Produced by cheapo Monogram Pictures, Violence is a "B" picture all the way with a slight twist. The subject matter is nascent homegrown US fascism in the form of what turns out to be a watered down right wing nationalist organization called "United Defenders."
The film was released at the height of the House of Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings so for you to expect this was going to be some kind of expose of incipient American fascism, guess again.
Instead, it's a completely vague chronicle of a group run by ex-cons attempting to fleece veterans who at the time the film was made were having a difficult time readjusting to postwar US society.
Nancy Coleman stars as photojournalist Ann Dwire using the alias of Ann Mason, working undercover as a secretary to the organization's boss True Dawson (Emory Parnell) who reminds me a little of tough guy thespian Broderick Crawford.
Sheldon Leonard (famous for his role as "Nick" in "It's a Wonderful Life") is Dawson's enforcer Fred Stalk who has a thing for Ann. Stalk and Dawson along with creepy thug Joker (Peter Whitney) have already murdered a veteran Joe Donahue (Jimmy Clark) who was threatening to rat them out.
A little before the midpoint a familiar plot device is thrown in: Ann travels to Chicago to meet with her colleagues at the magazine she works for but is injured when her taxi crashes after being tailed by an unknown individual. She ends up with amnesia and remembers little of her past life.
Enter private eye Steve Fuller (Michael O'Shea) hired by the United Defenders to follow Ann; with no real memory of who she is, Ann sides with Dawson and his creepy crew and reports that Fuller is about to turn them in for the their nefarious activities.
There are a series of unlikely escapes on Ann and Steve's behalf with Ann finally regaining her memory after Stalk slugs her and she falls hitting her head against the floor.
The climax has Dawson and Stalk shooting each other resulting in their joint demise. The only mystery left is a mysterious Mr. X, a potential backer of the organization, who escapes the bar of justice.
Coleman is effective when she plays Dwire but unpleasant as Mason without her memory. Leonard effects his usual Brooklyn brogue but lacks subtlety. Parnell as True Dawson is convincing when he's playing the fake leader of the organization. O'Shea feels more like one of the bad guys than hero.
Had Violence been made twenty years later this could have packed quite a punch.
The film was released at the height of the House of Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings so for you to expect this was going to be some kind of expose of incipient American fascism, guess again.
Instead, it's a completely vague chronicle of a group run by ex-cons attempting to fleece veterans who at the time the film was made were having a difficult time readjusting to postwar US society.
Nancy Coleman stars as photojournalist Ann Dwire using the alias of Ann Mason, working undercover as a secretary to the organization's boss True Dawson (Emory Parnell) who reminds me a little of tough guy thespian Broderick Crawford.
Sheldon Leonard (famous for his role as "Nick" in "It's a Wonderful Life") is Dawson's enforcer Fred Stalk who has a thing for Ann. Stalk and Dawson along with creepy thug Joker (Peter Whitney) have already murdered a veteran Joe Donahue (Jimmy Clark) who was threatening to rat them out.
A little before the midpoint a familiar plot device is thrown in: Ann travels to Chicago to meet with her colleagues at the magazine she works for but is injured when her taxi crashes after being tailed by an unknown individual. She ends up with amnesia and remembers little of her past life.
Enter private eye Steve Fuller (Michael O'Shea) hired by the United Defenders to follow Ann; with no real memory of who she is, Ann sides with Dawson and his creepy crew and reports that Fuller is about to turn them in for the their nefarious activities.
There are a series of unlikely escapes on Ann and Steve's behalf with Ann finally regaining her memory after Stalk slugs her and she falls hitting her head against the floor.
The climax has Dawson and Stalk shooting each other resulting in their joint demise. The only mystery left is a mysterious Mr. X, a potential backer of the organization, who escapes the bar of justice.
Coleman is effective when she plays Dwire but unpleasant as Mason without her memory. Leonard effects his usual Brooklyn brogue but lacks subtlety. Parnell as True Dawson is convincing when he's playing the fake leader of the organization. O'Shea feels more like one of the bad guys than hero.
Had Violence been made twenty years later this could have packed quite a punch.