Act of Violence

source: Act of Violence

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source: Act of Violence

Despite some sterling efforts by director and photographer, it is hard to work up much interest in this psychological thriller. The characters are unconvincing - and the stars don't help: Van Heflin goes through his usual motions ("Register shock, Van!"), Janet Leigh lays on the mousey housewife bit with a trowel, Phyllis Thaxter once again does her duty by the worried and sympathetic friend, and Robert Ryan is so hammily obvious a neurotic nut, it's impossible to understand why he was not carted off to the psycho ward the minute he stuck his head out of doors. The supporting cast is much more realistic and lifelike, with Mary Astor, Taylor Holmes and Berry Kroeger trying valiantly to give their roles depth and conviction - though they are largely defeated by the script. Still, at least they succeed in making their portrayals interesting - which is more than one can say for the star performers. The actual plot mechanics are dated and old-hat now, but the script could have succeeded - despite its unconvincing characters - had the writers made some effort to preserve the dramatic unities. Here is a yarn that is a natural for a tight time span (say no more than ten or twelve-hours) and for confinement to the environs of a particular locale. Instead, the story meanders all over the place, introducing superfluous characters at every turn and having no sense of urgency. And then it tacks on a ridiculous, melodramatic climax that conveniently avoids having to deal with the moral or social issues previously raised!

The 'act of violence' of the title is contemplated, not carried out. This is therefore not a violent film, despite the title. The film is a brilliant and thoughtful attempt to deal with serious issues of post-war trauma, betrayal, and revenge. The women in the film are the helpless spectators of the acting-out of a postscript to a war of which they had no direct knowledge. Beautiful and talented Janet Leigh, aged only 21, is the adoring wife of Van Heflin, who delivers one of his finest performances as a man whose past has caught up with him in the most menacing way possible: as Robert Ryan with a gun in his hand deciding that van Heflin must pay for what he did when they were in the Nazi prison camp together. These situations existed in real life, and did not have to be invented. Fred Zinnemann, the director, was freshly back from Germany where he had just finished shooting 'The Search' (1948) on location amidst the rubble and ruins of the war. The aftermath of the war was his obsession at that time, followed after this by 'The Men', which also dealt with veterans. I knew Fred very well for a while, and he was a deep thinker, a man with a profound conscience and sense of social responsibility to inform and enlighten the public. He was an Austrian Jew, and his first film experience was with the German film 'Menschen am Sonntag' ('People on Sunday')(1930), which is an astonishing, bold, and mesmerising documentary film of social observation mixed with avant garde. Fred told me he had trained as a violinist when young in Vienna. He was a thinker and a complete highbrow (hence his ability to direct 'A Man for All Seasons' so well), but one who was devoted to public communication. I had the highest possible opinion of Fred as a person and as a creative artist. He was so gentle that he was able to tease sensitive performances out of anybody. He had some rough times in his career, but that is another story. With 'High Noon' (1952), Fred achieved recognition as one of the world's leading film directors, recognition which should have come to him earlier. Certainly this film, in which every frame is perfect, the script is well-honed, and the editing and construction without flaw, together with its spectacular performances (Mary Astor harrowingly convincing as a prostitute!) and Robert Ryan at his most grimly determined and menacing, where we come to realize that his need for vengeance is purely idealistic and not personal, shows clearly what a master Fred Zinnemann already was. This is not 'just a noir film'; it is a Fred Zinnemann film in the noir genre, which is something else again. It should not be missed by connoisseurs who want to see how a dark thriller can be genuinely profound in a social and psychological sense. Fred's wish was not just to make a good thriller, but to explore the depths of what that thriller represented in every respect. Since film noir was a genre which came into existence as the result of the aftermath of the war, this film is central to understanding the genre as a whole, and if you haven't seen it, you can never properly understand the genre. This and 'Force of Evil' are probably the two key noir films, the most profound of them all.

This was a decent film noir that could have been a super film noir, but it kind of bogged down with a half hour to go with a little too much nagging women. Had it kept its edge with the crime story and fantastic cinematography, this would be a film to treasure. It was still okay overall. Kudos to cinematography Robert Surtees and director Fred Zinnemann, both of whom did a wonderful job making this visually interesting. Check out the resumes of both of those men: they're impressive. It also has an interesting cast with, in my opinion, Robert Ryan and Myrna Loy giving us the best performance, Ryan in the lead and Loy in support. Ryan co-stars in the film as "Joe Parkson." and plays a familiar role - the embittered villain, This time he's stalking an old army sergeant-friend, vowing to kill him for past deeds when they were both prisoners of war in World War II. Van Heflin plays "Frank Enley," the guy with the guilty past whom Ryan is stalking. "Enley," according to "Parkson," sold out the men to get favors from the Nazis. Enley's side of the story is a little different because his intentions were to save those men but he, himself, as doubts about his own motives as years have forced him to reelect on that time. Nonetheless, trying to stop both guys from killing themselves are their woman: Janet Leigh playing Enley's wife and Phyllis Thaxter playing Parkson's longtime girlfriend. Added to the mix comes Loy as "Pat," a veteran hooker who meets Enley in a bar one night when he's on the run from Parkson. Loy adds a lot of verbal spark to this film. Her natural delivery in here is terrific to hear. She, too, tries to talk sense into the men, including a hired killer who is going to get rid of Enley's problem for him. It also gets a melodramatic in that last half hour with the women sermonizing to all these guys. A little less of it would have kept up the pace of the story, instead of slowing it down almost to a halt until the climactic scene. The ending was a little too predictable, another disappointment in a film that was super for the first hour. Overall, it's still a good film and definitely recommended for noir buffs. Hopefully, it will be out on DVD some day.

Fred Zinnemann made "Act of Violence" in 1948 before the solid, literary adaptations that made his reputation. It's a terrific piece of work, a truly taut thriller and yes, you could say very Un-Zinnemann like. The act of violence of the title is two-fold. It could refer to Robert Ryan's desire to kill Van Heflin or it could equally refer to the act of violence that Heflin was responsible for when a number of his men, during the war, were murdered by the Nazis after he betrayed them. Heflin now lives a life of almost desperate respectability in a small Californian town with wife Janet Leigh and it's to there that Ryan tracks him down. This is a morally complex film that was never the success it deserved to be. Both Heflin and Ryan are superb and Leigh, too, is excellent as the wife trying to come to terms with her husband's past. There is also a terrific, and sadly neglected, supporting turn from Mary Astor as an ageing prostitute. It was shot magnificently and on actual locations, in black and white, by Robert Surtees and it remains one of Zinnemann's very finest films.

This dark, unsettling film is surely too unhappy ever to have found much audience. But TCM's frequent showings will find it at last a few viewers interested in knowing some of the scarier aspects of the post-war period. A purported war-hero lives in terror of being revealed as having informed on fellow POW's, and by the time his traumatized accuser, Robert Ryan, has closed in to take vengeance, the punishment seems almost secondary to Van Heflin's self-torment. I grew up the son of a POW, and know the dark area, not discussed openly, surrounding those soldiers who were not noble or self-sacrificing.

Neither Van Heflin or Robert Ryan were ever considered matinée idols or big box office draws. But both men were consummate professionals who could cast well in a variety of roles. I think that Act Of Violence could have worked just as well if they had played each other's parts. MGM was a studio that did not do noir films very often, but in this case with Fred Zinnemann directing they did this one very well. No cops or private eyes in this one, both men are your average American of 1948. One has done a terrible wrong to the other and the other is seeking revenge. Heflin is a former pilot who was shot down over Germany during World War II and Ryan was his bombardier. They both did time in a POW camp where Heflin informed on escape plans that Ryan and others made. No one survived but Ryan and he now walks with a limp, courtesy of Nazi machine gunners. In civilian life Heflin is now a very successful contractor and when he hears Ryan is looking for him, he gets naturally rattled which concerns his wife Janet Leigh. Heflin who was not going to go to a convention in Los Angeles now changes his mind abruptly, but not before explaining to Leigh the reason for his fear. It's more fear of being exposed than for his life. In Los Angeles Heflin who won his Oscar for Johnny Eager playing an alcoholic borrows a bit from that role as he ends up in a waterfront dive pouring his troubles out to some lowlifes played by Mary Astor, Taylor Holmes, and Berry Kroeger. Holmes is also drawing a bit from a previous role as a shyster lawyer in Kiss Of Death as he's playing the same kind of character in seedier circumstances. In fact Holmes's character says he is an attorney. I know Fred Zinnemann must have seen Kiss Of Death and cast Holmes as a result of that. The climax might not be what you think, but in a way it's a fitting ending to the story. Though they get good support from the rest of the cast Heflin and Ryan dominate the story though they have no scenes together until the end. Act Of Violence is a noir classic and fans of Heflin and Ryan should list it among their best performances.

Van Heflin plays a land developer in Los Angeles in the booming years after WW2, whom we see cutting the ribbon on a new sub-division that's opening up. He has a beautiful young wife played by Janet Leigh who adores everything about him and a toddler son as well. When an army buddy played by Robert Ryan unexpectedly shows up, it throws Heflin's little paradise into chaos. His wartime history emerges, presenting a disturbing picture of cowardice and betrayal, things he's kept hidden from everyone, including his wife, but which his own conscience and Ryan as well, won't let him escape. It turns out Ryan's been trailing him from coast to coast. Heflin's disintegration is awesome, one of the finest acting jobs ever. It's all perfectly capped off when he's trying to explain what happened to his unbelieving wife. He winds up on LA's skid row, meeting a party girl who's seen much better days played by Mary Astor, who gets him to confide in her and introduces him to Johnny (Berry Kroeger), someone who can arrange to have all his problems taken care of for a hefty price. The conclusion, a classic western style noir showdown on a breezy night on the railroad tracks, is beautifully done.