mark.waltz One of the more unworthy low budget horror films to be ranked nearly as a bomb, I found this to be quite moving. Rondo Hatton, aka the Creeper, is on a killing spree, and the baffled police can't find him, even though they know who he is. He's actually a very gentle soul but how he got so deformed has lead him to revenge which was the result of a college prank enticed out of jealousy. He falls for the blind but pretty Jane Adams who is the only one kind to him. Hatton, who usually said very little in films, has a surprising amount of dialog here, yet is actually extremely believable and that makes you want to like him even though he is a killer. I presumed that his lack of dialog in other films was because of his lack of talent, but I was glad to be proved wrong. As told in flashback by those who do know him, you can understand why he had to kill. Tom Neal plays the man who reveals all he knows, and that scene is masterful in its story telling. Its also nice to see Donald McBride playing a cop who isn't a buffoon, although his final idiotic line seems to come out of nowhere. Suspenseful and gripping, this is much better than I expected. A Hatton lookalike later showed up in a period adventure, "The Rockateer".

Scarecrow-88 Solid chiller, capitalizing on the popularity of Rondo Hatton's creeper character made popular in the Sherlock Holmes classic, "The Pearl of Death", has The Creeper on the rampage breaking the backs of those he deems responsible for his facial abnormalities, which occurred when a college rival infuriates his temper (both were affectionate for a beauty in their same graduation class) causing a mishap in the chemistry lab. The police have a city-wide manhunt in place, with lots of pressure on Captain MJ Donelly (Donald MacBride) to find The Creeper with the public in a state of panic, the psychopath a media sensation, making all the headlines. The police continue to have a black eye with the city mayor becoming more and more frustrated the longer The Creeper remains at large and not arrested. The possible key to The Creeper's capture is his utter hatred for the former rival, Clifford Scott (Tom Neal) and his wife, Virginia (Jan Wiley), the two he especially holds responsible for his ugly facial scars. Hatton's Hal Moffet was once a rising football star and Clifford was his scholarly tutor, both in love with Virginia. However, Clifford was the man she was in love with and the nerd made sure Hal got placed in the lab thanks to a failing grade. Jane Adams (the lovely hunchback nurse who met a gruesome fate in "House of Dracula") has a crucial role in the potential apprehension of The Creeper as a blind piano instructor he falls in love with (she cannot see his face, therefore does not frighten at his hideous visage). The Creeper wants her to get an eye operation and will try to finagle money from Clifford, with problems ensuing…Like other movies in the same vein, "The Brute Man" sympathizes with a beastly man suffering from the unpleasantness of fate, whether it is a hunched back, ugliness in appearance, or some other bodily malformation that horrifies "normal society". While acknowledging his crimes and not making excuses for them, this film still empathizes with Hatton's grotesque features (not exactly a comment directly from me, but just in the way movies imply how unpleasant he looks), and having him befriending a kindly blind woman who probably would not judge his looks if she had sight just further elaborates a sense of mourning for his predicament, asking us to at least invest emotionally in the way society cringes at his presence, screaming out instead of simply listening to him before doing so. Still, he kills a woman who cries out because she feels threatened and a teenage grocery courier, so Hal isn't a completely sympathetic figure; he's a bonafide killer who needs to be taken off the streets. This movie definitely has the look and feel of a Universal Studios release, with Hatton's involvement a major factor in its appeal to fans of classic horror. Not deserved of such a low rating, I think "The Brute Man" is worthy of discovery.It is so tragic that Hatton did not live long enough to see how much people enjoyed his brief work in the movies--yes, his condition was exploited in a manner that turned him into almost a sideshow, but I think "The Brute Man" establishes that the actor could in fact earn pathos instead of just walking around as a hulking brute destroying people.

MARIO GAUCI Earlier on during this Halloween Horror challenge, I had watched HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946) which was basically a precursor to this one – similarly dealing with a hulking criminal with a penchant for back-breaking dubbed "The Creeper" (actually first seen in the Sherlock Holmes mystery THE PEARL OF DEATH [1944]!). In this case, we are given the character's tragic back-story – though it actually does a disservice to actor Rondo Hatton (deformed in real life by acromegaly) by making his condition self-inflicted and rendering him homicidal into the bargain! Anyway, though it shares many a credit with the subsequent film, this one (which proved to be Hatton's last) was actually made by the Poverty Row company PRC. Running a brief 59 minutes, it is simply a succession of incidents showing The Creeper either taking revenge on his former colleagues at college (including an ex-girlfriend and a romantic rival – played by DETOUR [1945]'s Tom Neal) or else killing others who happen to get in his way. To give some measure of sympathy to the titular figure, we also get a subplot in which he is sheltered by a blind pianist (shades of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN [1935] and THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK [1941]): eventually, though, she allows herself to be used as bait in a trap set for him by the Police (with flustered Donald MacBride at their head!). In itself, then, the film is watchable as an example of low-budget horror from this vintage but in no way a classic.

bensonmum2 Horribly disfigured in a lab accident, Hal Moffat (Rondo Hatton) seeks revenge against all those he blames for his condition. The police seem to be unable to put a stop to the killer they've dubbed the "Creeper". During one of his escapes from the police, the Creeper hides out in an apartment occupied by a blind woman. The pair strike up an unlikely relationship that lasts until the woman discovers her new friend's true identity. Now her life is in danger! It's difficult to discuss The Brute Man without discussing Rondo Hatton, but that's exactly what I want to do for a moment. The biggest problem with the movie is that it's pretty much a bore. Scene after scene of watching the Creeper . . . uhh . . . creep (for the lack of a better word) does not make for the most exciting of movie experiences. He's too slow – too slow to hold my interest. And it doesn't help matters that the Creeper's relationship with the blind woman is so predictable. From the moment the pair met, I was waiting for the woman to say that there was a surgery that might cure her, but it cost too much. And I just knew the Creeper was going to try to help her out by killing someone to get the money she needed. No surprises here.As for Rondo, I wish I knew more about him. He seems to have been a tragic, yet interesting fellow. In the few movies I've seen him in, he was never asked to do much. His acromegaly seems to be all that the studios were interested in. I doubt it, but I sincerely hope that he was able to exploit the movie studios just as they were exploiting him. And even though Rondo wasn't the world's greatest actor, there's something oddly compelling about his performance and The Brute Man in general. The Creeper is such a tragic character that it's difficult to fear him when you have such compassion for him and his predicament. While I cannot condone his actions, I certainly understand what drove him to commit his crimes. I've just got to give the movie an extra point based on Rondo.The Brute Man was featured in Episode #702 of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Overall, it's not particularly good. Too often, the guys resort to making fun of Rondo's medical condition – not a very humorous topic. There are a few moments that do work, but overall, I'm disappointed. This episode of MST3K gets a 2/5 on my rating scale.