Review of Act of Violence (1949) by Brad G — 12 Sep 2010
I must admit that I guessed the outcome of this story once all the pieces fell into place for me. If viewed as a sort of modern day fable - I felt the outcome was all but inevitable. It didn't make the film any less enjoyable for me though - I liked it a lot. It's a noir with a twisted WWII spin. It's also a lesson in the 3 R's from director Fred Zinnemann (HIGH NOON) - Revenge, Revelations and Redemption.
Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is a former bomber pilot who seems to be adapting well to life after the war. He is married to a beautiful wife, Edith (Janet Leigh) and raising a 2 year old bouncing baby boy. They live in a nice suburban neighborhood. His home construction business is doing quite well in the postwar economy. The only thing wrong with this picture-perfect scenario is that a man is stalking Frank?for the purpose of killing him.
The stalker is Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) and Frank was actually expecting him to show one day. Both men once served as crew members of a bomber. The bomber was shot down and Frank and Joe were captured and spent the final year of the war in a Nazi prison camp. It is what happened in the prison camp that sets into motion the plot of the film?
Zinnemann builds the suspense nicely. An injury causes Joe to drag his right foot and scape the ground as he walks. Sometimes you cannot see Joe? but you can certainly hear him coming like some sort for mad animal. When Frank realizes that Joe is closing in on him - all he can do is?RUN!!!
Nice performances all around. Robert Ryan is particularly creepy as Joe the stalker. A young-looking Janet Leigh (12 years before Hitchcock's PSYCHO) as the worried turned paranoid wife - wondering what in hell is going on with her husband. Mary Astor is here too as Pat, a concerned prostitute trying to assist the down-and-out Frank when he flees to Los Angeles. Pat suggests a drastic solution to Frank's problems - but the solution may turn out worse than the problem.
Nice L.A. location shooting too including views of the Angel's Flight railway.
8.
This review of Act of Violence (1949) was written by Brad G on 12 Sep 2010.
Act of Violence has generally received positive reviews.
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