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.

While it's by no means a classic of any kind, THE BRUTE MAN nonetheless rates a look- primarily because of its star, Rondo Hatton. Soft spoken and intelligent, he gives an understated performance that, in its own limited way, rivals that of Charlie Chaplin in CITY LIGHTS. I cite the Chaplin movie only because of the similarity in the storyline: both deal with men who fall for blind women (both of whom need "an operation" to restore their sight) and fear that, once able to see, the women will reject them (Chaplin because he's down and out, Hatton because he's "disfigured"). The direction as well as the supporting performances are something less than stellar (this is the guy who gave us the motionless picture SHE-WOLF OF London, one of the biggest cheats to come down the pike since MARK OF THE VAMPIRE), but Hatton as "The Creeper" comes across as somewhat sympathetic- especially when the blind girl attempts to touch his face: he turns away abruptly, and one can't help but factor his action(s) into his Real World experiences.

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.

Following a silhouette of Hatton (or someone made to look like him) walking stiffly, like the blind Frankenstein's monster, an alarm is sent out to police cars to catch The Creeper, who has killed a professor. The Creeper then kills a woman who doesn't recognize him, and a delivery boy who is none too bright. On the run, he chances upon a blind woman who treats him kindly, and whom he feels inclined to be kind to as well (shades of both the blind man from Frankenstein and perhaps City Lights).A flashback reveals the Creeper's weak motivation for the murders, perhaps better explained by his presumed insanity/brain damage.Not a great movie, and definitely inferior to the two other Creeper movies, even though it had the same writer and director as House of Horrors. Yarborough directed several other horror movies, The Creeper (1948) (unrelated to this Creeper) The Devil Bat (1940) starring Bela Lugosi, Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967), King of the Zombies (1941), the Bowery Bows horror/comedy Master Minds (1949), and She-Wolf of London (1946). He also directed several episodes of The Addams Family!It is sad the way Hatton's look was exploited, in a way even the cast of Freaks was not.