THE BRUTE MAN (1946)

PHENOMENALITY: *uncanny*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *sociological*

In this review I commented that HOUSE OF HORRORS, the first in a two-episode "Creeper" series, was much better than it had a right to be, given the temper of the times. I also opined that HOUSE was probably the best film in the ouevre of workhorse Jean Yarbrough. In contrast, the last in the series-- THE BRUTE MAN, a rough prequel to HOUSE-- is pretty ordinary, which probably helped usher the series into oblivion.

The basic story is attributed to Dwight Babcock, who collaborated with George Bricker on HOUSE, and BRUTE's screenplay was written by Bricker and one M. Coates Webster. In HOUSE Bricker and Babcock used the deformed "Creeper" character to take pot-shots at the professional art scene, but there's no such ambition here The Creeper, who never had an origin in his earlier appearances, is wanted for previous murders at the point when he wanders back to a city where he once lived. After he commits a couple more murders, the killer encounters Helen, a young blind woman who does not show fear of his disfigured features. Like the character in HOUSE, the Creeper seems to have a dim desire to find someone who will befriend him, though again the killer is still largely focused on killing those responsible for his situation.

It comes out that two other locals, the now-married Cliff and Virginia, knew the Creeper when he was a normal-looking collegian, Hal Moffett. Because Cliff and Hal were competing for Virginia's attention, Cliff hoaxed Hal into giving the wrong answers on a chemistry test. This resulted in Hal being confined to the chemistry lab, thus giving Cliff the chance to move in on Virginia. Hal, however, contributed to his own tragedy by losing his temper and smashing a chemical container. The resultant explosion not only injures Hal, it also alters his glandular condition and results in the young man's hideous malformation. In real life, actor Rondo Hatton suffered from the disease of acromegaly, and BRUTE MAN was his last film before he succumbed to the malady.

Apart from the interest value of the "origin," though, BRUTE is a routine thriller. Only the blind girl is marginally sympathetic, but she's clearly just a complication in the Creeper's life, as he tries to steal enough money to furnish her with an eye-operation. The Creeper kills a few more victims, including his tormentor Cliff, but he's denied the bravura exit of a death-scene, since the police have to take him alive. Perhaps when the script was produced, no one surmised how close Hatton was to death, but during production, it was clear that his capacity was diminished, so that his last performance was negligible next to his somewhat more noteworthy acting in HOUSE OF HORRORS.