Force of Evil
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Movie Reviews of Force of Evil
Movie Review: Certainly one of the more sophisticated gangster movies of this era
Summary: 4 Stars
This review is for the 2004 Republic DVD.
John Garfield stars as a Wall Street, New York criminal attorney named Joe Morse, who works not only as a legal counselor, but also has a secret business partnership with a major crime figure in the numbers racket named Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts). Tucker and Morse have a long term plan of legalizing the numbers racket with the help of New York politicians so they can run their lottery as private legitimate business. They also have a short term plan of forcing all of their competitors into bankruptcy by fixing the winning number for on the 4th of July where many people typically bet the number 776. But there is one minor wrinkle in destroying the competition. Joe has a brother named Leo (Thomas Gomez) who runs a small-time outfit and would be ruined by this fix. Without divulging the details of the fix, Joe tries to help Leo avoid getting victimized by the this set-up, but if anything, the intervention ends up backfiring and then conflict comes from all directions.
'Force of Evil' is in essence a gangster movie and goes into great detail about the nature of the numbers racket. It's overall a very good movie, with plenty of conflict and suspense, but some parts of the film just didn't seem to work. The most prominent waste of movie time was an attempt at a romance between Joe Morse and Doris Lowry (Beatrice Pearson). I think the other problem was the contrived conflict between what was perceived as a "morally upright" smalltime illegal outfit going against an "evil" big time illegal outfit. To it's credit or maybe to its fault, the film shows a more sophisticated side of organized crime, rather than an gangster movie with some merciless thugs who "whack" anyone who gets in their way.
The DVD quality is excellent overall with very little in the way of film deterioration, although the picture wasn't super crisp as some digitally remastered DVDs I've seen from movies this old. The sound was OK but not great due to an occasional short segment of minor audio distortion. There weren't any bonuses on this DVD.
Movie: B
DVD Quality: A-
Movie Review: Classic Garfield Noir
Summary: 4 Stars
Force of Evil is a fine example of 1940s film noir. Polonsky's direction is crisp and the pacing perfect throughout. John Garfield turns in an above average performance as Joe Morse, a lawyer turned enabler for mob boss Ben Tucker, who is played by a not entirely convincing Roy Roberts. Force's plot turns around the effort of Tucker and Joe Morse to monopolize "policy" (i.e., the numbers racket) in New York, and Morse's effort to keep his brother, who runs a small-time numbers bank, from being crushed in the process. It is the brother-to-brother aspect of the plot that provides the real juice for this noir, with Thomas Gomez turning in a riveting performance as Joe's brother, Leo Morse. The female lead, Doris Lowry, is played well by Beatrice Pearson, but, in the end, the character stands to serve only as a sounding board for Joe as he struggles with what he has done to himself, and to his brother.
Technically, it looks as though Artisan, a perennial purveyor of poor quality dvds, has finally gotten a release right. The transfer here is crisp with solid blacks and a serviceable grayscale. The only obvious flaw on the disc can be found in the chapter selections, where the stills for the last two scenes are reversed. The audio is quite acceptable, and the score for this work is incrementally more memorable than most. As for features on this dvd, there are none -- it's the film, and just the film. However, because Artisan must learn to walk before it runs, the absence of special features is forgivable in light of the effort Artisan has finally put into getting the film right.
All things considered, I recommend this dvd to those wondering what film noir is all about, and strongly recommend it to confirmed fans of the genre. If you know what noir is about, and are not a fan, this dvd is decidedly not for you.
Movie Review: Solid Crime Thriller, but Unfortunately Superficial Character Writing.
Summary: 4 Stars
"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.
Movie Review: To be a classic is at times disappointing
Summary: 4 Stars
A strange film if there is one. We know what is going to happen from the very start, maybe because it is a classic and it has been imitated so often. There is no suspense. The film concentrates on the feelings of the main characters when confronted with the various developments that they had not been able to foresee, though they are entirely responsible for them. The business is half crime, half business, since it is illegal business. But it is business all the same, even if it is gambling. There are some risks in this business, particularly the finks that manage the police into hassling you, the gangwar that can explode at any time when one biggy tries to bring another biggy down, and of course your family that can find itself in the pit, unprotected and endangered. Add a little bit of mishy-mashy sentimentalese schmaltz and you have it. There is no depth though in the film itself, not even any real question on the morality of this street gambling. It is just one vision of how violent society can be when dealing with money and that most of the time the people who are hassled and victimized, not to mention those who are the dead victims, are mostly the little ones because the big ones try to remain civilized and proper, though at times the order can be changed. Then one million dollars will not be won on that day but one quarter of a million is not bad at all, after all.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Paris Dauphine & University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne
Movie Review: May the Force Be With You
Summary: 4 Stars
Garfield spends the whole movie leaning on the weak, forcing them to pony up to his numbers racket, and then learning the lessons of history, you can kick ass from noon to night but eventually your foot's gonna get tired and that's when you grow vulnerable. "A man could spend the rest of his life trying to remember what he shouldn't have said."
Beatrice Pearson, as Doris Lowry, looks spectacular in the pearly skin tones of this DVD. She was never a raving beauty like Hedy Lamarr or Suzy Parker, but she had beautiful bone structure and a lovely voice (with some Canadian accents, like Mary Pickford or Norma Shearer). Strictly speaking, she's only a sidelight to the Cain-and-Abel story of the two Morse brothers (Garfield and Thomas Gomez, who must have been fed onions before ths shooting to produce the gallons of sweat that rivulet down his face every time the camera catches him on screen). Pearson's part is small, but it's showy, and should have made her an actress Hollywood could reckon with. I wonder if the blacklist got her too?
They could have done something with the DVD in the way of extras. And "FORCE OF EVIL" may be a terrific picture, but it's got a lousy title (like many noir films, the movie is better than the title it labors under.) Compare it to BODY AND SOUL which is so suggestive and ambiguous (and which inspired the magnificent movie theme). Can't picture anyone singing "Force of Evil" in a smoky nightclub now, can you.