''Love That Brute'' is a 1950 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Alexander Hall Alexander Hall (January 11, 1894 – July 30, 1968) was an American film director, film editor and theatre actor. Biography Hall acted in the theatre from the age of four through 1914, when he began to work in silent movies. Following his milit ...

and starring

Paul Douglas Paul Howard Douglas (March 26, 1892 – September 24, 1976) was an American politician and Georgist economist. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Illinois for eighteen years, from 1949 to 1967. During his Senat ...

and

Jean Peters Elizabeth Jean Peters (October 15, 1926 – October 13, 2000) was an American film actress. She is known as a star of 20th Century Fox in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and as the second wife of Howard Hughes. Although possibly best remembered f ...

. The film is a remake of ''

Tall, Dark and Handsome "Tall, dark, and handsome" is a phrase that refers to an appealing man, often found in romantic fiction aimed at women. History The term came to prominent use in the early 1900s and was commonly used in Hollywood during the 1920s to describe Ru ...

'', a 1941 film also distributed by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

Plot

In 1928 Chicago, two gangsters kill a store owner. Mobster Big Ed (

) sends top henchman Bugsy Welch (

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in mos ...

) to place a white carnation—his trademark—on the corpses, to suggest that he is responsible. The police rush to arrest Big Ed, only to find out that he has an alibi. He has been in the park, where Big Ed encounters Ruth Manning (

), a country girl who came to Chicago to be a singer, but is now a children's governess. Big Ed falls in love with the woman—in his opinion, she has class—and is determined to court her. He poses as a widowed father and asks her to take care of his child, with the promise of tripling her salary. When she accepts, he sends Bugsy to audition a son for him. Bugsy comes up with Harry the Kid Jr. (Peter Price), the foul-mouthed son of a gangster. Ruth grows close to Big Ed, but is offended when he gives her an expensive fur coat on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

, thinking that he wants to "buy" her affection. She packs her bags to leave, but Big Ed convinces her to stay until they find Harry a school. The next day, the mansion is surrounded by the men of Pretty Willie Wetzchahofsky (

Cesar Romero Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...

), Big Ed's arch-rival. Ruth wants to warn the police, but is discouraged to do so by a friend of Big Ed's who is posing as a maid, Mamie Sage (

Joan Davis Josephine "Joan" Davis (June 29, 1907 – May 22, 1961) was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy ''I Married Joan'', Davis had a successful earl ...

), who then reveals to her who Big Ed really is. Ruth is appalled, but decides to stay until Harry is enrolled at a military academy. Meanwhile, Big Ed has come to a truce with Pretty Willie, and they agree to not interfere with each other's mob activities. Months later, Ruth is a singer in Big Ed's former night club. Big Ed attends her opening night and wants to reconcile, but Pretty Willie, who is also interested in Ruth, convinces her that Big Ed is a ruthless killer. She finds out that Harry has been missing from military school. After finding him, she learns through Bugsy that Big Ed has never hurt anyone in his life, and that all his alleged victims, including Mamie's husband, are living in his basement. These prisoners escape and show up at a party. Pretty Willie is disappointed that Big Ed is not the tough guy he thought he was. He orders his men to kill Big Ed. They, however, appreciate Big Ed's kindness and help him escape while faking his death. Bugsy identifies a body as Big Ed, and during "his" funeral, Ed shows up and surprises Ruth. She admits that she was crushed to think that he was dead, and they kiss. Big Ed has Pretty Willie arrested. He then joins Ruth, Harry and Bugsy on a ship, where they will be married.

Cast

as E.L. 'Big Ed' Hanley *

as Ruth Manning *

as Pretty Willie Wetzchahofsky *

as Bugsy Welch *

as Mamie Sage *

Arthur Treacher Arthur Veary Treacher (, 23 July 1894 – 14 December 1975) was an English film and stage actor active from the 1920s to the 1960s, and known for playing English types, especially butler and manservant roles, such as the P.G. Wodehouse valet c ...

as Quentin, Big Ed's butler * Peter Price as Harry the Kid Jr. *

Jay C. Flippen Jay C. Flippen (March 6, 1899 – February 3, 1971) was an American character actor who often played crusty sergeants, police officers or weary criminals in many films of the 1940s and 1950s. Before his motion-picture career he was a leading va ...

as Biff Sage *

Barry Kelley Edward Barry Kelley (August 19, 1908 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s and in films during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in ''Oklahoma!'' on Broadway. His lar ...

as Detective Charlie * Leon Belasco as François Ducray a.k.a. Frenchy

Production

Co-star

also starred in the original film, ''Tall, Dark and Handsome''. In the original film, he portrayed the kind gangster, whereas in this remake, he was seen as the villain. Studio chief

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

initially suggested actor

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science-fiction drama ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1964–68). He also portrayed Wilton Knight ...

for this villain role, before Romero took over. The lead role went to

in April 1949. Leading lady

was cast in June 1949. For her night club scene, she had to wear a dress that rendered her unable to sit down. To prepare for the singing and dancing scene, Peters took a few lessons with

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

's dance instructor. Shooting took place in the summer of 1949, under the working title ''Turned Up Toes''. This was

's next-to-last film appearance in his lifetime; 14 years later, he was seen as Constable Jones in ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

''.

Reception

The entertainment magazine ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' named

' character auditioning a son one of the film's "high spots" and in addition wrote that his "fine performance is matched by Peters, who registers impressively as a prim governess and a sultry nitery singer, scoring with Rodgers and Hart oldie, 'You Took Advantage of Me'." A radio adaptation was broadcast on the ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' on October 9, 1950, with Douglas and Peters reprising their roles.

References

External links

* * * {{Alexander Hall 1950 films 1950s crime comedy films 20th Century Fox films American crime comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Alexander Hall Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge Remakes of American films Films set in Chicago American gangster films Films set in 1928 1950 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films