This hard-hitting film concerns an unscrupulous lawyer, Joe Morse (John Garfield), who, by consolidating a numbers racket, has the opportunity to partner with ruthless gangster Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts). As a fitting backdrop for this tale of moral corruption, director Abraham Polonsky referred his production team to the stark New York paintings of Edward Hopper to establish a noir-like atmosphere. Accordingly, the film’s cinematographer George Barnes (Spellbound, 1945) and art director Richard Day (The Grapes of Wrath, 1940), utilize the film’s New York City locations to full effect, mirroring the brooding sense of doom experienced by the story’s anti-hero. Force of Evil was originally released by Garfield and Polonsky’s independent studio that was formed with an eye towards making films reflecting the realities of society.

Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524.

Image: Force of Evil, Abraham Polonsky, 1949