The proper punishment of criminals has always been a point of discussion in society. You have the law-and-order types who essentially feel that if one does bad, one should be treated harshly in the hopes they’ll learn their lesson. Then you have the rehabilitation types who say that criminals need to be treated well, or else they’ll be just as vicious if not more so when they get out.

Brute Force (1947) depicts one particularly brutal prison, and some of the prisoners who inhabit it. From what I can recall, none of the central criminal characters did anything particularly nasty, but nevertheless, they are serving hard time in a place where morale is at its lowest. When the movie begins Burt Lancaster is released from solitary confinement after being locked up for being found with a knife which Lancaster says was planted on him. The individual who did plant the knife pays the price, as the other prisoners successfully distract the guards while they kill him by getting him crushed by a piece of machinery.

But what these prisoners don’t know is that the dead man was provoked into planting the knife by an officer played by Hume Cronyn as a bitter, power-hungry sadist. The officer claims to run a tight ship and carries the “respect” of the prisoners, but in truth, he’s gunning for the warden’s job as he creates tension among the prisoners, in the hopes the current warden will be seen as ineffectual.

The movie is more than 60 years old, but some of the themes feel suspiciously modern. Most viewers will understand the tension between punishment and rehabilitation during a meeting organized by the prison superintendent between himself, the warden, officer and the prison doctor. The superintendent demands more “discipline,” more threats of taking privileges away, all that stuff, in the hopes the prisoners will learn their lesson. But the doctor, a liberal-minded type, spins it around and says that by treating the prisoners like animals, they’re going to be even worse off when they leave the prison.

Of course, in real life, dealing with prisoners is a crapshoot. Some people who commit crimes will straighten up the best they can. Other criminals are weak and find themselves slipping back into criminal behaviour, almost helplessly. While others are already filled with anger and resentment that harsh punishment only seems to solidify their negative feelings toward the world.

The movie doesn’t seem to offer up an answer to the conversation between the prison officials, except to say that the sort of prison run through “brute force” is a powder keg just waiting to explode.

One of the major plot strands involves Lancaster’s plans to set up a prison break. While some of the other prisoners are willing to go for it (despite the fact prison breaks always seem to head to tragedy, at least in some of these vintage flicks), one particular prisoner tells him it’s impossible. He has a motive to suggest this - he’s the sort of guy who’s done well over the years by being the moderate, levelheaded sort who follows the rules and has the respect of the prison staff. He’s smart enough to know not to cause trouble and risk his parole. But then his parole is taken away - and his feelings change...

This movie is extremely violent and grim for 1947. The killing in the machine press is brutal and unexpected - sure, you don’t see any actual body getting crushed, but that moment and the moments leading up to it is still a surprise to see just for its cold-bloodedness.

But the real violence and sickness involves everything involving Hume Cronyn’s officer. Some of his behaviour is reminiscent of Nazi Germany, which had only been defeated two years previously. The fascist imagery includes a scene where he walks out on top of the watchtower and the prisoners chant and yell from below, as if greeting a totalitarian leader. Some of his own violent behaviour includes torturing a prisoner with a piece of thick rubber hose. The fact the camera cuts away to another room, while all we hear are the screens, made me think all sorts of possible vile ways to abuse and violate someone with such an object (or maybe I’m just vaguely perverse).

And the finale is just *insanely* violent. If it weren’t for the fact the Production Code wouldn’t have allowed blood, Brute Force would have been one gruesome movie. As it is, the violence is relentless, and the final message of the picture is just as bleak. The final lines of the movie apply to the prisoners, but anyone watching this movie will suspect those lines would apply to all of us.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD