Violence (1947 film)

Last updated
Violence
Violence 1947 Lobby Card.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jack Bernhard
Written byLouis Lantz
Stanley Rubin
Produced byJack Bernhard
Bernard Brandt
Starring Nancy Coleman
Michael O'Shea
Sheldon Leonard
CinematographyHenry Sharp
Edited byJason H. Bernie
Music by Edward J. Kay
Production
company
Bernhard-Brandt Productions
Distributed by Monogram Pictures
Release date
  • May 12, 1947 (1947-05-12)(United States)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Violence is a 1947 American drama film noir directed by Jack Bernhard and starring Nancy Coleman, Michael O'Shea and Sheldon Leonard.

Contents

Plot

The film opens in the Los Angeles basement of the United Defenders (UD), a fascist organization for veterans. Fred Stalk and another goon are interrogating Joe Donahue, who wants to leave the group now that he has discovered it is a scam. Stalk kills Donahue. UD leader True Dawson is just concluding a meeting. As attendees leave, UD secretary Ann Mason covertly photographs them with her watch.

Stalk privately tells Dawson that Donahue has been killed. Dawson expounds on their ruse to rile up veterans to bilk them with UD dues. Dawson is confident he can make people angry enough to keep taking their money.

Ann is taking a personal trip to Chicago and says farewell to her colleagues. At her apartment, she reads a letter from her editor urging her to publish her report on the UD and reveal her true identity as Ann Dwyer.

In Chicago, Ann is tailed by Steve Fuller from the UD. She urges her cab driver to lose him but he crashes. Steve locates her in the hospital where Ann is unharmed but suffering from amnesia. He convinces her that they are engaged and takes her back to Los Angeles.

She remembers nothing but resumes her work at the UD, even joining Dawson in one of his fundraising pitches. Sally Donahue looks for her husband at the UD. Steve finds some of the letters Sally wrote to Joe stashed in Stalk's apartment. He tells Ann that he thinks the UD killed Donahue.

Ann tells her boss about Steve's allegations against the UD, but the seeds of doubt grow. As she questions Stalk about Donahue, he slaps her, reviving her memory. She ends up in the basement tied to Steve, who reveals he is an undercover detective.

The UD is part of a network of anti-union activity. An overseer, Mr. X, instructs Dawson to rough up a group of veterans protesting for affordable housing. Dawson plans to use a melee with the protesters as a cover for the murders of Ann and Steve.

They escape from the basement and warn the crowd of the trap. Anne and Steve force Dawson to take them to Stalk, who is now convinced that Dawson will pin the rap on him. The two men shoot each other, and the UD is now thoroughly exposed as the racket it was.

Cast

Background

The Columbian Workers Movement was a neo-Nazi group based in Atlanta. A hatred of African-Americans, Jews, and $3 were the only requirements for entry. [1] The group had national ambitions, and it was widely understood to be a front for the Ku Klux Klan. The Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League infiltrated the organization with several operatives, most notably Stetson Kennedy. [2] One of the operatives was Renee Forrest who posed as a secretary for the Columbians. [3] In December 1946, Jack Bernhard publicized a revision of the screenplay to emulate the Anti-Nazi League's sting. [4]

Louis Lantz was a Communist when he met Stanley Rubin in 1941. He encouraged Rubin to attend some Communist discussions. After attending a few, Rubin realized they were diatribes instead of discussions, and he lost all interest. The House Un-American Activities Committee interviewed Rubin in 1953 about his attendance at these meetings. Rubin asked Lantz to come with him to testify, since they were still friends. Lantz was no longer a Communist, but he refused to participate in the Red Scare. [5]

Production

In July 1946, the Los Angeles Times reported that B&B Pictures bought the rights to John W. Stearn's novel Violence. Jack Bernhard planned on traveling to Chicago to talk with Stearn about the film and then on to New York to persuade Melville Cooper to star in it. [6]

Later that year, the paper hailed the casting of Nancy Coleman as a welcome return to the screen after leaving Warner Bros. They also praised the "astuteness" of hiring Michael O'Shea. [7] Walter Tetley was also reported to have joined the cast. [8]

Legacy

Violence was one of several noir films that dealt with veterans' issues after WWII, such as Crossfire and Boomerang! . The listlessness of some returning GIs is exploited by Dawson who boasts, "We can make the vets behave any way we want...We'll prime them with hate...for labor...management...the party that's in...the party that's out." There was a general public fear about returning soldiers being violent and a threat to social order. The screenplay also addresses the housing shortage that veterans faced after the war. One of the protestors argues, "We fought for our country...Give us a chance to live in it." [9]

Leonard Maltin describes the film's material as "juicy" but "bungled by clumsy storytelling and some terrible performances". [10]

Eddie Muller has shown Violence on Turner Classic Movies's Noir Alley. [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Dressed to Kill</i> (1980 film) 1980 film by Brian De Palma

Dressed to Kill is a 1980 American erotic psychological thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma, and starring Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson and Nancy Allen. It depicts the events leading up to the brutal murder of a New York City housewife (Dickinson) before following a prostitute (Allen) who witnesses the crime, and her attempts to solve it with the help of the victim's son. It contains several direct references to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Lantz</span> Italian American animator

Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexis Smith</span> Canadian-born American actress (1921–1993)

Margaret Alexis Smith was a Canadian-born American actress, pin-up girl and singer. She appeared in several major Hollywood films in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Award in 1972 for the Stephen Sondheim-James Goldman musical Follies.

<i>Hell Divers</i> 1932 film

Hell Divers is a 1932 American pre-Code black-and-white film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable as a pair of competing chief petty officers in early naval aviation. The film, made with the cooperation of the United States Navy, features considerable footage of flight operations aboard the Navy's second aircraft carrier, the USS Saratoga, including dramatic shots of takeoffs and landings filmed from the Curtiss F8C-4 Helldiver dive bombers after which the movie was named.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph H. Lewis</span> American film director

Joseph H. Lewis was an American B-movie film director whose stylish flourishes came to be appreciated by auteur theory-espousing film critics in the years following his retirement in 1966. In a 30-year directorial career, he directed numerous low-budget westerns, action pictures, musicals, adventures, and thrillers. Today he is remembered for mysteries and film noir stories: My Name Is Julia Ross (1945) and So Dark the Night (1946) as well as his most highly regarded features, 1950's Gun Crazy, which spotlighted a desperate young couple who embark on a deadly crime spree, and the 1955 film noir The Big Combo, with its stunning cinematography by John Alton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Cochran</span> American actor

Steve Cochran was an American film, television and stage actor. He attended the University of Wyoming. After a stint working as a cowboy, Cochran developed his acting skills in local theatre and gradually progressed to Broadway, film and television.

<i>Animal Factory</i> 2000 film directed by Steve Buscemi, starring Willem Dafoe and Edward Furlong.

Animal Factory is a 2000 neo-noir film directed by Steve Buscemi and starring Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, Danny Trejo, John Heard, Mickey Rourke, Tom Arnold, Seymour Cassel, Shell Galloway and Mark Boone, Jr. Set in San Quentin, the film is about life in prison. It is based on the novel of the same name by Eddie Bunker who plays the part of Buzzard in the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Meeker</span> American actor

Ralph Meeker was an American film, stage, and television actor. He first rose to prominence for his roles in the Broadway productions of Mister Roberts (1948–1951) and Picnic (1953), the former of which earned him a Theatre World Award for his performance. In film, Meeker is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Mike Hammer in Robert Aldrich's 1955 Kiss Me Deadly.

<i>The Brasher Doubloon</i> 1947 American crime film noir by John Brahm

The Brasher Doubloon is a 1947 American crime film noir directed by John Brahm and starring George Montgomery and Nancy Guild. It is based on the 1942 novel The High Window by Raymond Chandler.

<i>The Reincarnation of Peter Proud</i> 1975 American psychological horror film by J. Lee Thompson

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud is a 1975 American psychological horror film directed by J. Lee Thompson, and starring Michael Sarrazin, Margot Kidder, and Jennifer O'Neill. It follows a university professor who, after experiencing a series of bizarre nightmares, comes to believe he is the reincarnation of someone else. It is based on the 1973 novel of the same title by Max Ehrlich, who adapted the screenplay.

<i>Decoy</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by Jack Bernhard

Decoy is a 1946 American film noir starring Jean Gillie, Edward Norris, Robert Armstrong, Herbert Rudley, and Sheldon Leonard. Directed by Jack Bernhard, it was produced by him and Bernard Brandt as a Jack Bernhard Production, with a screenplay by Nedrick Young based on an original story by Stanley Rubin.

Darrell Wallace Calker was an American composer and arranger who worked on films and animated cartoons.

<i>Dont Answer the Phone!</i> 1980 film

Don't Answer the Phone! is a 1980 American psychological horror film co-written and directed by Robert Hammer.

<i>Cry Terror!</i> 1958 American thriller film

Cry Terror! is a 1958 American crime thriller film starring James Mason, Inger Stevens, and Rod Steiger. The story was written and directed by Andrew L. Stone. Neville Brand, Jack Klugman and Angie Dickinson appear in support.

<i>Deadly Hero</i> 1976 film by Ivan Nagy

Deadly Hero is a 1975 American neo noir thriller film starring Don Murray, Diahn Williams, James Earl Jones, Lilia Skala and Treat Williams in his film debut. It was directed by Ivan Nagy from a screenplay by George Wislocki and Don Petersen. Released in limited locales in 1975 with an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, it was distributed by AVCO Embassy. It opened to mixed, mostly negative reviews, and was considered a commercial failure.

<i>The Lone Wolf in London</i> 1947 film by Leslie Goodwins

The Lone Wolf in London is a 1947 American mystery crime film directed by Leslie Goodwins and starring Gerald Mohr, Nancy Saunders and Eric Blore. The picture features the fictional Scotland Yard detective the Lone Wolf who travels to London, and solves the mystery of some missing jewels. It was the penultimate Lone Wolf film, followed by The Lone Wolf and His Lady in 1949, and the last for Mohr in the lead role.

<i>Breakdown</i> (1952 film) 1952 American feature film directed by Edmond Angelo

Breakdown is a 1952 American crime film noir directed by Edmond Angelo starring Ann Richards, William Bishop and Anne Gwynne. It was the last film of Richards before she retired.

<i>The Crowded Sky</i> 1960 film

The Crowded Sky is a 1960 Technicolor drama film distributed by Warner Bros., produced by Michael Garrison, directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. The film is based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Hank Searls.

<i>Zuma Beach</i> (film) 1978 television film by Lee H. Katzin

Zuma Beach is a 1978 TV movie written by John Carpenter and William Schwartz, directed by Lee H. Katzin and starring Suzanne Somers.

The National Student Film Institute (NSFI), formerly the Los Angeles Student Film Institute (LASFI), was founded in 1978 by Brenda Norman, Dave Master, Jutti Marsh and Ralph Rogers as a festival for films made by children from kindergarten through ninth grade. Two years later it was expanded to include the work of all high school students. The first of what became an annual festival included approximately 350 students who entered 125 films. By 1993, the Student Film Festival involved over two thousand students throughout the Los Angeles area, who together entered over 300 films. The film festival was held each year at the Directors Guild Theater in Hollywood.

References

  1. ↑ Kennedy, Stetson. The Klan Unmasked. University of Alabama Press, 2011. 122.
  2. ↑ Newton, Michael.  White Robes and Burning Crosses: A History of the Ku Klux Klan from 1866 . McFarland & Company, 2016. 90–2.
  3. ↑ "Post Activities", The Jewish Veteran. March, 1947. Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America. 18.
  4. ↑ "'Violence' Goes Topical", The Hollywood Reporter, Vol. 91, No. 31. December 20, 1946. 16.
  5. ↑ "Testimony of Stanley Rubin", Investigation of Communist Activities in the Los Angeles Area—Part 5. Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-third Congress, First Session. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1953. 912–18.
  6. ↑ Schallert, Edwin. "A.A.' Tale to Be Told; Saga of '60's Purchased", Los Angeles Times. July 31, 1946. A3.
  7. ↑ Schallert, Edwin. "Nancy Coleman Will Have 'Violence' Lead", Los Angeles Times. December 7, 1946. A5.
  8. ↑ "UP-TO-THE-MINUTE CASTING NEWS." The Hollywood Reporter, Vol. 91, No. 37. December 20, 1946. 25.
  9. ↑ Saxe, Robert Frances. Settling Down: World War II Veterans' Challenge to the Postwar Consensus . United Kingdom, Palgrave Macmillan US, 2007. 107–9.
  10. ↑ Maltin, Leonard.  Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965 . Third Edition. United States, Penguin Publishing Group, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Violence (1947)". TCM. Retrieved 2024-05-03.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.