SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain 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.

JoeKarlosi Rondo Hatton (who suffered from the disease Acromegaly) allowed himself to be exploited by Universal Pictures near the end of his life for some horror-themed movies. Here in his final film he plays the deformed murderer named "The Creeper" for the last time, who is on the prowl and hunted down by the police. He seeks refuge in the home of a pretty blind pianist (Jane Adams from HOUSE OF Dracula). If there is one film from this period that I'd call "only pretty standard stuff", it would be this one. But at least there is a flashback sequence which offers a semi-interesting slant on how the Creeper came by his unfortunate appearance. ** out of ****

MartinHafer Before I begin talking about BRUTE MAN, there's some important information you should know about the star of the film, Rondo Hatton. Earlier in life, he's led a rather normal existence, though he later developed acromegaly--which caused his features to become disproportional and deformed. He was truly an ugly man in need of work and Universal Studios thought he'd be a natural to play monsters, as he needed no makeup. Considering how exploitational this seems, I couldn't help but feeling sorry for the guy and thinking about this throughout BRUTE MAN. As a result, though it wasn't a bad little B-film, I couldn't really enjoy it very much. I felt like a customer at a freak show, gawking at this poor guy.As for the film, it's a very short and not especially memorable suspense film. A guy was disfigured in a laboratory accident and since then, he has been rather indiscriminately killing people. The police dub him "The Creeper" and despite being exceptionally noticeable, the police have a heck of a time catching him.The acting is fine and the production is fine--not distinguished but acceptable for a B. However, as I said above, I had a hard time enjoying it knowing that around the time the film was completed, Hatton died from his illness.

dbborroughs Rondo Hatton's final film has him once more playing a character called the Creeper. Hatton plays a disfigured man (surprise) who skulks around killing the people he feels disfigured him. He also kills anyone who gets in his way. On the run from the police the creeper meets a blind piano teacher who isn't afraid of him because she can't see him. Needing an operation to restore her sight the Creeper begins to steal things to get the money for the operation.Filmed at Universal, the story goes that the company balked when Hatton's disfiguring disease killed him before the film could be released and they sold it to PRC. I'd like to think that they sold it because the film wasn't good and the disease story makes them sound more "caring". Lets face it this film is a turkey. Its mostly Hatton stalking through the night for the first half while the police, played with less than all seriousness try to catch him. Its dull and makes you wonder if they removed ten minutes at the start. The second half with the blind girl is so incredibly soapy as to be laughable. Its a really dumb movie that is notable only for it being Hatton's final role.A side note: contrary to whats been posted on numerous web sites, the British H for horror certificate was not created for this film. The classification was in place for well over a decade before this film was released.