Brute Force (1947)

Plot: At a tough penitentiary, a prisoner (Lancaster) rebels against a power-mad chief guard (Hume Cronyn)
Stars: Burt Lancaster and Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford
Best Quote:  You talk to the prisoners over a loudspeaker. I talk to them with a club. You only MAKE the rules. I have to enforce them.

Dassin was a great director and there are some stunning shots and action scenes. The problem are the unbelievable characters and the lack of a believable plot. Cronyn's so evil, you wonder if he worked before in Stalin's Gulag while the prisoners are so good they should be working for UNICEF instead of being in prison. Since Dassin was a communist, maybe the prisoners symbolized "the workers" while guards/Cronyn are the "Bourgeois" Summary: A good prison movie let down by some unbelievable characters and an over-the-top story.Rating **1/2