Love That Brute

"Tall, Dark and Handsome" was a very enjoyable gangster comedy from back in 1941. And, like so many movies from back in the day, they remade it a few years later as "Love That Brute" (1950). Both versions are fun and worth seeing, though I prefer the original...mostly because it was so original.

'Big Ed' (Paul Douglas) is a most unusual mob boss. While he's very successful and feared, he just can't bring himself to kill folks who threaten him. Instead, since he can't stand violence, he locks up his enemies in a jail cell hidden in his basement. And, to further him image of being a killer, he has his assistant (Keenan Wynn) plant evidence on crimes linking the killings to Big Ed! Everyone seems to think he's a beast...though he's actually pretty nice.

One day, Big Ed meets Ruth (Jean Peters) and he wants to impress her. So he pretends to his kids and later even asks her to be their governess! When she says yes, he scrambles and can only find one kid--a real brat. But eventually she realizes the truth and leaves, as she doesn't want to marry a gangster....or does she? He thinks perhaps she will....if he's a reformed EX-gangster.

Douglas and Peters are fine in the film but like the first one, the child star gets the majority of the laughs. Stanley Clements was better in the first version, but tiny Peter Price is also quite good as a mouthy kid who wants to grow up to be a mob boss. Cleverly written and enjoyable.

Love That Brute is a fun gangster-with-a-heart-of-gold flick that belongs in the 1930s. You can easily picture Edward G. Robinson in it fifteen years earlier, with Humphrey Bogart as the heavy. If you're a Paul Douglas fan, you'll be happy to see him in his typical type of role. He's a natural in front of the camera, in only his first year of making movies. Jean Peters is also unrecognizable from her other movies; it's hard to see the sleazy floozy from Pickup on South Street in her prim and proper character here. But it's not hard to imagine her as Sister Sarah in Guys and Dolls, with Paul Douglas perhaps as Nathan Detroit. He may be a gangster, but he's a total softie.

Paul has a tough reputation as he battles it out with rival mob boss Cesar Romero. When he sees the decent Jean Peters caring for a group of children in the park, he vows to do anything to win her. So, he comes up with an outrageous lie and gets all his friends and cronies (Keenan Wynn, Joan Davis, and Arthur Treacher) to play along. He rents a problem child, pretends he's a struggling widower and hires Jean as a governess. Do you think she'll find out? Do you think she'll love him anyway? Rent this sweet oldie to find out. And if you like this one, check out the original from ten years earlier - in Tall, Dark, and Handsome, Cesar Romero plays the Paul Douglas part! Ninety percent of the movie is word-for-word like the original, even down to the "Chicago" song in the beginning and the Christmas setting. I watched both movies back to back and was tickled by the script, and I laughed just as hard each time!

PAUL DOUGLAS, JEAN PETERS, KEENAN WYNN, CEASER ROMERO, JOAN DAVIS, ARTHUR TREACHER. I don't know about anyone else, but when I see a marquee like this, I just can't resist watching the movie. I never tire of so-called second string movies starring second string stars, so-called. "Love That Brute" is a perfect example. At less than 90 minutes, it doesn't wear out its welcome. Light comedy, yes, but so very well worth watching. To me, the best performance here is by kid actor PETER PRICE as a tough talking, pint size sized mug with an adults eye for a cute tomato. He appeared in only four more movies, which is a shame. Perhaps his role here as junior gangster type cast him. I don't know, but he's just great. The rest of the cast is good too. I'm a fan of each and very one of them. Packing them all into one flick is heaven for someone like me who's a fan of both under appreciated movies and their stars. Also tossed in for good measure are CHARLES LANE, JOE GRAY, JACK ELAM, SID TOMACK and noir regular JAY C. FLIPPEN. They're all faces you know even if ya don't know the names. And if you really love movies, then you're always on the lookout for entertaining films that fall below the Oscar radar but are still fun to see. "Love That Brute" certainly fits the bill. The only thing I really didn't like was the title. Anyway, if you feel like you've seen every movie ever made EXCEPT "Love That Brute" and find it on the Fox Movie Channel one afternoon as I did, tune in. Having felt as though I'VE seen every movie ever made, "Love That Brute" was a great discovery. If it's ever on again and I know about it, I think I'll tune in for another go-around.

Although heavy set Paul Douglas is no match for a pretty young thing like Jean Peters, the movie works. Peter Price, the wise-cracking youngster - whom Douglas hires to pass as his son in order to get Peters's attention - is probably the funniest kid that has ever appeared on the big screen. There's a well choreographed musical number, which Miss Peters and some eight men in tux perform. Telling too much about the movie may give away the element of surprise at the end. It takes place in the roaring twenties, complete with gangsters and molls. Arthur Treacher does his famous butler, Joan Davis is quite funny, and Cesar Romero (who played the main character in the original version TALL DARK AND HANDSOME) is great as Doublas's foe. Even the romantic elements are a joy to watch and make you laugh. I hope Fox markets this one on VHS soon.

Paul Douglas (Big Ed) is the most feared gangster in Chicago and he appears to be untouchable. However, his life is missing something - a woman. When he sees governess Jean Peters in the park in charge of a group of children, he pretends he has 2 children and is looking for someone to help him at home with them. She accepts the invitation. Now all he needs to do is get some children and pretend he is an upstanding member of the community in order to seduce her into being his wife. He hires some of his friends to play maid and butler and the set-up is ready to play out in this comedy. Enter Cesar Romero (Willie) who is a rival gangster boss and also takes a shine to Peters.

A lot of killers seem to make use of their cellars and this film is true to that pattern. It also has a nice comeuppance for the bad guy. There are twists in this story.