"Act Of Violence" is a powerful and tense melodrama about two men who, during the period immediately following World War 11, are both haunted by the past. The methods by which they struggle to resolve their troubled circumstances differ, as one chooses violent revenge as a solution whilst the other ultimately opts for an even more perversely criminal remedy. Stark visual contrasts are drawn between the brightly lit scenes which celebrate all the optimism and positivity of the period and the more darkly lit ones during which the problems of the recent past are addressed.
Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is a clean cut ex-serviceman who runs his own successful business. He's happily married and well respected in his local community. Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) is a disabled war veteran who calls at Frank's house and learns from his wife Edith (Janet Leigh) that Frank is away on a fishing trip. Joe pursues Frank to the nearby lake with the intention of killing him but is thwarted when he is unable to get a clear shot at him. When a bartender tells Frank that a stranger with a limp has been asking about him, he immediately panics and heads home.
Frank tells Edith that Joe and he were in a Nazi POW camp together and that he doesn't want to see Joe as he's mentally ill. Frank also admits that it was because of Joe that he moved the family away from their previous home in Syracuse, New York. The couple hide out in their darkened house when Joe calls again and his threatening presence pacing around outside, makes the sound of his irregular stride seem extremely sinister.
When Frank goes to a builders' and contractors' convention in Los Angeles, Joe goes again to his home and tells Edith that he's pursuing Frank because he was responsible for his disability and the deaths of a number of his comrades. At the convention, Joe finds Frank and after a brief scuffle, Frank escapes. He goes to a bar where he meets Pat (Mary Astor) who introduces him to a "lawyer" named Gavery (Taylor Holmes) and a hit man called Johnny (Berry Kroeger) and between them they make an arrangement for Joe to be murdered. The events that take place when the killing is to be carried out, lead to a resolution for both men and some degree of redemption for Frank.
Frank is an archetypal noir character being a rather weak man, haunted by something from his past and who despite his best efforts, is unable to avoid his own destiny. His collusion with the Nazis that led to the deaths of his comrades had been an ill judged action which had been made at a time when he was under duress and the same poor judgement was shown yet again when he made a similar bad decision to conspire with criminals to kill Joe. Neither man is completely noble or unequivocally evil, but both are undoubtedly victims of their recent tragic past. Their story which initially appears to be a simple conflict between good and evil is gradually revealed to be something more complex and disturbing.
Fred Zinnemann's direction and Robert Surtees' cinematography are both excellent and combine effectively to unveil the different aspects of Frank and Joe's characters and also to convey all the associated tension and anxiety that they feel throughout.
"Act Of Violence" certainly grows from its deceptively straightforward looking introduction into an absorbing tale of some substance and profundity.
Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is a clean cut ex-serviceman who runs his own successful business. He's happily married and well respected in his local community. Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) is a disabled war veteran who calls at Frank's house and learns from his wife Edith (Janet Leigh) that Frank is away on a fishing trip. Joe pursues Frank to the nearby lake with the intention of killing him but is thwarted when he is unable to get a clear shot at him. When a bartender tells Frank that a stranger with a limp has been asking about him, he immediately panics and heads home.
Frank tells Edith that Joe and he were in a Nazi POW camp together and that he doesn't want to see Joe as he's mentally ill. Frank also admits that it was because of Joe that he moved the family away from their previous home in Syracuse, New York. The couple hide out in their darkened house when Joe calls again and his threatening presence pacing around outside, makes the sound of his irregular stride seem extremely sinister.
When Frank goes to a builders' and contractors' convention in Los Angeles, Joe goes again to his home and tells Edith that he's pursuing Frank because he was responsible for his disability and the deaths of a number of his comrades. At the convention, Joe finds Frank and after a brief scuffle, Frank escapes. He goes to a bar where he meets Pat (Mary Astor) who introduces him to a "lawyer" named Gavery (Taylor Holmes) and a hit man called Johnny (Berry Kroeger) and between them they make an arrangement for Joe to be murdered. The events that take place when the killing is to be carried out, lead to a resolution for both men and some degree of redemption for Frank.
Frank is an archetypal noir character being a rather weak man, haunted by something from his past and who despite his best efforts, is unable to avoid his own destiny. His collusion with the Nazis that led to the deaths of his comrades had been an ill judged action which had been made at a time when he was under duress and the same poor judgement was shown yet again when he made a similar bad decision to conspire with criminals to kill Joe. Neither man is completely noble or unequivocally evil, but both are undoubtedly victims of their recent tragic past. Their story which initially appears to be a simple conflict between good and evil is gradually revealed to be something more complex and disturbing.
Fred Zinnemann's direction and Robert Surtees' cinematography are both excellent and combine effectively to unveil the different aspects of Frank and Joe's characters and also to convey all the associated tension and anxiety that they feel throughout.
"Act Of Violence" certainly grows from its deceptively straightforward looking introduction into an absorbing tale of some substance and profundity.