Act of Violence (Zinnemann, 1949): BFI Southbank, NFT1, 12.20pm
This screening is part of the Restored strand at BFI Southbank.Chicago Reader review:
Recruited as MGM’s production chief in 1948, Dore Schary tried to inject
the sluggish fantasy factory with a dose of social realism, and one of
the first products was this taut sun-washed noir (1949) directed by Fred
Zinnemann (High Noon, From Here to Eternity). Robert Ryan is an
avenging angel in raincoat and fedora, limping inexorably toward
respected California businessman Van Heflin to punish him for his
treachery in a German prison camp during the war. Aiding the
guilt-ridden traitor are the late Janet Leigh as his flinty wife and
Mary Astor as a jaded hooker, both excellent. The studio’s polished
production works against the moral rot at the heart of the story, but a
strong script by Robert L. Richards (Winchester ’73) cuts deep into the
tortured ethics of the two former POWs.
J R Jones
Here (and above) is the trailer.
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