Review of Force Of Evil

Introduction

Joe Morse is a bent lawyer who works for the numbers racket and is part of a scheme to make it legitimate. His grand scheme is put in place but he wants to persuade his brother to come in on it. If he doesn`t his brother will be ruined as will all the other "numbers" operators. When he visits his brother, Joe meets Doris who he is attracted to. Used to getting what he wants he is intrigued by her morality and despite her reservations she is intrigued by him. As time ticks on, it becomes apparent that Joe`s scheme will fail and local gangster Bill Ficco ratchets up the violence to put pressure on Joe and his partner Ben Tucker.

Trying to extricate himself Joe falls deeper into the sewer of corruption until there is only one way out.

Director Abraham Polonsky was blacklisted by the McCarthy hearings after he refused to name names. He stood by his socialist principles and had to make his living in New York writing under an assumed name. Some of the history of this period has been covered in the recent George Clooney film "Goodnight, and Good Luck."

Considered to be a rare talent John Garfield was virtually blacklisted and died of alcohol related problems at 39. Abraham Polonsky lived to the ripe old age of 88 but never forgot the damage that was inflicted by the McCarthy witch hunts.

Video

The picture is from a good clear print and this is probably the best that has been available since it was first shown in the cinema.

Audio

There is some background hiss on the film but the dialogue and the music are clear.

Features

None alas.

Conclusion

A very dark film which offers no solution to the bitter choices in life this is not one to watch if you`re depressed. Plenty of meat here for students of film there are some amazing character actors that define this period of film making. I`m not sure I`d watch this for pleasure but if I had more time I could probably start to examine it as a socialist dialectic on the corruption of capitalism but there are probably thousands of film students out there that have already done that.

It`s a good clear print of a classic film that used to have to be viewed on 16mm film and can now be carried home from the supermarket. What would Polonsky make of the capitalist structure that allowed that to happen?