Violent Saturday (1955)
Directed by Richard Fleischer and released by 20th Century Fox, Violent Saturday is a gripping crime drama that blends noir sensibilities with widescreen spectacle. Set in the fictional mining town of Bradenville, Arizona, the film explores the intersecting lives of townspeople whose personal dramas erupt around a planned bank robbery.
Plot Summary
Three criminals—Harper, Dill, and Chapman—arrive in Bradenville posing as salesmen. As they prepare to rob the local bank, the film delves into the lives of several residents:
- Shelley Martin (Victor Mature), a mine supervisor whose son thinks he’s a coward for not serving in WWII
- Boyd Fairchild (Richard Egan), a man troubled by his wife’s infidelity
- Harry Reeves (Tommy Noonan), a timid bank manager and secret peeping tom
- Elsie Braden (Sylvia Sidney), a librarian who steals to pay off debts
- Stadt (Ernest Borgnine), a pacifist Amish farmer forced to defend his family
When the robbery unfolds, violence erupts, lives are shattered, and unlikely heroes emerge.
Cast Highlights
- Victor Mature as Shelley Martin
- Richard Egan as Boyd Fairchild
- Stephen McNally as Harper
- Lee Marvin as Dill
- Ernest Borgnine as Stadt
- Sylvia Sidney, Virginia Leith, Tommy Noonan, and J. Carrol Naish in supporting roles
Behind-the-Scenes Trivia
- One of the lowest-budgeted films ever shot in CinemaScope and DeLuxe color, yet visually stunning
- Borgnine, Marvin, and Egan had all played gladiators in Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954); here, Borgnine plays a peaceful Amish man who must fight for survival
- The film was banned from premiering in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, due to its violent and “sexy” content—despite being set in an Amish community
- Victor Mature refused to perform a stunt involving diving under a car, citing a past injury and lack of compensation
