaines](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/587/161587950_f8558d.jpg)
Richard Gaines
USA
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Double Indemnity (1944)
![James Bell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/497/160497880_c345e9.jpg)
James Bell
USA
Best movies:
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
The Glenn Miller Story (1954)
Brute Force (1947)
![Howard Duff](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/500/500021_fed891.jpg)
Howard Duff
USA
Best movies:
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
East of Eden (1981) (series)
Roman Bohnen
USA
Best movies:
Song of Love (1947)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Of Mice and Men (1939)
Art Smith
USA
Best movies:
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
Arch of Triumph (1948)
![Frank Puglia](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/148/160148377_bdaba9.jpg)
Frank Puglia
Italy
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Casablanca (1942)
![Whit Bissell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/046/576/46576503_d682ec.jpg)
Whit Bissell
USA
Best movies:
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
The Defiant Ones (1958)
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
![Claudette Colbert](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/339/164339131_abedb0.png)
Claudette Colbert
France
Best movies:
It Happened One Night (1934)
Midnight (1939)
Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954)