it be rare for any film to present so human a portrait of a villain and still succeed in warn the audience so effectively . see the brute man and you will beware the murderous psychopath who disarm his victim by prey on feeling of sympathy . rondo hatton and good know for his role a the creeper in the sherlock holmes movie and the pearl of death and also play the creeper here this time without sherlock holmes but with such a depth of feel that audience more accustomed to hat and fear monster murderer may feel pity for the vengeance mind killer instead . only in the movie freak have any actor exploit his unusual appearance to such telling effect . without makeup and hatton play very true to life a the hot tempered college football star hal moffett maim in a laboratory accident who decide to take deadly revenge upon the friend he irrationally blame for his disfigurement . even though the grotesque drifter bloody scheme be terrify and antihero moffett never seem like a purely evil monster . he be like a misguided adolescent drive mad by his misfortune and his own unyielding character and obsessive in the drive to heal his injured vanity by act of desperation . a masterfully lensed under the direction of jean yarbrough and hatton performance be outstanding and even by comparison to other horror movie legends while hal moffett or the creeper may possibly have be his great role . yet the brute man be conceive a a modest little shocker and be make on a low budget and be today not very well remember even by nostalgia mind critic . perhaps that be because the brute man seem contrive to exploit the commercial success of the pearl of death and city light and phantom of the opera and from which it derive some of it main story element ( include the sentimental scene with the blind girl and the theme of disfigurement and revenge ) . there be and however and no cheating in the use of classic idea while they be combine so craftily a to create a new legend of gothic significance and intensity and one which be also true to historical account of murder and realistic in a frighteningly everyday way .