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Act of Violence / Mystery Street (Film Noir Double Feature)

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"Act of Violence" (1949) and "Mystery Street" (1950) are both crime films produced by MGM , but they have little else in common. Warner Brothers is billing both films a "film noir", a label that suits "Act of Violence", though that film is not archetypal noir, but is less apt for "Murder Street", which is only superficially or intermittently noir. It's more a straightforward, technophilic murder mystery. "Mystery Street" is very well-plotted, however, and both films offer memorable performances. The versatile Van Heflin plays a man hounded by guilt and then by his past in "Act of Violence". And Elsa Lanchester gives a scene-stealing supporting performance as an over-the-hill schemer and would-be femme fatale if only she were younger and more clever in "Mystery Street".

"Act of Violence" opens as World War II veteran Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) prepares to kill someone. He is obsessively pursuing Frank Enley (Van Heflin), his former friend and commanding officer with whom he flew 21 missions before spending the rest of the war in a German POW camp. Joe blames Frank for the deaths of his comrades and intends to make him pay with his life. Frank is now a family man and well-liked civic leader in a small California town. Joe stalks him, disrupts his domestic idyll, frightens his wife Edith (Janet Leigh), and eventually sends Frank running to the city, whose back alleys are little consolation as Joe closes in.

This film has a pronounced symmetry: It becomes increasingly introverted and visually dark as Frank succumbs to fear and guilt. Joe, who initially seems unbalanced and blindly obsessive, becomes more rational as the film progresses. One goes up as the other goes down. There are three women who try to dissuade three men from self-destructive paths: Edith tries to protect her husband Frank. Joes' girlfriend Ann (Phyllis Thaxter) tries to thwart his homicidal ambition. And Pat, a haggard hooker made unforgettable by Mary Astor, is also out to discourage an assassin. Nice shadowy interior and night photography by Robert Surtees accentuates the ugly effects of the war on the minds of the two veterans.

In "Mystery Street", a cheeky blonde bombshell named Vivian Heldon (Jan Sterling) is murdered by her married lover. An amateur ornithologist studying sandpipers finds her remains on the beach 6 months later. With nothing to go on but bones, Police Lieutenant Pete Morales (Ricardo Montalban) sends what remains of the skeleton to a pioneering forensic pathologist at Harvard University, Dr. McAdoo (Bruce Bennett), who is eventually able to identify the woman as Vivian. Eager to solve his first murder case, Morales follows the trail to Mrs. Smerrling (Elsa Lanchester), the treacherous proprietress of the boarding house where Vivian lived, and to a hapless man she was with before she died (Marshall Thompson).

John Alton, the best-known of film noir cinematographers -and one that I sometimes find too showy, does some lovely work in "Mystery Street". As is his tendency, he often lets the characters go completely into shadow. He called it "mystery lighting". But "Mystery Street" is a straightforward police procedural with an emphasis on new techniques in forensic science. If anything is striking about this film, it is its occasional foray into the macabre. The cast is unusual for a detective story in that it is an ensemble. Morales is no more prominent than anyone else, and it is Mrs. Smerrling's greed and vulgarity that is most memorable. There is a man wrongly accused as well, so elements common to film noir are incorporated into a conventional, but particularly well-plotted, murder mystery.

The DVD (Warner Bros. 2007): Discs from Warner Brothers' "Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 4" have no scene menus, making it very difficult for anyone studying the films to find what they are looking for. Both films have a featurette (5 minutes each) in which film critics and historians talk about the film, a theatrical trailer, and a feature commentary. The constant, somewhat manic commentary for "Act of Violence" is by Dr. Drew Casper of the University of Southern California. He discusses the score, performances, pacing, script, themes, how characters are revealed, and more. The commentary for "Mystery Street" is by Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward, who talk about the cinematography, cast, plot, docu-noir style, staging, and scene analysis. Subtitles for both films are available in English SDH and French.

Act of Violence (1948):
Act of Violence is a film that tries to be more than what it can deliver. It tries to be a significant film, as Hollywood defines "significant," of weakness and obsession, with a bit of irony and, of course, redemption at the end. It fails, in my opinion, because the dramatic core of the movie is as earnest, unlikely and melodramatic as the plots of most $3.98 remainder novels. Fred Zinnemann directed some well-crafted movies such as The Day of the Jackal and High Noon (Collector's Edition). He also made a number of highly popular, long and dull movies. What makes Act of Violence interesting is the performances of the two leads, Van Heflin and Robert Ryan. Both were fine actors.

Heflin plays Frank Enley, a successful small town businessman with an attractive wife and a small child. He's a nice guy with a secret that leaves him in turmoil. Robert Ryan plays Joe Parkson, Enley's worst nightmare. In a German POW camp Enley betrayed a group of men who were planning to escape. He thought he had a promise that nothing would happen to the men. They were, of course, all shot. Parkson somehow survived. Now, after the war, Parkson has only one purpose in life...to find Frank Enley and make him pay with his life for what he did.

If it weren't for Heflin's earnest desperation and furrowed angst, something he did better than most actors, and Ryan's fierce anger and internalized tenseness, something he did better than most, we'd have a long slog until we reach the point where final payment is made and life, we hope, can go on. The movie, for me, seems more and more contrived and trivial as the time goes by.

Heflin is probably not thought about much nowadays. He was very good, in my opinion, as the hapless Charles Bovary in Madame Bovary (1949), the hardworking Joe Starrett in Shane, and the determined and nervous Dan Evans in 3:10 to Yuma (Special Edition). He didn't have the looks, as he pointed out himself (think of an honorable-looking, reasonably handsome J. Edgar Hoover, if that's possible), so he concentrated on his acting. Ryan, on the other hand, is usually recognized as one of film's outstanding lead and character actors. For subtlety and vulnerability, try On Dangerous Ground; for nastiness, try Bad Day at Black Rock; for deliberate evil, try Billy Budd; for tired resignation, try The Wild Bunch - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition).

Mystery Street (1950):
When the body is found on the beach, no one knows except us who it is. We know it's a cheap, no-good call girl named Vivian Helton because we watched her, desperate for money, meet the man who owed her, and who shot her. Now she's not only lost her looks, she's lost her flesh. Sand and waves have left nothing but bones. The cop in charge, Lieutenant Pete Morales (Ricardo Montalban), calls on Dr. McAdoo (Bruce Bennett), a forensic scientist at Harvard, to help with identification. In the process of establishing sex, age, height and occupation (possible dancer, not probable call girl), we'll get a lesson in forensics that would do credit to Kay Scarpetta or the Skeleton Detective himself, Gideon Oliver.

Then the police learn Vivian Helton was pregnant. Pete Morales, working his first case in Boston, had earlier made up his mind that Vivian was murdered before there was evidence to establish this. Now he's determined to find the murderer. Morales is a good guy...smart, ambitious, cheerful, hard working. But when he decides someone is guilty, he's not about to change his mind. Before he gets things right, he'll get things wrong.

Along the way we'll meet Henry Shanway, the poor drunk sap who met Vivian at a bar while he was feeling sorry for himself. He let her move his yellow Ford from a no-parking zone. The next thing he knew they were on the Cape, where she tricked him out of the car so she could drive off and meet the man who will shoot her. We'll meet Henry's wife, too. There's Vivian's eccentric and venal landlady (played by Elsa Lanchester), who thinks she can pick up the blackmailing where Vivian left off. And, of course, there's the killer. Most importantly, perhaps, there's McAdoo. Turns out that with his knowledge of bones, bullet angles and logic, he's a better detective than anyone else.

The movie benefits from the moody cinematography of John Alton and the efficient direction of John Sturges, Sturges moved on to direct such successes as Last Train from Gun Hill, The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape and Ice Station Zebra. Mystery Street is a solid entry. It's not an A movie, but it's interesting, unsentimental, well made and shorter.

This started slow, but once the very anguished Robert Ryan kicks in, the movie gains momentum.
It's classic film noir - all dark with long shadows; but the performances transcend the genre - particularly the women - Janet Leigh (very young), and Mary Astor as a woman drinking alone in a bar.
Intriguing is the way Robert Ryan before a late redemption is all oily makeup, but at the very end when cleansed of responsibility while bending over a dead Van Heflin, his face is suddenly fresh and clean.
It's a movie with no heroes - and totally uncompromising.Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4 (Act of Violence / Mystery Street / Crime Wave / Decoy / Illegal / The Big Steal / They Live By Night / Side Street / Where Danger Lives / Tension)

Do you like CSI Crime Scene Investigation on TV? Do you like the series "Bones" on TV? Then you will like "Mystery Street" starring a very young Ricardo Montalban. As Amazon says above - "proto -CSI techniques - **"
meaning, the beginnings of forensic pathology and crime scene investigation depicted in this flick at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

A skeleton is found on Cape Cod in the Sand Dunes by a bird watcher and a doctor at Harvard begins the medical investigation. The scene where Ricardo Montalban as the investigator and the Harvard doctor superimpose photographs of people onto photographs of the skeleton's skull in order to identify the victim is maybe crude by today's DNA standards technology, but, fascinating nevertheless.

And oh so typical, the Boston Detectives visit the Harvard campus and get lost even though they work in Boston (proper) 6 miles away. Typical Boston. If you also like Alfred Hitchcock movies and/or film noir, you will enjoy this film.

As the Amazon review mentions above, the camera work is exceptional. The ending of the movie with the camera work in the Boston train station is incredible, with changing angles and foreground shots of train car wheels, staircases and railings providing angular framing. Very Hitchcock-esque and hopefully my comment is no insult to John Alton.

As far as film noir goes, there are plenty of dark scenes, especially the detectives work rooms - dingy with inadequate light desk lamps and the boarding room scenes can be dark as well.


** from Amazon:
**Mystery Street (1950), a hard-edged movie about a B-girl's murder and some of the proto-CSI techniques the police use to solve the crime. Directed by John Sturges, from a script by Richard Brooks and Sydney Boehm, the picture is enhanced by atmospheric Boston and Cape Cod settings and camerawork by Mr. Film Noir himself, John Alton. --Richard T. Jameson

ACT OF VIOLENCE's plot is a very simple one; it involves Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) hunting down his old commanding officer, Frank Enley (Van Heflin). Parkson has been nursing a grudge for two years, because Enley ratted on a POW escape attempt that ended up killing most of his men, and leaving Parkson lame.

Enley has been making good since the end of the war; helping to house the less fortunate, and being a model citizen. The film begins with shots of Parkson, who has just found where Enley is from a newspaper story; getting his gun, and looking very much the predator.

Van Heflin and Robert Ryan are superb here. And this is also a good turn for Mary Astor, who was photographed without much make-up: a short, but wonderful performance from her. Janet Leigh and Berry Kroeger are also both very effective.

But the real stars here are probably cinematographer Robert Surtees and director Fred Zinnemann. The film is lit and shot beautifully in a textured combination of the Expressionist and Neorealist styles. And the pace is fast through the entire 82 minutes. This is the first film noir from MGM that I can recommend wholeheartedly; a fantastic 1948 film.

MYSTERY STREET (1950) is better than I thought it would be.... While being a ground-breaking forensic procedural, it is also an engrossing mystery. Recommended.

Both films are part of the Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4; a set of 10 films on DVD that is currently retailing for $3.00 a film. Great value.

The characters make a look-see worthwhile.

Act of Violence stars a young Janet Leigh (from Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO fame) and Mary Astor (the villain) in The Maltese Falcon. Robert Ryan and Van Heflin reverse what one might assume their expected roles to be.

Mystery Street is about detective work that highlights what we know today as forensics and what is now-a-days assumed by the audience to enable solving the crime plot. Apparently back then, movie goers were just learning how to solve crimes on the big screen.

More I can't say, unless you're a noir film addict like me. Then, add this set to the collection.

Act of Violence is one of those near-forgotten post-war noirs that really deserves to be better remembered than it is. Nobody at MGM did angst like Van Heflin and nobody did disgusted rage like Robert Ryan, and both are in their element here. Heflin's the ordinary decent guy with a secret whose past catches up with him when an obsessed Ryan starts stalking him and his wife, but what's new here is the motive for Ryan's relentless revenge - hinted at in the early shot of a Memorial Day veterans' parade - and the small town setting, shooting a thriller about guilt and collaboration on the same backlot streets that Andy Hardy and dozens of MGM musicals breezily inhabited. Fred Zinnemann's direction is superb and with a harder edge than his reputation implies, making great use not only of Robert Surtees' striking photography but also the often underemployed possibilities of sound - not just the shuffling of the limping Robert Ryan but also the gurgling of taps, the noise of oars and all the little sounds that loom large and threatening in the night. The film even avoids traditional opening credits, getting straight down to business as soon as it gets the title card out of the way. It also boasts a trio of well-cast female roles embodying most of the noir archetypes - Janet Leigh's idealised wife, Phyliss Thaxter's helpless girlfriend and, best of all, Mary Astor's remarkable turn as a past her prime hooker whose attempts to help only drag the less than heroic Heflin down further on the way to a powerful ending at once fatalistic and redemptive. Terrific stuff.

Mystery Street isn't in the same league - more of a production-line police procedural - but good direction from John Sturges and typically excellent photography from John Alton make it a satisfying supporting feature.

Along with good transfers, there's a good selection of extras as well: Act of Violence features an audio commentary by Drew Casper, featurette Dealing With the Devil and the original trailer while Mystery Street has an audio commentary by Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward, featurette Murder at Harvard and original theatrical trailer.

Two unknown Noir films to me turned out to be fantastic movies and an enjoyable evening !
"Act of Violence" with Ricardo Montalban as a very sharp and witty Police detective and "Mystery Street" with Van Heflin & Robert Ryan as former wartime friends with a dark secret.
Both of these movies are grade A in my book !!

I'd seen Mystery Street and is a pretty good police procedural, closer to Naked City than Film Noir. But Act Of Violence was a revelation. Its beautifully shot and has the two things that really make Film Noir. First, ambiguity. Situations and characters are not what they appear to be and second, the main character is doomed. Sure, there will be twists and turns along the way but like pulling the stopper out of a drain, its just a matter of time. Van Heflin was never a favorite of mine but he's fine for this role. In my book, Robert Ryan is up there with Mitchum. These guys are not to be messed with and if you like Film Noir, Act Of Violence is not to be missed.

MYSTERY STREET(1950)---Ricardo Montalban, Sally Forrest, Bruce Bennett,Jan Sterling,Elsa Lanchester, Marshall Thompson, Betsy Blair.
Nancy and I were discussing this film a few days ago in regard to it's focus on forensics to help solve a murder. That prompted me to give it another look. It's a straightforward "noir whodunnit"(John Alton's cinematography is, as usual, first-rate), with Ricardo Montalban trying to solve the murder of "B-girl" Jan Sterling. The problem is complicated because no one but the murderer knows that a crime has occurred until Sterling's skeleton is discovered buried in beach sand by a bird-watcher 3 months after the murder was committed. Montalban calls upon a Harvard forensics expert, played by Bruce Bennett, to assist him in identifying the victim and in solving the case. Marshall Thompson plays a young married man wrongly accused of the murder. Sally Forrest plays his wife, who "stands by her man" through it all. Elsa Lanchester appears in this film also and she is marvelous as the avaricious, hypocritical landlady who owns the rooming house that Sterling lived in. Through an accumulation of small details, Lanchester figures out who the real murderer is and attempts to blackmail him. Betsy Blair plays another tenant of the rooming house who also helps to put the pieces of the puzzle together. A good film, well worth watching. It's available as part of Volume 4 of the Warner Bros., "Classic Film Noir" series.