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Force of Evil (1948)

1948 · Feature film · 79 min · dir. Abraham Polonsky

Sensational Story Of a Numbers King Whose Number Was Up!

  • Drama
  • film noir
  • Crime
Watch now On the Internet Archive

Synopsis

Lawyer Joe Morse wants to consolidate all the small-time numbers racket operators into one big powerful operation. But his elder brother Leo is one of these small-time operators who wants to stay that way, preferring not to deal with the gangsters who dominate the big-time.

Synopsis from TMDb

Details

Director
Abraham Polonsky
Writer
Abraham Polonsky
Cinematography
George Barnes
Studio
Roberts Pictures Inc., Enterprise Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Released
1950-08-24
Awards
4 wins total
Running time
79 minutes

Cast & crew

Reviews on the Internet Archive

★★★★★ · Revisiting Force Of Evil · Gissinglover · 2023-01-09

I saw this classic 1948 film noir, "Force of Evil" in 2021 when the Noir City D.C. Film Festival resumed after a year's absence due to the pandemic. Eddie Muller, the "Czar of Noir", was on hand to introduce the film. I took the opportunity to see the film again here on Archives. It is a film that rewards repeated viewings. In 1994, "Force of Evil" was included in the National Film Registry maintained by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." "Force of Evil" is a story about greed and corruption and about the love of brothers. John…

★★★★★ · Garfield’s Great · Junior Mint · 2022-04-06

As a fan of John Garfield, I’ve watch this film over the years from childhood to the present. ‘Force of Evil’ gets better with every viewing. Garfield’s performance in this film, as in his next-to-last film, ‘The Breaking Point’ show some solid acting chops that weren’t evident in earlier films when he was the standard Warner Bros. gangster. Character actor Thomas Gomez also shines as Garfield’s worried brother. ‘Force of Evil’ is a rarely-seen gem. See it for yourself!

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