Act of violence
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Act of violence |
| Original title | Act of Violence |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1948 |
| length | 82 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Fred Zinnemann |
| script | Robert L. Richards |
| production | William H. Wright |
| music | Bronislau caper |
| camera | Robert Surtees |
| cut | Conrad A. Annoying |
| occupation | |
| |
Act of Violence (Original title: Act of Violence ) is an American crime film from the era of film noir by Fred Zinnemann from 1948. The screenplay is based on a story by Collier Young . The building contractor Frank R. Enley, played by Van Heflin , betrayed his comrades out of selfish motives during his time as a prisoner of war in Germany. When his former comrade Joe Parkson, played by Robert Ryan , comes to town, he fears for his reputation.
The film premiered on December 21, 1948. It did not come to cinemas in Germany. It was first shown on German television on October 17, 1986.
action
The small California town of Santa Lisa on Memorial Day . War veteran Frank R. Enley is honored by the city's dignitaries for brokering a construction project. At the same time, Joe Parkson arrives in Santa Lisa. He, too, is a war veteran, an invalid, and looking for Frank to kill him. After the party, Frank says goodbye to his wife Edith and his son Georgie. He wants to go fishing with his friend Fred Finney. Shortly after Frank leaves, Edith receives a call from Joe, who does not answer the phone. Joe later visits Frank's house. Edith tells him about her husband's fishing trip, Joe turns to leave without even having said who he is.
With a loaded gun, Joe rows out on the lake, where Frank and his friend fish. However, he can't bring himself to shoot Frank. The bar owner Bobby tells Frank about a stranger with walking difficulties who is looking for him. Frank suspects who it is and hurries home in panic. There he barricades himself with his family. He tells his wife that Joe is an army companion he doesn't want to see. At the same time, he admits that the move from Syracuse , a city in northern New York state, to California in the west of the country was an escape from Joe, and claims that Joe, with whom he was in German captivity, was in this Time went crazy and insane.
When Frank goes to Los Angeles for a contractor's meeting , Joe breaks into the Enley family's home and confronts Edith with allegations that her husband was responsible for his disability and also for the deaths of ten army comrades. Fearing for her son, Edith places him in the care of her neighbor Martha Finney and travels to see Frank in Los Angeles. There she confesses to Frank that he betrayed Joe's escape plans to the Germans. He has to admit to himself that he himself is not clear about the reasons for his act, why he committed this betrayal. Again and again he is moved by the question of whether he wanted to protect his comrades from their dangerous plan or whether he was primarily concerned with personal benefits. Meanwhile, Joe learns Frank is in Los Angeles and follows him there. When he is about to leave his hotel, he meets his girlfriend Ann Sturges, who has followed him to dissuade him from his plan. But Joe doesn't listen to her imploring words. Ann then seeks Edith and warns her of Joe's plans for revenge.
Eventually, Joe finds Frank in Los Angeles. There is a scuffle, but Frank escapes and hides in a bar. There he meets the prostitute Pat, who introduces him to Gavery, a lawyer, and a certain Johnny. Johnny is a hit man who uses alcohol to get Frank to charge him with the murder of Joe. Just as Ann begs Joe again, he receives a call from Johnny, letting him know that he will be expected at the train station in Santa Lisa the next day. Joe says he'll be there. Frank also returns to Santa Lisa. He heard from Pat about the meeting point at the train station. When he comes to his senses, Frank leaves the house to undo his murder assignment and to warn Joe. When Frank sees Joe coming down the platform with a gun in hand, he walks towards him. Joe points his gun at him. Just as he is about to tell his ex-boyfriend that he has come to warn him, a shot is fired by Johnny from a car. However, the bullet intended for Joe hits Frank. At the moment when Johnny sets his car in motion, the wounded Frank manages to jump onto the step of the car and grab the hit man. As a result, the lurching car hits a lamp post, killing both men. Now it's up to Joe to inform Frank's family of the tragedy.
background
The film is the last that director Fred Zinnemann shot for the MGM production company . The shooting lasted from May 17 to mid-July 1948, additional scenes were shot in the last days of August 1948. The film first screened in New York cinemas on January 22, 1949.
Cedric Gibbons , Hans Peters and Edwin B. Willis provided the set for the film . Douglas Shearer was responsible for the sound , and André Previn conducted the studio orchestra .
Reviews
The lexicon of international films describes the film as a “psychological thriller about guilt, redemption and fear in front of the backdrop of a nocturnal wasteland, which condenses into a claustrophobic nightmare with an unexpected outcome; a typical representative of American 'film noir', which revolves around coping with the traumatic past. "
The magazine Variety praises the "great presentation", the director captured the film plot. Heflin and Ryan acted “powerfully” and gave substance to the “creeping terror of the script”.
Cinema magazine also rated the film as a "gripping guilt-and-atonement drama" positively.
The TV magazine prisma, on the other hand, is split: “The dark drama by Fred Zinnemann is convincing despite the weak plot, because strong actors and gripping images cast a spell on the viewer. Van Heflin and Robert Ryan, as opponents, turn the drama into a psychological thriller. "
Web links
- Act of violence in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Act of violence at Film noir.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Act of Violence. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved November 28, 2018 .
- ↑ Act of violence. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed November 28, 2018 .
- ↑ Review: Act of Violence at Variety.com (English)
- ↑ Act of violence at Cinema.de (with 14 pictures of the film)
- ↑ Psychological thriller act of violence at Prisma.de