Watch Act of Violence For Free

Let's be realistic.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Fred Zinnemann made "Act of Violence" in 1948 before the solid, literary adaptations that made his reputation. It's a terrific piece of work, a truly taut thriller and yes, you could say very Un-Zinnemann like. The act of violence of the title is two-fold. It could refer to Robert Ryan's desire to kill Van Heflin or it could equally refer to the act of violence that Heflin was responsible for when a number of his men, during the war, were murdered by the Nazis after he betrayed them. Heflin now lives a life of almost desperate respectability in a small Californian town with wife Janet Leigh and it's to there that Ryan tracks him down.This is a morally complex film that was never the success it deserved to be. Both Heflin and Ryan are superb and Leigh, too, is excellent as the wife trying to come to terms with her husband's past. There is also a terrific, and sadly neglected, supporting turn from Mary Astor as an ageing prostitute. It was shot magnificently and on actual locations, in black and white, by Robert Surtees and it remains one of Zinnemann's very finest films.

Very enjoyable machine-gun paced film noir tells a solidly entertaining, tight story in atmospheric and potent fashion by director Fred Zinnemann. It's noteworthy for the way it portrays the effects of WWII on the minds of the men who fought it. Our two main characters are hunter and the hunted, but are not so different, and they're both created in shades of grey. One made some awful mistakes, but must suffer the pangs of guilt, and the other has allowed his hatred and need for revenge to completely dominate his life, to the exclusion of all else. The supporting cast is strong, and Zinnemann and company just get right into the action, saving all of the credits for the end, which would have been a real rarity in this era.Van Heflin plays Frank Enley, a successful building contractor who finds that he is being relentlessly pursued by one of his old war comrades, Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan). Joe simply can NOT forgive Frank for his actions during their time as prisoners of war, and is intent on killing him. Soon Frank must take it on the lam, while other people involved in the drama, such as Franks' terrified wife Edith (Janet Leigh), and Joes' distraught girlfriend Ann (Phyllis Thaxter), try to dissuade Joe from continuing in his mission.There's no filler here, just an engaging, straightforward story (authored by Collier Young, and written for the screen by Robert L. Richards). Things really kick up a notch once the frazzled Frank goes on the run, and get truly interesting when a concerned call girl, Pat (Mary Astor), takes some pity on Frank and tries to help him out. Things only get worse when he's introduced to characters such as Gavery (Taylor Holmes) and Johnny (Berry Kroeger). Heflin and Ryan are both compulsively watchable, the young and gorgeous Leigh is a joy, Holmes and Kroeger are great fun to watch, and Astor is fantastic and a real standout among the cast.For those people who love this genre and also like a bit of action to go with it, "Act of Violence" is a satisfying bit of entertainment.Eight out of 10.

Fred Zinnemann directed this post-WWII thriller that stars Robert Ryan as Joe Parkson, an embittered and determined WWII veteran who is stalking seemingly respectable and successful family man Frank Enley(played by Van Heflin) who has a dark secret from his past when he was the commanding officer in the German POW camp that he shared with Parkson and his group. Janet Leigh plays Edith Enley, who tries to understand why Joe hates her husband, who then flees the state to a convention, with Joe in pursuit. Mary Astor plays a woman who helps Joe. Suspenseful and interesting film with fine acting and directing, with comparisons to the later film "Stalag 17".

A surprisingly frank and morally complex film noir released immediately post-WWII.Van Heflin plays a man who ratted out some fellow soldiers in a Nazi POW camp; Robert Ryan is one of the survivors who comes to seek vengeance on Heflin after they've all returned to the States and have spent time rebuilding their lives. The movie poses difficult questions, much more difficult ones than movies of its kind normally did, and it doesn't let itself off easy by making either Heflin nor Ryan all good or all bad. One of the most daring elements of the film is its suggestion that Heflin is deserving of forgiveness, because the codes of conduct that govern men in the theater of war are different from those that govern us in our day-to-day lives. That maybe doesn't seem like a daring thing to say now, but at the time it would have been.Heflin and Ryan are both terrific; Ryan is one of my favorite film noir actors. But the women in the film make quite an impression, and no wonder given that two of them are played by Janet Leigh (as Heflin's wife) and Mary Astor (as a world-weary good-time gal who takes Heflin under her protective wing). If the mens' world -- both at war and at home -- is one of violence and revenge, it's the women who act as the voice of reason and sanity, trying to impose a sense of stability amid the chaos.A really, really good movie.Grade: A