Force of Evil |  | Director: Abraham Polonsky
Actors: John Garfield, Thomas Gomez, Marie Windsor, Howland Chamberlain, Roy Roberts
Studio: Republic Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
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Rating:  21 reviews
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 78 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: REPD13428D
UPC: 017153134285
EAN: 0017153134285
Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 1948
Release Date: May 11, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
Based on an obscure crime novel titled Tucker's People, Abraham Polonsky's Force of Evil has attained classic status since its release in 1948, when film noir was thriving on the fringes of the Hollywood studio system, where the shadowy attributes of noir were allowed their fullest expression. Which is to say, this gritty drama is drenched in greed, cynicism, and corruption of the soul, as embodied by John Garfield in one of his most memorable roles. He's perfectly cast as Joe Morse, a lawyer whose connection to a ruthless racketeer has nearly destroyed his sense of morality. His participation in a rigged numbers racket could prove disastrous for his high-strung older brother (superbly played by Thomas Gomez), whose small-time policy bank stands to go broke when the rigged numbers pay off--a financial windfall for Joe's powerful boss at everyone else's expense. Joe's corruption is tempered only by remnants of guilt and his redeeming attraction to Edna (Marie Windsor), his brother's secretary, whose common decency gnaws at Joe's rotten conscience. But before Joe can rise from his self-made hell, Force of Evil takes him to the darkest pit of tragic humanity--a downward spiral perfectly expressed through George Barnes's exquisitely stark cinematography. In style and substance, this is quintessential noir, its plot unfolding with uncompromising toughness and intelligence. More's the pity, then, that director Polonsky was later victimized by the Hollywood blacklist, curtailing a promising career for two decades until Polonsky directed Robert Redford in 1969's Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here. It seems only fitting, then, that Polonsky's remarkable debut is now recognized as one of the finest dramas of its kind. --Jeff Shannon
Product Description
A lawyer feels he is getting squeezed from all sides in the rackets & decides to go straight when his racketeer broher gets killed. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 05/11/2004 Starring: John Garfield Thomas Gomez Run time: 85 minutes Rating: R
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
Solid Crime Thriller, but Unfortunately Superficial Character Writing. May 30, 2009
mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Force of Evil" is a crime thriller directed by screenwriter Abraham Polonsky, who also adapted the film from the novel "Tucker's People" by Ira Wolfert. Joe Morse (John Garfield) is an ambitious New York lawyer for the largest mob-controlled numbers racket (illegal lottery) in town, run by the slick Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts). Joe's older brother Leo (Thomas Gomez) runs a smaller "numbers bank" that's in competition with Tucker. Tucker schemes to force all the small numbers banks either out of business or into business with him by fixing the lottery to return the numbers "776" on July 4th. Out of consideration for his brother, Joe offers Leo what he believes is a good deal with Tucker, but Leo refuses to go into business with gangsters.
Although it employs many conventions of 1940s crime films, "Force of Evil" is erroneously classified as "film noir". This is a morality play. Abraham Polonsky expresses his leftist politics in equating the numbers racket with capitalism. The little guys gobble up their clients' hard-earned money, and the big guy gobbles up the little guys. Leo is more honest than Tucker, but they're all criminals. As this social agenda is not about fundamental injustice, it dates the film. But I like the Wall Street locations, urban atmosphere, and Thomas Gomez' performance, which is the stand-out. John Garfield delivers nothing more than superficial bravado. His romantic interest, Doris Lowry (Beatrice Pearson), is a little too precious. "Force of Evil" is entertaining, but the characters lack depth and suffer from overwrought dialogue.
The DVD (Republic 2004): This print is generally good, but there is an occasional spot or black that's not as black as it should be. There are no subtitles or bonus features on this disc. There is a scene menu.
 No Force Here ! October 21, 2008
RC Wade (Virginia)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Force Of Evil just doesn't measure up to its press clippings. The convuluted plot lacks action and the acting of Garfield is strictly wooden. He produces no empathy for the character and can spark no chemistry with his female lead. Marie Windsor is used as a throw in and completely wasted here. Garfield delivers every line as if he's invoking some speech for the ages and the dialogue is just plain stupid. As Film Noir, it is neither good noir nor a good film and lacks the necessary force to make the grade. Overall, I will be kind and give it a C-.
 Down I went, down and down, down to the bottom of the world... February 24, 2008
Mad Dog (Canada)
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
...down and down... and down
...down...
...down.
Wait, who was I listening to? And was someone else listening? Was I listening to the telephone? Or was the telephone also listening?
I feel it here... and here... and sometimes here... and here too... and over here...
The rest of you might fall for this poetry of the streets stuff, but not me. I got an ear, see, and it's telling me to stop listening.
The direction, cinematography, and acting are fine. Even the sound it good. But the dialog is just plain loopy -- and not fun loopy (like Janet Leigh's railway speech in Manchurian Candidate).
This is the first time I ever wished a movie had been dubbed
into Italian.
I don't speak Italian.
 Force of Evil June 22, 2007
John Farr
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A dark, cynical film about the culture of greed in America, "Force of Evil" helped earn director Polonsky and its talented star, John Garfield, a place on the Hollywood blacklist. With its edgy moral themes and exquisite angled lighting by George Barnes (who visited an Edward Hopper exhibit to achieve the look), "Evil" has influenced many, including Martin Scorsese. In his finest role, Garfield soars as a chiseled, hard-driving lawyer, abetted by Beatrice Pearson (as a secretarial voice of conscience) and Gomez, playing a stubborn businessman who equates his hated brother with gangsterism. Brutal and beautifully photographed.
The art of darkness December 12, 2006
Trevor Willsmer (London, England)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Force of Evil was a massive disappointment to me when I first saw it, but on a much belated second viewing I'm amazed I got it so wrong. The script is superb, the cast excellent - with John Garfield and Thomas Gomez on top form - and the scam all too believable. The relationship between Garfield's numbers racket lawyer and Beatrice Pearson's `nice' girl is also beautifully realised: in most films, the `nice' girl offers the chance of redemption, but this turns that cliché completely on its head - his interest is just to see how easy it will be to corrupt her, and they're both well aware that she really DOES want to be corrupted but needs to be talked into it to give her conscience an excuse. Mirroring his similar efforts to talk his brother into the clutches of the mob, the dialog in these scenes is astonishingly good, carrying and complimenting the theme of the film but never hitting you over the head with it. And the explosive moment of panic-stricken murder is as powerful as it is unexpectedly intense.
No extras, but a decent though not outstanding DVD transfer.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
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