The Implicit Homosexuality of Captain Munsey in Jules Dassin’s Brute Force

Known for its transgressive narratives and anti-hero characters, film noir is an American film cycle that dominated the box office in the 1940's and 50's. At the time, homosexuality was banned from American cinema under the Production Code, yet film noir still managed to offer subtle and implicit representations of homosexuality. The sadistic prison guard in Jules Dassin's Brute Force (1947), Captain Munsey, is one such example and the film uses many signifiers to suggest his homosexuality. The implications that such a reading has on the narrative of the film are immense, and this paper merely scratches the surface of possible interpretations. 
Despite film noir's offering of some of the earliest portrayals of homosexuality in American cinema, scholarship on representations of homosexuality in film noir is few and far between.  By revisiting Brute Force and examining how it manages to queercode Captain Munsey under the restraints of the Production Code, this paper seeks to spark new conversation among film scholars regarding homosexuality in film noir, and more broadly, films made under the Production Code. Moreover, the discourse surrounding representations of LGBTQ characters in American cinema has become increasingly mainstream, and by revisiting films from the past and analyzing them from a modern perspective, scholars can seek to gain new insight on the history of LGBTQ representation in cinema.

Force and examining how it manages to queercode Captain Munsey under the restraints of the Production Code, this paper seeks to spark new conversation -sentations of LGBTQ characters in American cinema has become increasingly mainstream, and by revisiting perspective, scholars can seek to gain new insight into _______________________________________ Hume Cronyn, Munsey delights in blackmailing, pun-captures one of the inmates referring to a fellow inmate who has died as "another dead guy, compliments of and sadistic torture is complicated by the fact that all 6), Munsey's proclivity for victimizing men potentially Production Code, a set of censorship guidelines that banned sexuality, nudity, profanity, interracial relations, this, gay tropes and stereotypes were often used to around the topic and even less focus on Munsey and is a homosexual, including body language, costuming, explore the implications of such a reading on the larger narrative in relation to the depiction of homosocial bonds in predominantly masculine environments; the threats homosexuality purportedly poses to hegemonic masculinity; the link between queercoding and Nazi-coding; and how such depictions of villainous characters as homosexual deviants inherently harm the

What Makes Munsey Gay?
gest that Munsey could be a homosexual, albeit a reand nasal tone with a softness that feels almost tender or loving, is a common stereotype associated with gay put him in direct opposition to the inmates, particularly the protagonist, played by Burt Lancaster, who has a muscular frame and taller stature and symbolizes of the prison guards, Munsey always looks impeccably put together, with precisely creased fatigues wedding ring, and while this alone does not indicate that he is gay, it is odd for a man of his status and age reading of Munsey as alienated and alone, but it could be suggestive of how "during the twentieth century, He never married was a code phrase used by obituary writers in the UK to signify that the deceased had been Munsey's body language is also suggestive of popular gay stereotypes, as he is often seen lounging in chairs He is also quite comfortable with laying his hands on dining hall, he gently places his hand on the shoulder Cronyn and Lancaster. (Brute Force, directed by Jules Dassin, 1947, 00:05:11 and 00:06:10.) interrogation scene takes place between Munsey and homosexual symbolism, it is perhaps the most obvious display of Munsey's homo-sadism, in which violence against men gives him sexual pleasure and can be read as allegorical to a sex scene, where Munsey's homosexual desire is released through violence as opposed to scene, he is partially undressed in an undershirt while Munsey, who is typically well put-together, and the suggestive oiling of the phallic object that is his gun is ed by images of naked men while half-undressed and manhandling a phallic object suggests that Munsey is out the scene, and a shot of the opposite side of the decision to use Tannhaüser functions as a reference to Munsey's Hitler-esque tendencies and dictatorial favourite composers, and his music was often played at Nazi ceremonies and celebrations (Ticker 2016, especially opera, is a stereotype often associated with queer community view Tannhaüser as an allegory for the young knight Tannhaüser as he struggles to choose between his lover, Venus, and the sexual ecstasies he has discovered with her, and the sacred, yet chaste, life read as a decision to remain morally 'pure,' or bound to a life of heterosexuality, while choosing Venus and between conformity (heterosexuality) and authenticity (homosexuality) is a common concern for members of the queer community; due to the inclusion of Tannhaüser, one wonders whether Munsey is reckoning with tions between Tannhaüser and homosexuality, as Oscar sits close to him and brushes his hand as he reaches for dation tactics, it is unclear why Munsey would need to resort to this since he already holds power over these men, as demonstrated by the entire room falling silent that Munsey is actively choosing to be physically close to the men; this choice can be read as another implication of his desire for men, with touch and closeness

The Interrogation
Figures 3. Munsey's impeccable dress and feminine way of lounging in chairs on full display. (Brute Force, 1947, 01:04:35.) Figures 4 and 5. Physical contact and closeness with the inmates appears to be no issue for Munsey. (Brute Force, 1947, 00:10:10 and 00:38:30.) is overwhelmed by the feelings and desires brought up connected to homosexuality, is one of the most explicit The shot of the record player is also important as it reveals Michelangelo's "The Rebellious Slave," which tures also known as "Prisoners," which includes "The Rebellious Slave," portrays partially or completely nude This series has been read by many as an allegory for attempting to escape the material world and its trappings in favour of pursuing desire ("Michaelangelo's Prisonto act on them, Munsey himself is a kind of Rebellious literally and metaphorically, but yearns for an outlet for In the same scene, the guard brings Miller into the his arms crossed, unable to move freely and forced to face Munsey, who sits uncomfortably close to Miller and speaks gently and softly to him, treating the interrogation more like a seduction than an attempt answer he wants, he backhands Miller, then draws the hose (another phallic object, like the gun, held near his In another context, the demand for privacy, followed by the drawing of the shades and the increase of the volume of the music would have sexual connotations and desire and reinforces the reading of Munsey's sadism as a psychosexual displacement of his repressed homosex- The scene concludes with Munsey beating Miller nearly unconscious, only to determine that Miller has no inaway the rubber hose with a look of disgust, he calls in the guard to have Miller taken away, and proceeds to wash his hands, an action that may symbolize him is itself a text thematically concerned with homosexuas a symbol of gay desire, where the music itself is so powerful that it can stir up even the most hidden of it is clear that Munsey listening to Tannhaüser as he beats Miller arouses his homosexual desires and may even explain why the beating is so brutal, as though he  (Brute Force, 1947, 01:17:30.) Figures 8 and 9. Munsey draws the shades so he can be alone (Brute Force, 1947, 01:18:50 and 01:19:10.) Figure 10. Munsey and his rubber hose, face to face with Miller. (Brute Force, 1947, 01:20:45.) washing his hands of his sins, or in other words, purifying himself of the violent expression of his homosexual homosexuality, is an intentional means of magnifying

Re-Interpreting the Narrative?
Prison is a predominantly masculine environment, and present in prison and war movies due to the near exclu-ed manifestation of the male-dominated environment of the prison are often depicted in intimate situations, including sharing their desires and heartaches with each other late at night, undressing in front of one another, and sleeping six to a cell, Munsey's perverted sexuality to be the result of the heavy censorship and ban on ho-who pervert the all-male environment of the prison by raping Andy repeatedly; their violent actions make the deep and loving friendship between Andy and Red Captain Munsey's sadistic treatment of the men, freeing and traditionally masculine Burt Lancaster, Cronyn's suggest that he is gay, it does reduce his perception as a man by other men, which is concerning in a male-domtend to be homosexual aesthetes… or homosexual Nazi sadists (Brute Force) who threaten the values of a dem-Munsey's sadistic ruling over the men is not only a sexual outlet, but a way of reasserting his dominance over -As Burt Lancaster throws him down to his death while the other prisoners cheer from below, Munsey's murder is the ultimate example of 'proper' homosocial relations, in which the prisoners band together to eliminate correlation between the queercoding of villains and the on the subject, it can be argued that many American not a Nazi, his character is Nazi-coded: his authoritarian rule over the prison echoes the fascist Nazi regime; his precise uniform and attention to detail rival the ruthless perfectionism of Adolf Hitler; and his sadism as queercoded are inherently problematic, especially for members of the queer community, though the conse-

Conclusion
'morally pure' are killed at some point in the narrative to punish them for their sins; Munsey's death continues this pattern, and his death is necessary to punish the ine that Dassin imbued Munsey with gay qualities to further pervert his character and make him a more as villainous and sexually and morally perverse are incredibly harmful to the queer community and highlight the undercurrent of homophobia still prevalent representation is better than no representation, why is it deviant, they often employ gay stereotypes? This is just one of many questions that require further exploration are few sources that cite Munsey as an implicitly gay character, it is important to remember the censorship As Richard Dyer writes in his paper "Homosexuality images of homosexuality in our time were those commercially available images of homosexuality were Captain Munsey, it is my greatest hope that this paper will reignite the conversation surrounding the represen--