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Act of Violence

Play trailer Poster for Act of Violence 1948 1h 22m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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94% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A former prisoner of war, Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is hailed as a hero in his California town. However, Frank actually aided his Nazi captors, and he closely guards this secret. Frank's shameful past comes back to visit him when fellow survivor Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) emerges, intent on making the turncoat pay for his betrayal. As Joe closes in on Frank, the traitor goes into hiding, abandoning his wife, Edith (Janet Leigh), who has no clue about her husband's wartime transgressions.

Critics Reviews

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Variety Staff Variety 11/01/2007
It is strong meat for the heavy drama addicts, tellingly produced and played to develop tight excitement. Go to Full Review
Bosley Crowther New York Times 03/25/2006
3/5
Technically Act of Violence touches all the bases in its circuit chase. But it is as though it were doing it on the strength of a long, foul ball. Go to Full Review
Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies Apr 2
3.5/5
Act of Violence shines a light on veterans and how the war impacted them in post-war America. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 06/30/2024
3/4
The film is strengthened by its messy morality. Go to Full Review
Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal 06/26/2024
3.5/5
A chilling consideration of the darker side of American dreams, a concise but complex tale about the corrosion of vengeance, and an often agonizing depiction of post-traumatic stress behavior. Go to Full Review
Pat Padua Washington City Paper 10/18/2023
Director Fred Zinnemann is best known for his 1952 masterpiece High Noon, but this 1948 noir feels like a dry run, embodying themes of courage and cowardice in a distinctly postwar tale. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Barry W W 11/10/2024 Masterful. Each shot shows Zinnemann as an artist of the highest caliber and the actors were outstanding Ryan and Heflin were multi faceted in committing to the making of this prime and superior noire. a special nod to Janet Leigh for a natural and touching performance.and every home should have a Mary Aster in it . She is Always fantastic. See more acsdoug D @acsdoug 08/07/2024 Th ending was a little disappointing, it was a little too neat. Up until that point, however, it's a pretty good noir. The mystery is emboldened by moral dilemmas that you usually don't see in these kind of movies. See more Steve D 06/05/2023 The characters are too thin for it to be fully engaging. See more 05/14/2022 LOL, so funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Ed M 04/06/2021 Entertaining, creepy little movie about World War 2 Vets. Not bad. See more Ken R 09/12/2020 Act Of Violence – A Class Act This suspenseful 1949 masterwork is top of its class. A great cast takes us on a spine tingling journey of introspection and soul searching. From the best of friends to the worst of enemies this thoughtful, superbly performed noir classic, reminds us what made these early movies so convincingly perfect. Respected director Fred Zinnemann combines with master director of photography Robert Surtees (Ben Hur'59) to create some remarkable shadowy scenes of movie perfection and taut storytelling. While the theme may be grim for some, it takes us into a situation that would try the best of us – testing all our strengths and weaknesses. If not yet seen, don't read any synopses, just see it to be thoroughly entertained. Van Heflin and Robert Ryan are perfect as the two men out to right a past wrong, each dealing with a deep-seated memory that pushes them into a deadly collision course - with no visible means of discourse. Even the resolution is starkly realistic with no escape. Bronislau Kaper provides the tense music score, while all the MGM production specialists provide all the stylish fine touches. Not to be missed by lovers of deeply felt, first-class moviemaking. The WB Archive DVD offers high a quality transfer and good value as a Double Feature with the terrific "Mystery Street" See more Read all reviews
Act of Violence

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Movie Info

Synopsis A former prisoner of war, Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is hailed as a hero in his California town. However, Frank actually aided his Nazi captors, and he closely guards this secret. Frank's shameful past comes back to visit him when fellow survivor Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) emerges, intent on making the turncoat pay for his betrayal. As Joe closes in on Frank, the traitor goes into hiding, abandoning his wife, Edith (Janet Leigh), who has no clue about her husband's wartime transgressions.
Director
Fred Zinnemann
Producer
William H. Wright
Screenwriter
Collier Young, Robert L. Richards
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp.
Production Co
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 21, 1948, Wide
Release Date (DVD)
Jul 31, 2007
Runtime
1h 22m
Sound Mix
Mono