Solid chiller, capitalizing on the popularity of Rondo Hatton's creeper character made popular in the Sherlock Holmes classic, "The Pearl of Death", has The Creeper on the rampage breaking the backs of those he deems responsible for his facial abnormalities, which occurred when a college rival infuriates his temper (both were affectionate for a beauty in their same graduation class) causing a mishap in the chemistry lab. The police have a city-wide manhunt in place, with lots of pressure on Captain MJ Donelly (Donald MacBride) to find The Creeper with the public in a state of panic, the psychopath a media sensation, making all the headlines. The police continue to have a black eye with the city mayor becoming more and more frustrated the longer The Creeper remains at large and not arrested. The possible key to The Creeper's capture is his utter hatred for the former rival, Clifford Scott (Tom Neal) and his wife, Virginia (Jan Wiley), the two he especially holds responsible for his ugly facial scars. Hatton's Hal Moffet was once a rising football star and Clifford was his scholarly tutor, both in love with Virginia. However, Clifford was the man she was in love with and the nerd made sure Hal got placed in the lab thanks to a failing grade. Jane Adams (the lovely hunchback nurse who met a gruesome fate in "House of Dracula") has a crucial role in the potential apprehension of The Creeper as a blind piano instructor he falls in love with (she cannot see his face, therefore does not frighten at his hideous visage). The Creeper wants her to get an eye operation and will try to finagle money from Clifford, with problems ensuing
Like other movies in the same vein, "The Brute Man" sympathizes with a beastly man suffering from the unpleasantness of fate, whether it is a hunched back, ugliness in appearance, or some other bodily malformation that horrifies "normal society". While acknowledging his crimes and not making excuses for them, this film still empathizes with Hatton's grotesque features (not exactly a comment directly from me, but just in the way movies imply how unpleasant he looks), and having him befriending a kindly blind woman who probably would not judge his looks if she had sight just further elaborates a sense of mourning for his predicament, asking us to at least invest emotionally in the way society cringes at his presence, screaming out instead of simply listening to him before doing so. Still, he kills a woman who cries out because she feels threatened and a teenage grocery courier, so Hal isn't a completely sympathetic figure; he's a bonafide killer who needs to be taken off the streets. This movie definitely has the look and feel of a Universal Studios release, with Hatton's involvement a major factor in its appeal to fans of classic horror. Not deserved of such a low rating, I think "The Brute Man" is worthy of discovery.
It is so tragic that Hatton did not live long enough to see how much people enjoyed his brief work in the movies--yes, his condition was exploited in a manner that turned him into almost a sideshow, but I think "The Brute Man" establishes that the actor could in fact earn pathos instead of just walking around as a hulking brute destroying people.
Like other movies in the same vein, "The Brute Man" sympathizes with a beastly man suffering from the unpleasantness of fate, whether it is a hunched back, ugliness in appearance, or some other bodily malformation that horrifies "normal society". While acknowledging his crimes and not making excuses for them, this film still empathizes with Hatton's grotesque features (not exactly a comment directly from me, but just in the way movies imply how unpleasant he looks), and having him befriending a kindly blind woman who probably would not judge his looks if she had sight just further elaborates a sense of mourning for his predicament, asking us to at least invest emotionally in the way society cringes at his presence, screaming out instead of simply listening to him before doing so. Still, he kills a woman who cries out because she feels threatened and a teenage grocery courier, so Hal isn't a completely sympathetic figure; he's a bonafide killer who needs to be taken off the streets. This movie definitely has the look and feel of a Universal Studios release, with Hatton's involvement a major factor in its appeal to fans of classic horror. Not deserved of such a low rating, I think "The Brute Man" is worthy of discovery.
It is so tragic that Hatton did not live long enough to see how much people enjoyed his brief work in the movies--yes, his condition was exploited in a manner that turned him into almost a sideshow, but I think "The Brute Man" establishes that the actor could in fact earn pathos instead of just walking around as a hulking brute destroying people.