History Film / TheBruteMan

Hal Moffat was a football player in college who was trying to woo his best friend-slash-roommate's girlfriend. In lighthearted retaliation, said friend deliberately gives Hal the wrong answers in a study session so he earns detention in Chemistry class. Hal's temper makes him cause a lab accident that ends in caustic chemicals going off in his face; he survives, but it warps him in both face and mind, and he vanishes. Years later, the city is in terror of a mysterious serial killer known as "The Creeper". While on the run from the police, the Creeper -- Hal -- stumbles upon a blind piano teacher who shows kindness to him and (unwittingly) shelters him from his pursuers. Now, on top of revenge, Hal is determined to help his new friend -- Creeper-style.

For the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode see ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S07E02TheBruteMan here]]''.

* TheMentallyDisturbed: Hal was always a violent, ill-tempered, and petty person, but everybody, from his old classmates to the police, agrees that he only became a killer because the chemicals that caused his disfigurement also affected his brain. To a limited extent, they pity him for it.

* DutchAngle: The Creeper is sometimes in frame with the camera aiming up from the side to add an intimidation factor. The Dutch angle is used in the opening scene as he calmly evades the police, when he notices Jimmy peaking through his window, and when he approaches to murder Jimmy.

** With the police hot on his trail, the Creeper climbs up the fire escape and enters an open window from which piano music flows. The pianist is Helen and she befriends the Creeper.

%%** At the police station, Helen finally learns that her mysterious new friend is the Creeper, a multi-count murderer. Despite the friendship and trust between them, Helen helps the police lure the Creeper into a trap.

%%* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Hal's attempt to help Helen is what ultimately gets him caught -- because he stole the goods he wanted Helen to sell to pay for the operation, and Helen didn't know how to safely fence hot jewelry, the police are finally given a lead on how to find The Creeper.

* SpinningPaper: The film relies on a remarkably high count of newspaper shots, each regarding developments in the Creeper case.

%%* VillainProtagonist

''The Brute Man'' is a Franchise/UniversalHorror BMovie that falls under both the {{Thriller}} and {{Horror}} genres, occasionally dips into FilmNoir territory, and even is something of a proto-SlasherMovie. It is the second Creeper film and a {{prequel}} to ''House of Horrors'', made and released only months apart. The story sees the Creeper return to his home city after years of absence to take murderous revenge on his old university classmates for the circumstances that left him with a disfigured face. Universal's faith in the Creeper series was strong, but ''The Brute Man'' is its last entry because of the rapidly declining health and eventual death of Creator/RondoHatton. ''The Brute Man'' was his last film.

* EnterStageWindow: With the police hot on his trail, the Creeper climbs up the fire escape and enters an open window from which piano music flows. The pianist is Helen and she befriends the Creeper.

* FaceFramedInShadow: For the duration of Hal's walk when he intrudes on Virginia's end-of-the day grooming, his face and in particular his eyes are hidden in the shadow cast by his hat. Along with his spiteful calm, it makes him a disconcerting

%%* LuredIntoATrap:

* BlameGame: With the police commissioner and the mayor's secretary on their way to demand answers as to why the Creeper is still on the loose, Captain Donelly and Lieutenant Gates pretend to blame each other to create a scene in front of the visitors and prevent them from focusing their ire on Donelly alone. This gets them to leave quickly and frees up Donelly's time for the investigation.

%%* BlindAndTheBeast: Hal's appearance frightens all he encounters, until he runs into the blind Helen. She insists that she can see who he really is inside, and that he's simply misunderstood. Subverted when she learns that he really is a killer, and she is the key in finally stopping him.

%%* HealthcareMotivation: Upon learning that Helen could get her sight back with a surgery that costs

%%* TheMentallyDisturbed

* SexSells: Jane Adams's Helen is a kind-hearted, piano-playing, blind woman who is only not an ingenue because of her confidence and independence. She dresses between cute and conservative and becomes the Creeper's morality pet. Yet the posters all depict Helen in a sultry nightgown befitting a vamp, showing off legs and shoulders. In regards to the Creeper, one poster also luridly insists "No woman safe from his crushing arms..." which does not represent his motives or range of victims at all.

* SpinningPaper: The film relies on a high amount of newspaper shots, each regarding developments in the Creeper case.

** The second occurs the day after the Creeper only just escapes the police and shows the front page of the ''The Daily Tribune'' with the headline "Major Charges Police Laxity in Creeper Killings". The sub-headline reads "Police Commissioner Puts Capt. Donelly of Homicide on Spot". It's placed amidst articles on various subjects: "End to Wildcat Strike Sought", "Meteorite Falls Near Baby", "New Library Dedicated", "Civic Leaders Plan Charity Drive", "Philanthropist Laid to Rest", "City Aide Nabbed as Tipsy Driver, Denies Accident", and "Bill Aids Owner on Foreclosure".

** The fourth occurs in response to the murder on Jimmy and shows the front page of the ''The Daily Record Post'' with the headline "Creeper Murders Terrorize City". The sub-headline reads "Citizens Clamor for Action on Unsolved Crimes". It's placed amidst articles on various subjects: "Suspension Faced in Oil Scandal", "Committee Approves Nominee", "Conference on Current Problems", "Governor Returns", "Agency Order Bans Use of Coupons", "Survey on Pollution Advocated", and "No Precedent for Handling Certificates".
** The fifth occurs in response to the murder on Jimmy and shows the front page of the ''The Star Dispatch'' with the headline "Boy Murder Clues May Lead to Creeper". The sub-headline reads "Waterfront Shack Tells Mute Story of Depraved Life". It's placed amidst articles on various subjects: "Chinese Money Dips in Canton", "Troops Fire on Indian Riot Mob", "Lightning Bolt Kills Two, Hurts Several Others", "Two Suspects Held on Fraud Charges", "Dismissal Move to Force Pay Cut", and "Boss Sanity Trial Jury Is Complete".

* TotallyRadical: Helen's young piano pupil, Dorothy Obringer, isn't interested in learning to play the classics. She wants to master boogie-woogie because "it really sends [her]." Her mother clarifies to Helen that Dorothy takes after her father, who plays "hot trumpet" in the Firemen's Band.
%%* TwoGuysAndAGirl

%%* YouDidTheRightThing:

%%* ActOfTrueLove:

%%* EtTuBrute:

%%* GrumpyOldMan: The shopkeeper.
%%* HealthcareMotivation:

** Jimmy is convinced that the unseen customer who has secretively ordered groceries is the murderous Creeper that's all over the news. Once he's delivered the goods at waterfront shack 23 and not gotten even a glimpse at the customer, he sneaks around and finds a window to peer inside through. Because the window is dirty and the light dim, the Creeper notices him first, sneaks around too, and murders Jimmy.

->''""''
-->--''''''

* LastMinuteHookup: Helen and Lieutenant Gates have only two scenes together and they occur in the final ten minutes. Their second scene together is the closing scene, and without any build-up Gates begins charming Helen.

%%* DeusExMachina: The commissioner suddenly telling Helen that she could probably afford the surgery sure feels like one. And though considering how desperate the mayor's office was to stop the Creeper's reign of terror, and it's entirely possible they offered a reward for assisting in his capture -- instant blindness cure!

%%* ImmuneToBullets: Hal gets shot several times, yet appears fine in many scenes afterwards. At no point was it stated the accident gave Hal superhuman powers, it just deformed him.

%%* LastMinuteHookup: Right after Hal is caught, Lt Gates starts hitting on Helen.

%%* TotallyRadical: Dorothy, the little girl learning to play piano. She wants to play boogie-woogie because it's "really solid" and it "sends" her.

** The Creeper walks past the collegiate cafe of Hampton University just as the students are celebrating a football victory. Reminiscing about his own student days and mentally preparing for the murders on his old classmates, the Creeper stops in front of the window and stares inside. His eerie demeanor and unsettling face draw the students' attention one by one until the Creeper lets them be and walks on.

%%* AxCrazy: According to the BackStory, Hal was a JerkJock in college. The chemicals not only disfigured him, but also drove him insane.

%%* CelebrityResemblance: On a meta level, Fred Coby, who plays the pre-accident Hal Moffat, bears a strong resemblance to [[https://i.ibb.co/m5JLKXz/Rondo-Hatton-before-Acromaelgy.jpg a pre-acromegaly Rondo Hatton]].
%%* CuriosityKilledTheCast: If the delivery boy hadn't stayed behind to get a look at Hal through a window (and thus been seen), he wouldn't have been killed.

%%* FreakLabAccident:

%%* GroinAttack: When Hal breaks into Clifford's home and threatens him and Virginia to get money for Helen's operation, Clifford eventually responds by firing multiple shots -- apparently right into Hal's "area".

* SnoopingLittleKid: Jimmy is a naïve college-age youngster with a strong interest in the whole scene of criminals and detectives. The ongoing news items about the Creeper, his murders, and the police's efforts to arrest him have his attention and so he leaps to the conclusion that the order list secretively delivered to the grocery store must've come from the Creeper. His boss thinks it's nonsense, but because Jimmy has to deliver the order anyway, he has some time to snoop around at the address. It turns out he's right and it is the Creeper who placed the order, but Jimmy lethally fails to keep himself hidden while trying to catch a glimpse of the killer. The boy's disappearance prompts his boss to reconsider his suspicions and call the police to give them the story and the address. That afternoon, Jimmy's corpse is a solid clue to the police that they've found the Creeper's hideout.

Hal Moffett was a football player in college who was trying to woo his best friend-slash-roommate's girlfriend. In lighthearted retaliation, said friend deliberately gives Hal the wrong answers in a study session so he earns detention in Chemistry class. Hal's temper makes him cause a lab accident that ends in caustic chemicals going off in his face; he survives, but it warps him in both face and mind, and he vanishes. Years later, the city is in terror of a mysterious serial killer known as "The Creeper". While on the run from the police, the Creeper -- Hal -- stumbles upon a blind piano teacher who shows kindness to him and (unwittingly) shelters him from his pursuers. Now, on top of revenge, Hal is determined to help his new friend -- Creeper-style.

%%* CelebrityResemblance: On a meta level, Fred Coby, who plays the pre-accident Hal Moffett, bears a strong resemblance to [[https://i.ibb.co/m5JLKXz/Rondo-Hatton-before-Acromaelgy.jpg a pre-acromegaly Rondo Hatton]].

* LetsSplitUpGang: Captain Donelly and Lieutenant Gates together go check if the Creeper is hiding at Dock 23. The Creeper notices them in time and escapes through a secret door. When Donelly and Gates enter, they find the stove on and Jimmy's fresh corpse in the corner. Despite the clear threat, Donelly sends Gates away to get some men and search the waterfront while he himself continues to look though the Creeper's possessions for clues. fortunately for Donelly, the Creeper doesn't feel like taking risks and stays in hiding.

* SpinningPaper: There are various shots of a newspaper, each regarding developments in the Creeper case.

** The third occurs in response to the murder on Jimmy and shows the front page of the ''Record Herald'' with the headline "Grocery Boy Slain by the Creeper!". The sub-headlines read "Had Delivered Food to Monster's Shack on Waterfront". It's placed amidst articles on various subjects: "Cabinet Crisis Causes Return", "2 Boys Rescued as Hero Swims 60 Feet in River", "Government Cost Cuts to Be Urged", "Twins Complete Recruit Training", "Man Wanted Here in Safe Thefts Held in New York", "Harbord Urges Plant Renewal", "Federal Reserve Reports Changed", and "4 Drownings Sunday's Toll, Seven Rescued".

** Jimmy is convinced that the unseen customer who has secretively ordered groceries is the murderous Creeper that's all over the news. Once he's delivered the goods at Dock 23 and not gotten even a glimpse at the customer, he sneaks around and finds a window to peer inside through. Because the window is dirty and the light dim, the Creeper notices him first, sneaks around too, and murders Jimmy.

[[quoteright:346:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_11410716_gal_6998.jpg]]

%%* AxCrazy: According to the BackStory, Hal was a JerkJock in college. The chemicals not only disfigured him, but also drove him insane, too.

%%* RageAgainstTheReflection
* SpinningPaper: There are various shots of a newspaper, each after a murder has been committed.
** The first occurs in response to the murder on the morgue clerk and shows the front page of the ''Transcript Journal'' with the headline "Back Breaker Claims Second Victim". The sub-headlines read "Socialite Joan Bemis Meets Same Fate as Professor Cushman" and "Police Puzzled as to Motives for Crimes". It's placed amidst articles on various subjects: "Mayor Outlines New Project of Administration", "City Transfers Bond Millions to Sinking Fund", "Move to Ban Office Mergers Is Begun", "Beaches Lure Record Crowds", "Ballot Awaited Today After Amendments", "More Money Needed for City Courts", "Banker's Made to Explain Shortage", and "Jensen Plans to Cut Charity Cost in Year".

''The Brute Man'' is a Franchise/UniversalHorror BMovie that falls under both the {{Thriller}} and {{Horror}} genres, occasionally dips into FilmNoir territory, and even is something of a proto-SlasherMovie. It is the second Creeper film and a {{prequel}} to ''House of Horrors'', made in the same year and released in the same year. The story sees the Creeper return to his home city after years of absence to take murderous revenge on his old university classmates for the circumstances that left him with a disfigured face. Universal's faith in the Creeper series was strong, but ''The Brute Man'' is its last entry because of the rapidly declining health and eventual death of Creator/RondoHatton. ''The Brute Man'' was his last film.

Production for both ''House of Horrors'' and ''The Brute Man'' evidently was troubled, but details are scarce. The Creeper series was announced on November 8, 1944 when trades such as ''The Hollywood Reporter'' and the ''New York Herald Tribune'' announced that Ben Pivar had been given the task of renewing Universal's horror stable and that the Creeper series was the foremost project. The first film of the series was to be called ''The House of Horrors''. However, as early as December 16, the ''Showmen's Trade Review'' and others stated that the first film was to be called ''The Brute Man''. This name showed up as the first film to be until around July, while for roughly the same time ''Murder Mansion'' was in use as a pre-production name for ''House of Horrors''. It's possible that the three names were all tied to the same script, but it's also possible that there were arguments behind the scenes which film should be the first. In the end, ''The Brute Man'' became the second film, with filming starting on November 15, 1945.

On February 2, 1946, Rondo Hatton died from the progression of his acromegaly, and his failing health in the months prior affected production of ''The Brute Man''. Many times, his scenes needed to be retaken and a few settled-on shots show he wasn't all there during filming. ''House of Horrors'' was still released on February 22, but ''The Brute Man'' was kept back. There are two (non-conflicting) stories as to why. One goes that after Hatton's death from the very thing that got him his contract, Universal feared that releasing the film would generate controversy. The other goes that when Universal and International Pictures merged in mid-1946 and a new A-Movie-focussed course was taken, Universal-International wanted to untie themselves from several B-Movies still to be released. Specifically, horror had become synonymous with B-Movies and the last "true" horror film Universal would release in the 1940s was ''The Cat Creeps'' in May, so ''The Brute Man'' was a prime candidate for peddling. In any case, ''The Brute Man'' was sold to Producers Releasing Corporation in August for a little over the cost of production, $125,000, which incidentally makes it one of PRC's expensive films. PRC brought the film to theaters on October 1, 1946. Today, ''The Brute Man'' is owned by Cinedigm following its acquisition of Films Around the World.

Hal Moffett was a football player in college who was trying to woo his best friend-slash-roommate's girlfriend. In lighthearted retaliation, said friend deliberately gives Hal the wrong answers in a study session so he earns detention in Chemistry class. Hal's temper makes him cause a lab accident that ends in caustic chemicals going off in his face; he survives, but it warps him in both face and mind, and he soon vanishes. Years later, the city is in terror of a mysterious serial killer known as "The Creeper". While on the run from the police, the Creeper -- Hal -- stumbles upon a blind piano teacher who shows kindness to him and (unwittingly) shelters him from his pursuers. Now, on top of revenge, Hal is determined to help his new friend -- Creeper-style.

* AxCrazy: According to the BackStory, Hal was a JerkJock in college. The chemicals not only disfigured him, but also drove him insane, too.
* BlindAndTheBeast: Hal's appearance frightens all he encounters, until he runs into the blind Helen. She insists that she can see who he really is inside, and that he's simply misunderstood. Subverted when she learns that he really is a killer, and she is the key in finally stopping him.
* CelebrityResemblance: On a meta level, Fred Coby, who plays the pre-accident Hal Moffett, bears a strong resemblance to [[https://i.ibb.co/m5JLKXz/Rondo-Hatton-before-Acromaelgy.jpg a pre-acromegaly Rondo Hatton]].
* CuriosityKilledTheCast: If the delivery boy hadn't stayed behind to get a look at Hal through a window (and thus been seen), he wouldn't have been killed.
* DeusExMachina: The commissioner suddenly telling Helen that she could probably afford the surgery sure feels like one. And though considering how desperate the mayor's office was to stop the Creeper's reign of terror, and it's entirely possible they offered a reward for assisting in his capture -- instant blindness cure!
* FreudianSlip: After the police commissioner chews him out to distract the city representatives, Police Lieutenant Gates says that he'll pass the buc--the ''word'' to the rest of the department.
* GroinAttack: When Hal breaks into Clifford's home and threatens him and Virginia to get money for Helen's operation, Clifford eventually responds by firing multiple shots -- apparently right into Hal's "area".

* ImmuneToBullets: Hal gets shot several times, yet appears fine in many scenes afterwards. At no point was it stated the accident gave Hal superhuman powers, it just deformed him.
* JerkAss:
** Hal himself, a JerkJock blaming everyone but himself for his temper causing his change (plus being the Creeper and all). He also treats Joan, who is obviously crazy about him, like dirt. Then he murders her despite her having nothing whatsoever to do with Hal getting disfigured.
** Clifford, for giving his roommate/friend Hal bogus chemistry advice just to screw him out of a date.
** Virginia, who went with Clifford to walk past the lab in which Hal had to stay after class, ''just to mock him after Clifford screwed him out of the date Clifford was on with her that very moment''.
* LastMinuteHookup: Right after Hal is caught, Lt Gates starts hitting on Helen.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Hal's attempt to help Helen is what ultimately gets him caught -- because he stole the goods he wanted Helen to sell to pay for the operation, and Helen didn't know how to safely fence hot jewelry, the police are finally given a lead on how to find The Creeper.
* NoWarrantNoProblem: A fugitive breaks into a blind woman's apartment to hide. He asks her for help, saying that "some men" are after him. She hears a knock on the door and tells him to hide in another room. When she opens the door, three men barge into her home without even identifying themselves as police officers (although two were wearing uniforms, they didn't try to show her a badge or even offer any explanation), and she tells them that [[ExactWords she didn't see anyone]]. The leader then orders his men to look in the woman's bedroom (with no search warrant, no explanation offered to the woman), but the fugitive escapes through a window. Later in the film, the police arrest her for harboring a criminal, but she claims innocence because she didn't know he was a criminal and didn't know the officers were policemen since they didn't even identify themselves.

* TotallyRadical: Dorothy, the little girl learning to play piano. She wants to play boogie-woogie because it's "really solid" and it "sends" her.

''The Brute Man'' is a 1946 horror/suspense film about a deformed man seeking out revenge. It stars Creator/RondoHatton and was directed by Jean Yarbrough.

Hal Moffett was a football player in college who was trying to woo his best friend-slash-roommate's girlfriend. In lighthearted retaliation, said friend deliberately gives Hal the wrong answers in a study session so he earns detention in Chemistry class. Hal's temper makes him cause a lab accident that ends in caustic chemicals going off in his face; he survives, but it warps him in both face and mind, and he soon vanishes.

Years later, the city is in terror of a mysterious serial killer known as "The [[strike:Brute Man]] Creeper". While on the run from the police, the Creeper -- Hal -- stumbles upon a blind piano teacher who shows kindness to him and (unwittingly) shelters him from his pursuers. Now, on top of revenge, Hal is determined to help his new friend -- [[PoisonousFriend Creeper-style]].

Meanwhile, the police doggedly pass the buck to avoid bad publicity and political interference during their pursuit of the Creeper.

The film is a sequel to ''The Pearl of Death'' and ''House of Horrors'', but this film gives The Creeper an origin story.

* {{Anticlimax}}: [[spoiler:Oh you were expecting some kind of confrontation between Hal and Helen!? Nope, he goes zero to Creep in 3 seconds and almost strangles her with her back turned before the cops stop him, without so much as a word. And now let's end it with a joke instead!]]
* ArtisticLicenseLaw: The police pursuing Hal at the beginning effectively force their way into Helen's apartment, fail to identify themselves, and search through it without a warrant. As Servo notes, "Oh, this is so ''legal''!"

-->'''Crow (as Hal):''' "Honey, my face is as big as ever and someone shot my sizzler off."

%%* HugeGuyTinyGirl

* JerkAss: Just about everyone.

** The store keeper, who apparently openly hates his sole employee.
--->'''Storekeeper:''' Creeper! Creeper! Creeper! '''''You''''' give '''''me''''' the creeps!
** The apathetic police who don't seem to care much about the case or the murders.
** Helen, though, is nice. And look where it gets her -- new eyes! For free!

%%* PoisonousFriend

------

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Hal's attempt to help Helen is what ultimately gets him caught - because he stole the goods he wanted Helen to sell to pay for the operation, and Helen didn't know how to safely fence hot jewelry, the police are finally given a lead on how to find the Creeper.

* CelebrityResemblance: On a meta level, Fred Coby, who plays the pre-accident Hal Moffett, looks very similar to [[https://i.ibb.co/m5JLKXz/Rondo-Hatton-before-Acromaelgy.jpg a pre-Acromeagly Rondo Hatton]].

** SocietyMarchesOn: It's the modern equivalent of a little girl wanting to do hardcore rap because she wants to get down with it.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Hal's attempt to help Helen is what ultimately gets him caught - because he stole the goods he wanted Helen to sell to pay for the operation, and Helen didn't know how to safely fence hot jewelry, the police are finally given a lead on how to find the Creeper.

* DeusExMachina: The commissioner suddenly telling Helen that she could probably afford the surgery sure feels like one.
** Though considering how desperate the mayor's office was to stop the Creeper's reign of terror, it's entirely possible they offered a reward for assisting in his capture.

** Hal himself, blaming everyone but himself for his temper causing his change (plus being the Creeper and all). He also treats Joan, who is obviously crazy about him, like dirt. Then he murders her despite her having nothing whatsoever to do with Hal getting disfigured.

* BlindAndTheBeast: Hal's appearance frightens all he encounters, until he runs into the blind Helen. She insists that she can see who he really is inside, and that he's simply misunderstood. Subverted when she learns that he really is a killer, and he even tries to kill her when she agrees to help stop him.

%%* BlindAndTheBeast: Subverted.

The film is a sequel to ''House of Horrors'', but there The Creeper did not have an origin story.

'''''The Brute Man''''' is a 1946 horror suspense film about a deformed man seeking out revenge. It stars Creator/RondoHatton and was directed by Jean Yarbrough.