Act of Violence

Act of Violence, from 1948, is a dandy film, an early example of the work of director Fred Zinneman, who would go on to make a number of classics like High Noon and A Man for All Seasons. It succeed where The Racket does not in that both protagonist and antagonist are morally ambiguous, and an audience's sympathy may shift.

In some ways it reminded me of David Cronenberg's A History of Violence, not only because of the similarity of the title. Both films have a man's past catching up with him due to his being identified by someone through a news story. In this case it's solid citizen Van Heflin, who is a building contractor in a small California town. He's got the ideal life, with a young wife (Janet Leigh, who I didn't recognize) a child, and a thriving business. But when a mysterious man with a limp shows up (Robert Ryan), he's immediately concerned, and starts turning off the lights and pulling the blinds.

It turns out that Ryan is a former army buddy. The two were in a POW camp together, and he blames Heflin for his injury and the deaths of ten men. Heflin confesses to his wife what he did, which I won't reveal here, but it shifts the allegiances of the viewer. The introduction of Ryan's girlfriend, Phyllis Thaxter, makes it clear that he's not some cold-blooded killer, but instead a man consumed by the need for revenge.

Heflin, fleeing Ryan through the streets of downtown Los Angeles, stumbles into a dive bar. He meets a good-time girl, played by Mary Astor, who takes a shine to him. He tells his sotry to her and she takes him to meet some shady characters, who offer to help him out for a price. Of course they mean to kill Ryan, and Heflin's conscience awakens, and there's a very well-done scene at desolated train station.

Act of Violence is first-rate all around, with a great music score by Bronislau Kaper (orchestrated by Andre Previn), photography by Robert Surtees (who would later do such films as Bonnie and Clyde and The Last Picture Show) and nuanced performances by Heflin and Ryan.