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