Directed
by Fred Zinnemann; produced by William H Wright
Frank
Enley (Van Heflin) has a fine life in a small southern California town, where
he lives with his wife, Edith (Janet Leigh) and baby son. But he’s disturbed by
the arrival of Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan), a man from his past with an intense
grievance, and an equally intense desire for vengeance. What Enley will do to
erase his past, and what Parkson will do to settle it, depends on what each man
has become because of that past.
A
suspenseful film noir, Act of Violence
takes a good story, puts it together with excellent direction and acting, to
make a highly commendable movie. The story is not complex, but it deals with
complex issues, especially what can cause good men to do bad things:
deprivation, desperation, obsession are the catalysts for actions that, under
normal circumstances, no one would undertake. Enley’s increasing frantic
attempts to escape what might happen may seem far-fetched in the last third of
the movie. But people have done strange things to avoid consequences, and the
dark world in which he finds himself is as much symbolic of his frame of mind
as a real expression of criminality.
The
characters are realistic. The motives of Enley and Parkson are obvious; those
of Pat (Mary Astor) are less clear. Probably a prostitute, she appoints herself
at one point Enley’s protector, of sorts. The reasons for her assistance seem
at first no more than boredom, or perhaps the possibility of a little money. But
her status as a mere hanger-on changes as she comes to see Enley as someone she
might genuinely help.
Both
Heflin and Ryan are first-rate. Ryan’s tall, harder impression lends itself to
the brooding menace he needs to exude, yet both actors have portrayed good and
bad characters. This ability to be both hero and villain fits perfectly with
the story-line. It is easily understood that at one time, both Enley and
Parkson were ordinary, easy-going men, much more good than evil; it is as
easily understood how both could arrive at the point we meet them.
Leigh
does well as the young wife almost overwhelmed by events, but determined to
help her husband. Phyllis Thaxter provides a tougher, though corresponding
version of Leigh’s character, as Parkson’s girlfriend. She’s a little older
than Edith, has seen more of life and, further, has had to deal with Parkson’s
obsession.
While
Act of Violence was filmed only seven
years after The Maltese Falcon, Astor
looks to have aged double that number of years, though I would not be surprised
if that was due to make-up and lighting (the latter especially is effective);
she was, after all, only 43 in 1949. As with the other actors and their
performances, Astor’s look, the look of someone whom life had treated unkindly,
is perfect for the part.
The
direction is spot-on, though otherwise would have been surprising from
Zinnemann, who went on to direct High
Noon, From Here to Eternity, Oklahoma!, A Man For All Seasons, The Day of the
Jackal. It is particularly felt during Enley’s late night flight through a
nearly deserted Los Angeles, highlighting both the sinister environment, and
the man’s solitude in it. Though he is running to escape his past, he is, at
that moment, alone, and therefore running from himself. The symbolism is
indicative of Zinnemann’s European origins.
A taut film of both psychology and action, featuring two often overlooked dramatic actors, Act of Violence is worth both watching and remembering.
