Search - Force of Evil on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children Movie Release: 1948 DVD Release: 05/11/2004 Format: DVD - Black and White - Closed Captioned SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 22 mins Studio: Republic Pictures Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Drama, Film Noir, Crime Drama

John Garfield, in the best performance of his career, portrays Joe Morse, an ambitious attorney who has long since abandoned his scruples in favor of monetary reward. Morse now represents the interests of crime boss Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts), who plans to take over the numbers racket in New York. Morse has devised a way of doing this legally and above-board, with no violence: Tucker's people will bring about the collapse of the illegal numbers racket in the city, using a race track-betting scam that will bankrupt the small-time underworld numbers banks; an investigation will ensue, along with a call for a legal numbers operation in the form of a lottery, which Tucker will control through Morse's machinations. The whole plan hinges on Morse's estranged brother, Leo (Thomas Gomez), a small-time numbers banker who is to be shielded from the collapse, and who will serve as the "legitimate" front for Tucker. Leo is the flaw in the plan, however, because not only can't he stand the sight of Joe, but he is also too honest to participate in the plan -- he doesn't want his employees, all decent people just looking to earn a living, forced into the employ of real gangsters. Joe orchestrates a series of police raids that force Leo into his corner, and Joe's plan seems to be working out, but then the whole enterprise is threatened when a rival mob, run by Tucker's former Prohibition-era partner, Fico (Paul Fix), starts pressuring Leo, trying to get to Joe and Tucker. Fico and his men aren't any different from Tucker's mob, except that they're prepared to start shooting sooner to get what they want. Tucker decides to hang tough and expects everyone, including Leo, to do the same, even when Fico starts sending thugs around to frighten everyone. Soon Joe is beset by problems on three fronts -- he wants his brother out of Tucker's combination and safe; he is trying to romance Leo's bookkeeper (Beatrice Pearson), who is too nice a girl for who he is; and his own well-being is threatened by both Fico and Tucker, and a state investigator who has already tapped the phone of Joe's otherwise respectable partner. All of these threads are pulled together in the final section of the film, which is as violent and disturbing, yet poetic and graceful a resolution as any crime film of the 1940s ever delivered. Force of Evil was star-crossed almost from the start, as many of the people involved, including star John Garfield and director Abraham Polonsky (a writer making his debut behind the camera, with help from assistant director Don Weis in doing the camera set-ups and blocking), were suspect at the time for their leftist political views. Indeed, the company that made Force of Evil, Enterprise Productions, was also in trouble for the leftist leanings of its films in the midst of the Red Scare, and went out of business just as the movie was finished -- dropped by United Artists and picked up by MGM, of all studios, Force of Evil made it into theaters during Christmas week of 1948, not the ideal schedule for something as grim (albeit great) as this film was. As it turned out, it was Polonsky's last chance to direct for more than 20 years, and Garfield's last completely successful film. And a movie that should have been a triumph for all concerned ended up a cult favorite. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

John Garfield - Joe Morse
Thomas Gomez - Leo Morse
Marie Windsor - Edna Tucker
Roy Roberts - Ben Tucker
Beatrice Pearson - Doris Lowry

Sometimes one gets the feeling that the wrong people own some of the best movies. Abraham Polonsky's Force of Evil (1948) is one of the finest movies of the 1940s and one of the most beautiful, troubling, and haunting movies ever made -- period. It's been given a nice enough treatment by Artisan Entertainment, but it could have been given so much more. Martin Scorsese is one of its many notable admirers in the film community, and this DVD might well have been issued with some kind of supplement. Not only is the movie one of the best in the Artisan library, but it's one of the most fascinating, with many imminent blacklistees in its cast and crew, as well as the presence of future directors Don Weis and Robert Aldrich. If only Republic Pictures, the current owners, cared about including quality supplementary materials -- even those that they already own -- or thought along those lines, but they don't. As to what is here, the full-screen transfer (1.33:1) is impeccable, with true blacks that have their own peculiar negative glow. The detail in the images is extraordinary, even in the medium shots -- you can even make out the fabric in the collar of the shirt that John Garfield is wearing in the police station scene at 26 minutes in; the final shoot-out in the darkened office looks as good as it ever did in a theater off a 35 mm print (and that's really good); and the cab ride at 28 minutes in is possibly the best-looking scene in a black-and-white film-to-DVD transfer ever. The quality of this DVD puts the old Republic/Pioneer laserdisc to shame -- even the audio is mastered better, with richer, more detailed playback on the audio, and David Raksin's score never sounded better, although the overall volume is very slightly low (but so was the sound on the laser release, and it wasn't as clean there). The 82-minute movie has been given a generous 14 chapters, but there are no extras (apart from an needless 16 x 9 enhancement), not even a trailer. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide