Force of Evil (3 stars)

Force of Evil---a solid 3-star film for me---is a gritty crime drama/film noir starring John Garfield and Thomas Gomez.  This 1948 film, which features another outstanding performance by Mr. Garfield, is one which I recently watched for the first time.

A lawyer for a racketeer, Joe Morse (Garfield) is intending to make his first million dollars on the upcoming 4th of July holiday.  Knowing that the numbers played will undoubtedly be 776, Joe's employer is "fixing" things so that those are the numbers which hit, thereby causing a run on the "numbers banks."  With all the banks scrambling to make their payoffs, most are bound to go broke, allowing the syndicate (Joe's client) to put them out of business and gather the market for themselves.  Stepping in after the crash, the syndicate's plan is to loan money to certain banks, but to let certain others be swallowed up.

Joe's only hesitation in the scheme is because his brother, Leo (Thomas Gomez), runs one of the operations, and Joe wants to warn him.  He plans to encourage Leo to close up shop early...before he's had a chance to receive any 776 bets.  No bets means no payoffs to break him.  The powers-that-be, however, deny Joe permission to do that, forcing him to double-cross the syndicate and take matters into his own hands.

What happens to Leo, who really believes he runs a legitimate lottery operation?  What happens to Joe when the gangsters realize one of their own has double-crossed them?  These are the questions which play out in the balance of the film.

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Force of Evil is an interesting, exciting, suspenseful film, with superb performances by all.  John Garfield was terrific here---another of the many roles which I think is perhaps his best.  Beyond Garfield, though, is Thomas Gomez.  Wow!  He was the star of the show for me.  Really, his performance surpassed even the brilliance of Garfield!  Thomas Gomez may be a name you don't automatically recognize---well, he was Edward G. Robinson's chief hood (Curly) in Key Largo.  Though in somewhat of a supporting role here, he definitely more than held his own with Mr. Garfield. I have to admit, however, that this film was ultra-confusing to me.  Perhaps because I don't fully grasp the "numbers game," syndicates, and "numbers banks," I was a little perplexed on occasion.  I enjoyed the story and the acting (and I always love Mr. Garfield); however, if  I had understood the film a bit more, I'm sure I would have gone with 4 stars.  Therefore, while I'm calling this a 3-star film, it could easily be 4.

The film is out on DVD, so it should be fairly easy to track down.  At one point, it was available on YouTube; however, I can't find it there anymore, so it must have been removed.

Happy viewing!!