patherto

All the bad guys sneer. All the good guys agonize. And, true to his status in this cookie cutter movie, John Garfield alternates sneers and agony. Good camera-work and a few well- done pieces (I must give credit to the kidnapping/murder scene) do not a film noir make. In true noir, *everybody* is guilty until proved innocent. In "Force of Evil," the schematic plot gives us a cornball melodrama in place of gritty "realism." I'm not a huge fan of Garfield—I can take him or leave him—and here, wearing his angst on his sleeve, I'll leave him. The whole plot turns on brotherly love…huh? The innocent young thing was cute, but she was on display way more than her part deserved. Tearing the cover off the numbers racket, ironic in these days of state-sponsored lotteries, just does not set my pulse racing. I'll give them a few nice shots, but almost any second-line director could have done this film just as well. If this is your idea of noir, you have some (very pleasurable) learning to do.