Cine Gratia Cinema: Film Anniversaries 2019 | “Act of Violence” (1949)

While Battleground dealt with World War II's mental and physical impact on men, Act of Violence (1949, Fred Zinnemann) points to the actual consequences for those men recovering from the war. What were the implications of their actions? Was it courage or cowardice? Those two questions are looming in this minor film noir, release January 22nd in 1949, celebrating today its 70th anniversary. With all the initial elements of a cat-and-mouse thriller, a powerful face-off between Van Heflin and Robert Ryan, this movie approaches a heavy subject and it is certainly not your typical MGM film. A fast-paced script, a smooth direction and first rate performances; Act of Violence is a highly recommended film for all noir enthusiasts and, if you ask me, for all film lovers.

Classic lavish literary adaptations such as Little Women (1949, Mervyn LeRoy) –which we will also discuss in future posts–, were probably closer to Metro Goldwyn Mayer's most common material. Quite interestingly, young Janet Leigh and film veteran Mary Astor starred in both productions within the same year and in very different parts, too. Completing the trio of marvelous female supports, we find Phyllis Thaxter, who was known mostly by her TV appearances in classics like Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-1962) or The Twilight Zone (1959-1964). There is something about this film that I can't help but to link to later television productions such as The Fugitive (1963-1967). You will see several hints of that as I progress. Its rapid start and sharp approach leaves no place for initial credit titles and much like a TV episode, they come quite unusually at the very end of the film.

Van Heflin and Robert Ryan in Act of Violence_Film Noir Foundation

Van Heflin and Robert Ryan in Acto de violencia.
Image via Film Noir Foundation.

The film starts out with Robert Ryan, in his usual menacing appearance, traveling from Los Angeles to Santa Lisa, California. Limping in a rugged trench coat, hate in his eyes, the actor is presented in his most familiar antagonistic way. He is obsessed with finding Frank R. Enley, Van Heflin's character who, in contrast, is a well-respected war hero with a booming business and a happy family with wife Janet Leigh and little Georgie. This idyllic picture hides a terrible secret. In the beginning, Act of Violence seems to present a clear difference between the two male characters but as the film progresses, Heflin's ambiguity becomes more and more unsettling as we learn about his past. In that sense, our identification with him changes as the movie unveils the dark truth. No one would initially root for Robert Ryan but by the end of the film audiences are left with not much to choose from.

External atmosphere as with all great film noirs is essential. In this case, Act of Violence night shots were filmed on actual locations. Los Angeles noir's iconic Angels' Flight Railway can be seen in a pivotal scene or Big Bear Lake in San Bernardino, referred to in the movie as Redwood Lake. Exceptional cinematographer Robert Surtees, honored for his work in Ben-Hur (1959, William Wyler), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952, Vincente Minnelli) or King Solomon's Mines (1951, Compton Bennett & Andrew Marton), is amongst his finest with expressionist shots both in daytime and nighttime.

Frame from Act of Violence where Angels Flight Railway in Los Angeles appears.

However, those gripping urban scenes didn't impress much 1949's audiences and the movie received also little critical attention at the time of its release. We presume that the film's heavy undercurrent and unsympathetic nature were not what spectators at the time were looking for. Nowadays, it is a whole different picture, a remarkable one. Female characters in this film are the ones who exercise common sense. Aside from Janet Leigh, dealing with such dense material at only 21 years of age, Mary Astor comes back in a grand way to the genre after her iconic role in The Maltese Falcon (1941, John Huston). Her performance in Act of Violence really makes you wonder why she didn't star in more film noir pictures. Much like Heflin, her expertise and ambiguity are priceless.

Mary Astor and Van Heflin in Act of Violence (1949)

Mary Astor and Van Heflin in Act of Violence.
Image via Harvard Square.

Ahead of its time, the film's script by Robert L. Richards who was later blacklisted, is a precise job. It was based on an unpublished story by Collier Young, the creator of again TV classics like Ironside (1967-1975) and who later became an independent producer with then wife Ida Lupino. A great teaming that went on to create other lesser-known formidable noir films such as The Hitch-Hiker (1953, Ida Lupino). Fred Zinnemann who was then under contract with MGM was the appointed director. He wasn't very pleased with the kind of productions he was assigned to but everything changed with Act of Violence.

Austrian-born Fred Zinnemann learnt, shortly after WWII, that both his parents had died in a Nazi concentration camp. During this period, he directed three other films that directly addressed the traumatic repercussions of the Second World War. Those movies were The Search (1948, Fred Zinnemann), The Men (1950, Fred Zinnemann), which was Marlon Brando's screen debut and Teresa (1951, Fred Zinnemann). From that moment on, his work often involved a conflict of conscience and would always show amazing performances. Masterpieces such as High Noon (1952, Fred Zinnemann), From Here to Eternity (1953, Fred Zinnemann) or The Nun's Story (1959, Fred Zinnemann) come to mind.

Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh and Fred Zinnemann during a break from filming Act of Violence.

If you enjoy noir films, then you are in luck: our next post celebrating film anniversaries of 2019 will be a quintessential picture of the genre. For now, please don't forget to watch Act of Violence and thank me later.