Act of Violence
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Written by Robert L. Richards and Collier Young
1948/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing/Warner Noir Collection Vol. 4
[box]Frank R. Enley: You don’t know what made him the way he is – I do![/box]
This is a tense thriller with a social conscience that presages the many good things director Zinnemann (High Noon, From Here to Eternity, The Nun’s Story) was to give us in the future. It benefits from two fantastic perfomances by its leading men.
Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) is an embittered war veteran with a limp. His former buddy Frank Enley (Van Heflin) has graduated to be a man with a beautiful young wife (Janet Leigh) and toddler and a model citizen of Santa Lisa, California. They are heading for a showdown.
Over the opening title credit, we see Joe packing his pistol and heading from New York to Santa Lisa. He arrives in town to find a Memorial Day celebration, with Frank as keynote speaker. We learn that Joe bears Frank a grudge from some misdeed done while the two were in a German prison camp. The extent of the wrongdoing is only gradually revealed. Frank’s whole story comes out during an emotional confession to his wife.
The rest of the film’s 82-minute running time is devoted to Joe’s relentless pursuit and Frank’s increasingly frantic efforts to escape. Finally, he ends up on the wrong side of the tracks in Los Angeles being aided by a kind barfly (Mary Astor) and her extremely shady associates. But Joe and Fate are waiting for him back in Santa Lisa.
This is one terrific movie. Zinneman saves the credits until the end, highly unusual in 1948, in order to build suspense from the very first second. It doesn’t stop until those credits roll at the end. I love the way the palette goes from bright when we first meet Frank and his family to increasingly darker hues as the extent of Frank’s predicament is revealed. Heflin and Ryan are two of the greatest actors of the 40’s and 50’s and these performances show why. Mary Astor is touching in what may have been her lifetime best performance. The tension is heightened by Branislau Kaper’s edgy score. Highly recommended.
Opening credits – credits roll over action (Robert Ryan) – Cinematography by Robert Surtees
