Violent Saturday (1955)

67% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
53% of users liked it
(142 ratings)

Three bank robbers (J. Carroll Naish, Lee Marvin, Stephen McNally) case a small Arizona mining town prior to pulling a holdup. The audience get to know the various townsfolk as they're scrutinized by the crooks. Victor Mature plays a man who is a disappointment to his son because he didn't serve in… More Three bank robbers (J. Carroll Naish, Lee Marvin, Stephen McNally) case a small Arizona mining town prior to pulling a holdup. The audience get to know the various townsfolk as they're scrutinized by the crooks. Victor Mature plays a man who is a disappointment to his son because he didn't serve in the war. Tommy Noonan is a meek bank manager with a habit of spying on a pretty customer as she undresses in her second-story bedroom. Sylvia Sidney is a petty thief who has deposited her stolen funds in the bank. Margaret Hayes is the cheating wife of a local leading citizen, who is killed in the holdup. And Ernest Borgnine is a pacifistic Amish farmer, forced to take violent action when his children are threatened by the criminals (Borgnine's pitchfork-wielding scene was reproduced for the print ads of this film, leading some critics to assume that he was the villain!) The hero of the day turns out to be the "unheroic" Mature, who after being kidnapped by the crooks frees himself and prevents their escape. Violent Saturday is based on a novel by William I. Heath. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 31 min.
Directed By: Richard Fleischer
Written By: Sydney Boehm
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics

In Theaters: Apr 1, 1955 Wide
Studio: 20th Century Fox

Critic Reviews

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice
The cast is a museum exhibit on the nigh-extinct art of scaled-in American bit acting, with the magnificent Sylvia Sidney as the daughter of a prominent family brought low, her flashing pridefulness intact, and Tommy Noonan as a peeping poltroon.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
... Ernest Borgnine as a pacifist Amish farmer plunging a pitchfork into the back of the devil character played by Lee Marvin ....
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
Uneven small-town thriller.
Eric Kohn, New York Press
Violent Saturday seems rooted in tradition, but as an exciting pulp story with a profound center, it manages to break all the rules.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Tom S

Some really great colors and compositions. "Stick these in your kisser and go suck on 'em. Now go back to your mother."

Cast

            Victor Mature as Shelley Martin

            Richard Egan as Boyd Fairchild

            Stephen McNally as Harper

            Virginia Leith as Linda

            Lee Marvin as Dill

            Tommy Noonan as Harry Reeves

            Sylvia Sidney as Elsie

            Maggie Hayes as Emily

            J. Carrol Naish as Chapman

            Dorothy Patrick as Helen

            Billy Chapin as Steve Martin

            Brad Dexter as Gil Clayton

            Raymond Greenleaf as Mr. Fairchild

            Donald Gamble as Bobby

            Harry Carter as Bart

            Ann Morrison as Mrs. Stadt

            Kevin Corcoran as David Stadt

            Donna Corcoran as Anna Stadt

            Noreen Corcoran as Mary Stadt

            Boyd 'Red' Morgan as Slick

            Richard Garrick as Mr. Dooden

            Dorothy Phillips as Bank customer

            Virginia Carroll as Marion

            Ralph Dumke as Sidney

            Robert Osterloh as Roy

            Helen Mayon as Mrs. Pilka

            Mack Williams as Drug Clerk

            Harry Seymour as Conductor

            John Alderson as Amish farmer

            Robert Adler as Stan

            Ernest Borgnine as Stadt

            Sammy Ogg as Amish Children

            Esther Somers as Amish woman on train

            Jeri Weil as Amish child

            Pat Weil
            
See full cast