Clevercell Very disappointing...

Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

mark.waltz One of the more unworthy low budget horror films to be ranked nearly as a bomb, I found this to be quite moving. Rondo Hatton, aka the Creeper, is on a killing spree, and the baffled police can't find him, even though they know who he is. He's actually a very gentle soul but how he got so deformed has lead him to revenge which was the result of a college prank enticed out of jealousy. He falls for the blind but pretty Jane Adams who is the only one kind to him. Hatton, who usually said very little in films, has a surprising amount of dialog here, yet is actually extremely believable and that makes you want to like him even though he is a killer. I presumed that his lack of dialog in other films was because of his lack of talent, but I was glad to be proved wrong. As told in flashback by those who do know him, you can understand why he had to kill. Tom Neal plays the man who reveals all he knows, and that scene is masterful in its story telling. Its also nice to see Donald McBride playing a cop who isn't a buffoon, although his final idiotic line seems to come out of nowhere. Suspenseful and gripping, this is much better than I expected. A Hatton lookalike later showed up in a period adventure, "The Rockateer".

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 ****

scott-palmer2 Rondo Hatton was a former reporter who began acting in films in 1930 when he was covering a film being made in Florida. During the 30s and 40s he was mainly seen in small roles, often as hulks, due to his large body size and the fact the he had contracted acromegaly after being gassed during the first world war. In 1944 he was cast as The Hoxton Creeper in a Sherlock Holmes film, The Pearl of Death, and achieved brief stardom-or at least cult stardom-until his early death from a heart attack at age 52 in 1946 (he had suffered a milder heart attack the previous year as a direct result of his condition).In this, one of his last films, not only does Hatton get the starring role, he has a great deal of dialogue and proves that he could be a good actor when given the chance. It is unusual for audiences to feel as much sympathy for a killer-especially one who has killed several times-but we do for Hatton. His scenes with Jane Adams, playing Helen, the blind piano teacher, are especially moving. Helen sees the inner man without being able to see the physical one, and although as I said he's a killer he gives the impression of a very human, tragic figure. Helen wants to touch his face, but he won't let her; this gives one a strong impression of a mirroring of the life of the actor himself. Just like the character he plays, Rondo Hatton was an athlete when younger, and excelled at football.All of the cast play their parts well. Donald MacBride, frequently cast as the dumb cop, plays a very canny and intelligent one here, and he's ably supported by Peter Whitney-looking handsome and slim!-as Police Lieutenant Gates. The photography is well-done-especially considering the budget (or lack thereof) and there are some nice angles and lighting, especially when Hatton is prowling around the city.Note: This film was actually made at Universal, who sold the rights to it to PRC shortly after it was completed (and Rondo Hatton died).

ferbs54 Guys, the next time you look in the mirror and don't like what you see, try telling yourself that at least you're not Rondo Hatton. Hatton suffered with the congenital disease acromegaly, which, as Webster's puts it, is "chronic hyperpituitarism marked by progressive enlargement of hands, feet and face." He lived to the age of 52, being felled by a heart attack shortly after making his last film, "The Brute Man," in 1946. This is an extremely well-made little B picture, featuring fine acting by all, a compact story and some real suspense. In it, Hatton plays a former college BMOC who became disfigured after a lab accident and who, years later, begins a murder spree against all his former pals and teachers that he blames for his current condition. He also befriends a pretty, blind piano teacher, who naturally doesn't recoil automatically from the big lug's unique physiognomy. These scenes, with big Rondo and the blind woman, will likely cause most viewers to recall Frankenstein and the blind hermit in "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935), just as his later sacrifices on her behalf are reminiscent of Chaplin's for his blind flower girl in "City Lights" (1931). No, "The Brute Man" is not nearly in the same league as those two immortal classics, but still remains a fine entertainment nevertheless. "Frankenstein" makeup man Jack Pierce contributed his great talents to this film, too, making Hatton (I would imagine) even more of a sight than he was ordinarily. It's hard to feel much sympathy for Rondo's "Creeper" character, cold-blooded psycho that he has become, but somehow, we DO still feel some, to the actor's great credit. Oh, by the way, this DVD looks just terrific; an absolutely first-rate transfer from the fine folks at Image Entertainment.