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Force of Evil

Force of Evil

Crime · Drama · 1950

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.

Movie details

Force of Evil

“Sensational Story Of a Numbers King Whose Number Was Up!”

1950 Crime · Drama 1h 19m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Force of Evil?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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I Walk Alone

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Pitfall

Pitfall

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An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.

Plunder Road

Plunder Road

Crime · 1957

A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.

The Damned Don't Cry

The Damned Don't Cry

Crime · 1950

Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.

The Public Enemy

The Public Enemy

Crime · 1931

Two young Chicago hoodlums, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, rise up from their poverty-stricken slum life to become petty thieves, bootleggers and cold-blooded killers. But with street notoriety and newfound wealth, the duo feels the heat from the cops and rival gangsters both. Despite his ruthless criminal reputation, Tom tries to remain connected to his family, however, gang warfare and the need for revenge eventually pull him away.

Johnny O'Clock

Johnny O'Clock

Crime · 1947

When an employee at an illegal gambling den dies suspiciously, her sister, Nancy, looks into the situation and falls for Johnny O'Clock, a suave partner in the underground casino. Selfish and non-committal by nature, Johnny slowly begins to return Nancy's affection and decides to run away with her, but conflict within his business threatens their plans. As Johnny tries to distance himself from the casino, his shady past comes back to haunt him.

The Set-Up

The Set-Up

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Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.

Angels with Dirty Faces

Angels with Dirty Faces

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Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood.

The Undercover Man

The Undercover Man

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Frank Warren is a treasury agent assigned to put an end to the activities of a powerful mob crime boss. Frank works undercover, posing as a criminal to seek information, but is frustrated when all he finds are terrified witnesses and corrupt police officers.

Glengarry Glen Ross

Glengarry Glen Ross

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An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office. Unscrupulous salesmen try to hawk dubious real estate to suckers.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Abraham Polonsky

Written by

Ira Wolfert · Abraham Polonsky

John Garfield

John Garfield

Joe Morse

Thomas Gomez

Thomas Gomez

Leo Morse

Marie Windsor

Marie Windsor

Edna Tucker

Howland Chamberlain

Howland Chamberlain

Freddie Bauer

Roy Roberts

Roy Roberts

Ben Tucker

Paul Fix

Paul Fix

Bill Ficco

Stanley Prager

Stanley Prager

Wally

Court is in session

Put Force of Evil on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.