The Brute Man
by Jean Yarbrough
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Donald MacBride, Jan Wiley, Jane Adams, Peter Whitney, Tom NealDirector: Jean Yarbrough
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 59 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-07-20
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Brute Man
Movie Review: Rondo Hatton makes this film a memorable one
Summary: 4 Stars
There is just something strangely compelling about 1946's The Brute Man. Rondo Hatton played "The Creeper," a serial killer terrorizing a whole city, specifically targeting the people he blames for an accident that essentially ruined his life. Back in his senior year of college, Hal Moffet suffered a terrible accident (brought on by a fateful mixture of love, jealousy, temper, and chemicals) that left his face disfigured. Now, he keeps to the shadows and only goes out at night because his appearance frightens everyone who gets a good look at him. Frankly, he has a right to be resentful and mentally unbalanced, given the set of circumstances that ruined his life. Over the years, though, his anger has grown to uncontrollable proportions, giving birth to "the Creeper." As murders seem to keep happening one after another, the police force finds itself stymied in its investigation of the heinous crimes - although they do almost catch Hal early on in the film. He evades them by climbing a fire escape and entering the apartment of a lovely young woman named Helen Paige (Jane Adams). Not only is she not afraid of her unexpected visitor, she is even nice to him - and no one has been nice to Hal in a long time. It isn't until his second visit to Helen's apartment that he learns she is blind. Still, a definite connection is made between the two - and something of the man Hal used to be is gradually revealed to the viewer. You do come to feel sorry for the man, but it's certainly not enough to redeem him - he is, after all, a vicious murderer with a lot of blood on his hands.
Rondo Hatton died before this movie was released, which only adds another dimension of tragedy to the whole film. Hatton was a brave (and some would say exploited) actor, a man who basically created the ubiquitous "Creeper" persona because it was the only type of character he could play. Hatton was exposed to mustard gas during World War I, and that may or may not have contributed to the onset of acromegaly in the young actor a few years later. This disease attacks the pituitary gland and causes abnormal growth in the patient, producing the kinds of facial deformities that define Hatton's character in this film. The man wasn't a great actor, but I think the link between his own reality and that of his character lends an unquantifiable yet definitely detectable power to his performance. It certainly makes The Brute Man a memorable film - and in some ways a disquieting one that will leave you with mixed emotions over the character of the tragic killer.
Summary of The Brute Man
Lock your doors! Fasten the windows! "The Creeper" is on the loose and the police are powerless to stop his bloody rampage! A revenge tale of "B" proportions, "The Brute Man" is the story of Hal Moffat, a college student who is horribly disfigured in a laboratory accident. Years later, he returns to punish those responsible for his hideous fate.Rondo Hatton had appeared briefly in such Hollywood classics as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Ox-Bow Incident, but his later status as a cult icon is kept alive by his roles in low-budget B?thrillers. His massive, misshapen head, gigantic hands, and towering presence were the result of acromegaly, a disease that causes bones to be enlarged and misproportioned. The Brute Man was Hatton's last film and only headlining role--he died soon after filming. He stars as the Creeper, a mysterious killer taking his revenge on those he holds responsible for the accident that disfigured him, but whose heart is softened by a blind girl who befriends him--kind of a twisted take on Beauty and the Beast. The slapdash production suffers from an underwritten script and lackluster performances, but director Jean Yarbrough manages to inject some mood and a little style into the production, and even pulls a few surprises out of the otherwise mundane script. Tom Neal, who appears as the Creeper's next target, made his cult reputation with Detour. Hatton was never much of an actor, but he makes a startling presence shuffling through fog-shrouded streets and ducking around corners, and even elicits a little sympathy for a character so filled with hate that he becomes the monster he resembles. --Sean Axmaker
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