Force of Evil 1950
7.2 / 10
Force of Evil
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.
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.
Videos & Photos
All 1 Videos & 32 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Joe Morse
... Leo Morse
... Edna Tucker
... Freddie Bauer
... Ben Tucker
... Bill Ficco
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by John Chard
Black sheep like to make everybody else look black. Force of Evil is directed by Abraham Polonsky, who also adapts the screenplay from the Ira Wolfert novel Tucker's People. It stars John Garfield, Thomas Gomez, Beatrice Pearson, Marie Windsor, Howard Chamberlain and Roy Roberts. Music is by David Raksin and cinematography by George Barnes. Plot finds Garfield as lawyer Joe Morse, who works for powerful gangster Ben Tucker (Roberts). Tucker has a plan to control all of the numbers rackets in New York, something that with the fix on the numbers up and coming for the 4th July, will see all of the smaller number rackets go bust. This is a problem for Morse because his big brother Leo (Gomez), is one such operator, an honest good guy who did everything he could to ensure that Joe had a proper start in life. It has come to be regarded as an influential and important movie in the film noir pantheon. Big critics, big film makers and film noir aficionados, all have queued up to salute Polonsky's film. If it's worthy of such elegant praise will always be debatable, but film does have a uniqueness about it, using stylised dialogue passages and in opening up a corrupt and socially bankrupt can of worms for the cinema loving world, Polonsky has crafted a thematically potent 1940's crime picture. The exchanges between Garfield and love interest Pearson, have an almost poetic flow to them, this in a film that for most of its running time shows that badness can not be beaten, or at best that it can't be railed against or broken away from so easily. While the biblical tones, both allusions and allegorically speaking, also give the picture some added power. Though mostly talky in the main, it does burst into shocking violence for its final quarter, with a finale that contains distress segueing into the possibility of spiritual regeneration…or maybe that, too, will prove futile? Added to the biting narrative are great cast performances and evocative music scoring, and with skilled location photography adding authenticity, it's not hard to see why it has come to be so revered. Not as bleak as the title suggests, and veering a bit close to being too arty for its own good sometimes, but still a fine experience and it rewards more on further viewings. 8/10
Release Date:
Aug 24, 1950 (United States)
Run Time:
1hr 19`
MMPA Rating:
NR
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
Force of Evil
Black sheep like to make everybody else look black. Force of Evil is directed by Abraham Polonsky, who also adapts the screenplay from the Ira Wolfert novel Tucker's People. It stars John Garfield, Thomas Gomez, Beatrice Pearson, Marie Windsor, Howard Chamberlain and Roy Roberts. Music is by David Raksin and cinematography by George Barnes. Plot finds Garfield as lawyer Joe Morse, who works for powerful gangster Ben Tucker (Roberts). Tucker has a plan to control all of the numbers rackets in New York, something that with the fix on the numbers up and coming for the 4th July, will see all of the smaller number rackets go bust. This is a problem for Morse because his big brother Leo (Gomez), is one such operator, an honest good guy who did everything he could to ensure that Joe had a proper start in life. It has come to be regarded as an influential and important movie in the film noir pantheon. Big critics, big film makers and film noir aficionados, all have queued up to salute Polonsky's film. If it's worthy of such elegant praise will always be debatable, but film does have a uniqueness about it, using stylised dialogue passages and in opening up a corrupt and socially bankrupt can of worms for the cinema loving world, Polonsky has crafted a thematically potent 1940's crime picture. The exchanges between Garfield and love interest Pearson, have an almost poetic flow to them, this in a film that for most of its running time shows that badness can not be beaten, or at best that it can't be railed against or broken away from so easily. While the biblical tones, both allusions and allegorically speaking, also give the picture some added power. Though mostly talky in the main, it does burst into shocking violence for its final quarter, with a finale that contains distress segueing into the possibility of spiritual regeneration…or maybe that, too, will prove futile? Added to the biting narrative are great cast performances and evocative music scoring, and with skilled location photography adding authenticity, it's not hard to see why it has come to be so revered. Not as bleak as the title suggests, and veering a bit close to being too arty for its own good sometimes, but still a fine experience and it rewards more on further viewings. 8/10
Cast & Crew of
Force of Evil
Directors & Credit Writers
... Director
... Assistant Director
Cast
... Joe Morse
... Leo Morse
... Edna Tucker
... Freddie Bauer
... Ben Tucker
... Bill Ficco
... Wally
... Detective Egan
... Hobe Wheelock
... Doris Lowry
... Link Hall (uncredited)
... Sylvia Morse (uncredited)
... Sorter (uncredited)
... Secretary #4 (uncredited)
SH
Sherry Hall... Sorter (uncredited)
... Elevator operator
... Juice (uncredited)
... Johnson
... Mary (uncredited)
... Bunte (uncredited)
Produced By
BR
Bob Roberts... Producer
JB
Jack Baur... Casting
Related Movies To
Force of Evil
Tarzan (1999)
7.3 /10
Tarzan was a small orphan who was raised by an ape named Kala since he was a child. He believed that this was his family, but on an expedition Jane Porter is rescued by Tarzan. He then finds out that he's human. Now Tarzan must make the decision as to which family he should belong to...
Run Time: 1hr 28` . MMPA: G . Release: 18 Jun 1999
Director: James P. Alles , Chris Buck , Johan Klingler
Producer: Bonnie Arnold , Christopher Chase , Mary Hidalgo
Stars: Tony Goldwyn , Minnie Driver , Glenn Close , Alex D. Linz , Rosie O'Donnell , Brian Blessed
A Working Man (2025)
0 /10
Levon Cade left behind a decorated military career in the black ops to live a simple life working construction. But when his boss's daughter, who is like family to him, is taken by human traffickers, his search to bring her home uncovers a world of corruption far greater than he ever could have imagined.
Run Time: 1hr 56` . MMPA: R . Release: 26 Mar 2025
Director: Kaya Frances Moore , Eddie J. Fernandez , Jack Fontaine
Producer: Chris Long , Sylvester Stallone , Kevin King Templeton
Stars: Jason Statham , David Harbour , Michael Peña , Jason Flemyng , Arianna Rivas , Noemi Gonzalez
Out of Exile (2023)
0 /10
Recently paroled thief Gabriel Russell tries to balance his life and mend a troubled family as an FBI agent hunts him down, along with his crew after a botched armored car robbery.
Run Time: 1hr 47` . MMPA: R . Release: 20 Jan 2023
Director: Kyle Kauwika Harris
Producer: Kelley Gann , Marcus Cox , Jacob Snovel
Stars: Adam Hampton , Karrie Cox , Kyle Jacob Henry , Ryan Merriman , Peter Greene , Hayley McFarland
Conjuring the Cult (2024)
0 /10
After discovering his blood-soaked daughter dead in the bathtub, David Bryson attends a self-help group to help save him from his ghostly nightmares. But when a group of mysterious cult-like women offer to help him resurrect his daughter. David's choices will not just decide his fate... but the fate of his dead daughter's SOUL.
Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: . Release: 01 Oct 2024
Director: Calvin Morie McCarthy
Producer:
Stars: Neil Green , Elissa Dowling , Chynna Rae Shurts , BJ Mezek , Jason Brooks , Brad Littlefield
Wicked Minds (2003)
5.3 /10
Holden returns home from college and is surprised to find his overpowering competitive father married to a much younger woman Lana. Holden quickly falls for the beauty and charisma of his step mother. A passionate affair begins between son and stepmother.
Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 01 Mar 2003
Director: Jason Hreno
Producer: Anne Carlucci , Jean Bureau , Vera Miller
Stars: Angie Everhart , Andrew W. Walker , Winston Rekert , Amy Sloan , Frank Schorpion , Ellen David
Havoc (2025)
0 /10
When a drug heist swerves lethally out of control, a jaded cop fights his way through a corrupt city's criminal underworld to save a politician's son.
Run Time: 1hr 47` . MMPA: R . Release: 25 Apr 2025
Director: Xavier Gens , Liam Lock , James McGeown
Producer: Kelly Valentine Hendry , Gareth Evans , Sarah Dibsdall
Stars: Tom Hardy , Forest Whitaker , Timothy Olyphant , Justin Cornwell , Jessie Mei Li , Yann Yann Yeo
Front of the Class (2008)
8.1 /10
A boy with Tourette's syndrome overcomes criticism and discrimination to achieve his dream of becoming a teacher.
Run Time: 1hr 35` . MMPA: . Release: 07 Dec 2008
Director: Peter Werner
Producer: Andrew Gottlieb
Stars: James Wolk , Treat Williams , Dominic Scott Kay , Sarah Drew , Kathleen York , Joe Chrest
The Accountant (2016)
7.3 /10
As a math savant uncooks the books for a new client, the Treasury Department closes in on his activities and the body count starts to rise.
Run Time: 2hr 8` . MMPA: R . Release: 03 Oct 2016
Director: Ivan J. Fonseca , Janine Gosselin , Amir R. Khan
Producer: Sommer Oliver , Nicole Abellara Hallman , Patrick Ingram
Stars: Ben Affleck , Anna Kendrick , J.K. Simmons , Jon Bernthal , Jeffrey Tambor , Cynthia Addai-Robinson
After (2019)
5.3 /10
Tessa Young is a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart. Entering her first semester of college, Tessa's guarded world opens up when she meets Hardin Scott, a mysterious and brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself -- and what she wants out of life.
Run Time: 1hr 46` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 11 Apr 2019
Director: Jenny Gage
Producer: Marisol Roncali , Jennifer Gibgot , Gary Raskin
Stars: Josephine Langford , Hero Fiennes Tiffin , Shane Paul McGhie , Khadijha Red Thunder , Dylan Arnold , Samuel Larsen
Breathing In (2023)
0 /10
1901, South Africa. As the Second Anglo-Boer War rages on, a wounded General seeks refuge in the small home of a woman and her young daughter. As the hurt man settles in, he begins noticing that something is off about the two women, particularly the daughter, and before long, he’ll learn the real reason for why they’ve invited him and for how they’ve survived on their own for so long.
Run Time: 1hr 45` . MMPA: . Release: 18 Oct 2023
Director: Jaco Bouwer
Producer:
Stars: Michele Burgers , Sven Ruygrok , Jamie-Lee Money , Lionel Newton
Karate Kid: Legends (2025)
0 /10
After a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren't enough. Li's kung fu teacher Mr. Han enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.
Run Time: 1hr 34` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 08 May 2025
Director: Peng Zhang , Richard Graves , Shanna Roberts Salée
Producer: Jenny Hinkey , Ralph Macchio , Karen Rosenfelt
Stars: Jackie Chan , Ralph Macchio , Ben Wang , Joshua Jackson , Sadie Stanley , Ming-Na Wen
Wind River (2017)
7.7 /10
An FBI agent teams with the town's veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.
Run Time: 1hr 47` . MMPA: R . Release: 03 Aug 2017
Director: Jason Altieri , Taylor Sheridan , Melissa Yount
Producer: Matthew George , Montana Peterson , Deepak Nayar
Stars: Jeremy Renner , Elizabeth Olsen , Gil Birmingham , Graham Greene , Jon Bernthal , Kelsey Asbille