Saturday, January 22, 2011

The Brute Man (1946), Jean Yarborough.


The Brute Man has a clunky storyline, weak supporting acting and some chestnuts of dialogue ("because, you see, I'm blind"), but the approach to the material creates a sufficiently creepy atmosphere.  Rondo Hatton plays a disfigured man who ekes out an invisible existence in a small town --  until he goes on a murder spree that seems rooted in revenge.   Hatton, who suffered from acromegaly (a disease that produces bone malformations) is a quiet, awkward presence.  The fact that this is not a makeup job lends a sense of sadness to the role.   The movie was promoted as a "revenge" story, but the indiscriminate choice of victims and method - back breaking - deepens the revulsion.  

A grocery boy spies on The Creeper in his wharf-side shack.

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