Force of Evil
Joe Morse (John Garfield) is a smart, young, Wall Street lawyer whose ambition in life is to make millions of dollars for himself. He takes part in a get-rich-quick scheme with his client Ben Tucker (…
Force of Evil
Joe Morse (John Garfield) is a smart, young, Wall Street lawyer whose ambition in life is to make millions of dollars for himself. He takes part in a get-rich-quick scheme with his client Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts), a numbers racket kingpin. Only he and Tucker know that on July 4, when numerous people annually bet on the number combination 776, Tucker's men have arranged for that number to come out: this will force the small, independent numbers banks to go deeply in debt because of all the winners and Tucker will be able to absorb them into his big-time operation which he would then turn into a profitable, legitimate business. Tucker tells Joe not to inform Leo (Thomas Gomez), Joe's older brother, that the small policy bank he runs will go bankrupt when the 776 combination comes up. Because Joe feels indebted to Leon, who helped him get out of the ghetto by putting him though law school, he tries to convince Leo to close his bank on the Fourth of July so he won't lose money. But Leo refuses, explaining that his regular customers are expecting him to stay open so they can make bets. Joe arranges for the police to bust Leo and his staff... including Doris Lowry (Beatrice Pearson), who had just quit working for Leo, but hadn't left the bank in time when the police show up to raid it. Doris is a young woman whom Joe is attracted to only for her to be tossed into jail with all of the other staff for the night. Joe hopes this will frighten Leo into closing down his operation. Indeed, when Leo is freed, he insists that he will retire... but only after July 4. On July 4th, the combination 776 turns up and there is a run on the policy banks. Leo goes bankrupt as expected. Joe convinces Leo to let Tucker take over his business. Leo will still be in charge, and for once Leo will make a lot of money because he will be involved in a bigger league operation. Fred Bauer (Howard Chamberlin), Leo's accountant, becomes scared of Tucker's gangsters, who now work in the bank and who refuse to let him quit under the implied threat of death. Hoping to close the bank down completely so he can get out, Bauer becomes an informer for city hall, telling them that when the bank is in operation so it can be raided. Meanwhile, Bauer is approached by Ficco (Shelton Leonard), Tucker's opposition, who wants to move in on the numbers racket, and is told to set up Leo for a hit. After Leo is busted for a second time, Joe wants to get him out of the dangerous business. He decides to buy Leo out and become Tucker's partner by running the bank himself... for the first time he will be directly breaking the law. Meanwhile, Joe's romance with Doris continues, and she tries to persuade him to get out of the corrupt life he leads. Bauer sets up Leo for Ficcio in a restaurant. However, Leo dies of a heart attack and Ficcio's men kill Bauer by mistake. When Joe finds out about his brother's death, he angrily goes to Tucker's house to confront him. He finds Tucker who doesn't know that Leo is dead, and Ficcio is there making a deal for Ficcio himself to be the muscleman in Tucker's numbers business. Joe and Ficcio have a fist-fight. Then Joe secretly takes the hook off Turner's phone, which he knows to be bugged, and coaxes Ficcio into confessing to Leo's murder. Before Ficcio can shoot him, Joe knocks out the lights. In the darkness, a gun battle between the three men takes place, which Ficco killing Tucker, whom he mistakes for Joe, and Joe killing Fuccio. In the final scene, Joe is arrested and decides to cooperate with the police to help expose the numbers racket.
Force of Evil
Crime,Drama,Film-Noir
Film Details
Joe Morse (John Garfield) is a smart, young, Wall Street lawyer whose ambition in life is to make millions of dollars for himself. He takes part in a get-rich-quick scheme with his client Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts), a numbers racket kingpin. Only he and Tucker know that on July 4, when numerous people annually bet on the number combination 776, Tucker's men have arranged for that number to come out: this will force the small, independent numbers banks to go deeply in debt because of all the winners and Tucker will be able to absorb them into his big-time operation which he would then turn into a profitable, legitimate business.
Tucker tells Joe not to inform Leo (Thomas Gomez), Joe's older brother, that the small policy bank he runs will go bankrupt when the 776 combination comes up. Because Joe feels indebted to Leon, who helped him get out of the ghetto by putting him though law school, he tries to convince Leo to close his bank on the Fourth of July so he won't lose money. But Leo refuses, explaining that his regular customers are expecting him to stay open so they can make bets.
Joe arranges for the police to bust Leo and his staff... including Doris Lowry (Beatrice Pearson), who had just quit working for Leo, but hadn't left the bank in time when the police show up to raid it. Doris is a young woman whom Joe is attracted to only for her to be tossed into jail with all of the other staff for the night.
Joe hopes this will frighten Leo into closing down his operation. Indeed, when Leo is freed, he insists that he will retire... but only after July 4.
On July 4th, the combination 776 turns up and there is a run on the policy banks. Leo goes bankrupt as expected. Joe convinces Leo to let Tucker take over his business.
Leo will still be in charge, and for once Leo will make a lot of money because he will be involved in a bigger league operation. Fred Bauer (Howard Chamberlin), Leo's accountant, becomes scared of Tucker's gangsters, who now work in the bank and who refuse to let him quit under the implied threat of death. Hoping to close the bank down completely so he can get out, Bauer becomes an informer for city hall, telling them that when the bank is in operation so it can be raided.
Meanwhile, Bauer is approached by Ficco (Shelton Leonard), Tucker's opposition, who wants to move in on the numbers racket, and is told to set up Leo for a hit. After Leo is busted for a second time, Joe wants to get him out of the dangerous business. He decides to buy Leo out and become Tucker's partner by running the bank himself...
for the first time he will be directly breaking the law. Meanwhile, Joe's romance with Doris continues, and she tries to persuade him to get out of the corrupt life he leads. Bauer sets up Leo for Ficcio in a restaurant.
However, Leo dies of a heart attack and Ficcio's men kill Bauer by mistake. When Joe finds out about his brother's death, he angrily goes to Tucker's house to confront him. He finds Tucker who doesn't know that Leo is dead, and Ficcio is there making a deal for Ficcio himself to be the muscleman in Tucker's numbers business.
Joe and Ficcio have a fist-fight. Then Joe secretly takes the hook off Turner's phone, which he knows to be bugged, and coaxes Ficcio into confessing to Leo's murder. Before Ficcio can shoot him, Joe knocks out the lights.
In the darkness, a gun battle between the three men takes place, which Ficco killing Tucker, whom he mistakes for Joe, and Joe killing Fuccio. In the final scene, Joe is arrested and decides to cooperate with the police to help expose the numbers racket..