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List Price: $14.98Amazon.com's Price: $13.49 You Save: $1.49 (10%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0017153134285
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC
Label: Republic Pictures
Manufacturer: Republic Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Republic Pictures
Region Code: 1
Release Date: May 11, 2004
Running Time: 82 minutes
Sales Rank: 25081
Studio: Republic Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 1948
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Based on an obscure crime novel titled Tucker's People, Abraham Polonsky's Force of Evil has attained classic status since its release in 1948, when film noir was thriving on the fringes of the Hollywood studio system, where the shadowy attributes of noir were allowed their fullest expression. Which is to say, this gritty drama is drenched in greed, cynicism, and corruption of the soul, as embodied by John Garfield in one of his most memorable roles. He's perfectly cast as Joe Morse, a lawyer whose connection to a ruthless racketeer has nearly destroyed his sense of morality. His participation in a rigged numbers racket could prove disastrous for his high-strung older brother (superbly played by Thomas Gomez), whose small-time policy bank stands to go broke when the rigged numbers pay off--a financial windfall for Joe's powerful boss at everyone else's expense.
Joe's corruption is tempered only by remnants of guilt and his redeeming attraction to Edna (Marie Windsor), his brother's secretary, whose common decency gnaws at Joe's rotten conscience. But before Joe can rise from his self-made hell, Force of Evil takes him to the darkest pit of tragic humanity--a downward spiral perfectly expressed through George Barnes's exquisitely stark cinematography. In style and substance, this is quintessential noir, its plot unfolding with uncompromising toughness and intelligence. More's the pity, then, that director Polonsky was later victimized by the Hollywood blacklist, curtailing a promising career for two decades until Polonsky directed Robert Redford in 1969's Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here. It seems only fitting, then, that Polonsky's remarkable debut is now recognized as one of the finest dramas of its kind. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - No Force Here !
Force Of Evil just doesn't measure up to its press clippings. The convuluted plot lacks action and the acting of Garfield is strictly wooden. He produces no empathy for the character and can spark no chemistry with his female lead. Marie Windsor is used as a throw in and completely wasted here. Garfield delivers every line as if he's invoking some speech for the ages and the dialogue is just plain stupid. As Film Noir, it is neither good noir nor a good film and lacks the necessary force ... Read More
Rating:  - Down I went, down and down, down to the bottom of the world...
...down and down... and down
...down...
...down.
Wait, who was I listening to? And was someone else listening? Was I listening to the telephone? Or was the telephone also listening?
I feel it here... and here... and sometimes here... and here too... and over here...
The rest of you might fall for this poetry of the streets stuff, but not me. I got an ear, see, and it's telling me to stop listening.
The direction, cinematography, ... Read More
Rating:  - Force of Evil
A dark, cynical film about the culture of greed in America, "Force of Evil" helped earn director Polonsky and its talented star, John Garfield, a place on the Hollywood blacklist. With its edgy moral themes and exquisite angled lighting by George Barnes (who visited an Edward Hopper exhibit to achieve the look), "Evil" has influenced many, including Martin Scorsese. In his finest role, Garfield soars as a chiseled, hard-driving lawyer, abetted by Beatrice Pearson (as a secretarial voice of conscience) and Gomez, ... Read More
Rating: - The art of darkness
Force of Evil was a massive disappointment to me when I first saw it, but on a much belated second viewing I'm amazed I got it so wrong. The script is superb, the cast excellent - with John Garfield and Thomas Gomez on top form - and the scam all too believable. The relationship between Garfield's numbers racket lawyer and Beatrice Pearson's `nice' girl is also beautifully realised: in most films, the `nice' girl offers the chance of redemption, but this turns that cliché completely on its head - his interest is ... Read More
Rating: - One of the classic noirs, with a great performance by John Garfield
Joe Morse (John Garfield) is a smart, cocky New York lawyer, and as corrupt as they come. "This is Wall Street," Joe tells us at the start of Force of Evil, "and today was important because tomorrow, July Fourth, I intended to make my first million dollars. An exciting day in any man's life. Temporarily, the enterprise was slightly illegal. You see, I was the lawyer for the numbers racket." Joe has a problem. His older brother, Leo (Thomas Gomez), runs a neighborhood numbers operation. Leo is a decent small-timer ... Read More
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