Act of Violence

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Han R Apr 6, 2019 Nearly perfect film noir, with a thick, shadowy atmosphere and a taut story. Excellent cast and direction. My only complaint is the finale seemed forced by comparison to the rest of the film. See more

Anakin R Feb 3, 2019 A perfect noir from the technical point of view, it has all the elements of a true noir picture and moreover they are perfectly realized. It all begins from the bright scenes and respectable background and slowly but inevitably, as the shadowy past takes hold of the main hero/antihero reality, proceeds to darkness, guilt-driven madness, low-life personalities and all the other characteristics of a man losing his grip on circumstances. Excellent cast and riveting story; it's economic in run-time and rich on suspense; and the feel of a B-movie adds to it more realism. See more

Draco L Jan 29, 2019 A classic, yet underappreciated, film noir that is only marred by its final scene. Nonetheless the ride down the seedy streets and saloons of late 1940s Los Angeles with desperate characters is well worth your time. See more

Rey R Jan 28, 2019 It opens with a limping man, Joe (Robert Ryan) with a gun on hand going on a crusade to pursue Frank (Van Heflin) viewers soon find out later used to serve together as part of a bombardier team during WWII. With a good job and his wife Edith(Janet Leigh) by his side, viewers soon find out why his former army friend is seeking retribution, and apparently Frank has not been totally truthful to his wife. Veteran actress Mary Astor has a small cameo role as a prostitute. See more

George R Jan 27, 2019 Act Of Violence lives up to its no-fooling-around title with a grim, exciting melodrama. Van Heflin is Frank Enley, a World War II veteran who has survived and been decorated with honors, while nearly all his comrades died in a Nazi prison camp. The one survivor, a crippled, revenge-crazed Robert Ryan, sets out to make Enley pay for the confession that sent his buddies to their deaths. To save his wife (Janet Leigh) from danger, Enley flees, meeting up with a kind-hearted hooker (Mary Astor) and ultimately hiring a hitman to kill his pursuer. The chase builds to a tense climax that does nothing to relieve the dark atmosphere of the rest of the film. With taut performances by Ryan and Heflin emphasizing its classic moral dilemmas, Act Of Violence remains a gripping thriller. See more

Hagrid G Sep 27, 2018 This may be MGM's best film noir. The movie's title mystifies me; it isn't appropriate or descriptive for this particular film. The title appears generic, yet the violence exists primarily internal to the two leading men. This tense tale of betrayal and obsession gallops along at a torrid pace for all of its 82 minutes, refusing to let go. Van Heflin's character is running from his past, a very noir-ish plotline. Robert Ryan often played the heavy but had the acting chops to take on the hero roles also. His character, Parkland, both physically and psychologically wounded, seemingly insane and bent on revenge at any cost, is ahead of its time cinematically. Neither leading man is who he seems to be in the film's introduction. This is earliest role I've seen from Janet Leigh, maybe best described as "cute as a button" in her crucial role as Heflin's character's wife. Her great acting chops are on display This film shares elements with the outstanding drama Cape Fear, the 1991 Scorsese version more than the original 1962 film. It's on the nature of true guilt and innocence, as well the more obvious betrayal and revenge motives. The contrast between small town-bright lighting and big city-dark, shadowy, moody, for which noir is well-known is critical here. It reminds me, as does the film in a way, of Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. The contrast of opposites between Ryan and Heflin's characters and their transformations during the film is the key to understanding the film's message. Act of Violence's breathless climax neatly wraps up the issues of honor and guilt, but I won't give it all away because you must experience it unadulterated. Suffice to sum it up as the elements of social justice, realism, and suspense are perfectly realized in the B-film noir genre by Fred Zinneman. See more

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Act of Violence

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