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Violent Saturday

Play trailer Poster for Violent Saturday 1955 1h 31m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
For the residents of a small mining town, the weekend begins like any other in their respective lives. Shelley Martin (Victor Mature) is a man who yearns for his son's respect. Boyd Fairchild (Richard Egan), a cuckold, still loves his wife. Bank manager Harry Reeves (Tommy Noonan) is a voyeur, while librarian Elsie Braden (Sylvia Sidney) is a thief. But when a gang of criminals led by the vicious Harper (Stephen McNally) holds up the town's bank, all of their lives change dramatically.
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Violent Saturday

Critics Reviews

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Eric Kohn New York Press Feb 27, 2008
Violent Saturday seems rooted in tradition, but as an exciting pulp story with a profound center, it manages to break all the rules. Go to Full Review Nick Pinkerton Village Voice Feb 27, 2008
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. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Apr 19, 2011
B
... Ernest Borgnine as a pacifist Amish farmer plunging a pitchfork into the back of the devil character played by Lee Marvin .... Go to Full Review Michael W. Phillips, Jr. Goatdog's Movies Oct 18, 2008
2/5
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Audience Reviews

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Henry D @Henry_Domke Sep 5, 2026 The picture looked terrific, so clean and vivid that it hardly seemed like a film made in 1955. Charles G. Clarke's cinematography was excellent, especially the way he took advantage of CinemaScope's very wide frame with carefully composed images. The story was a little far-fetched, as you'd expect from one of Criterion's "murderous melodramas," but that was part of the fun rather than a flaw. See more Jason G @RT86337142 Aug 15, 2026 I haven't seen many cinemascope films (musicals, spectacles) and I recall them as not good (garish colors, awful close-ups, ineffective use of the wide space). But this one uses the wide screen very well and the color schemes are careful. the movie is entertaining too. It's on the BFI list of good cinemascope films. See more Martin B @RT44235356 May 21, 2026 Great scenery, sets, loaded with top notch actors for every part. What transfixed me was the vivid colors and contrasts all accentuating a suspenseful script. See more Greg W. @RT97269843 Apr 28, 2026 Good movie that weaves personal stories with a noir main plot. Just wish it had added the bad guys’ back stories as well. See more Blobbo X @Blobbo Apr 24, 2026 Better than 3.5, not quite 4.0. Good technicolor, think Blobbo, plus interesting plot and characters. First time seen by Blobbo. Who has been around a while. Give it a shot! See more Dawn R @Dawn56 Apr 3, 2026 If your watching this for the violent part of the name, you'll have to wait till the last 20-25 minutes of the movie for it to happen. But good enough to stay thru for the whole thing. See more Read all reviews
Violent Saturday

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Cast & Crew

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Richard Fleischer

Director

Victor Mature

Shelley Martin

Richard Egan

Boyd Fairchild

Stephen McNally

Harper

Virginia Leith

Linda Sherman

Tommy Noonan

Harry Reeves

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Violent Saturday

Violent Saturday (1955) Violent Saturday (1955) Violent Saturday (1955) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis For the residents of a small mining town, the weekend begins like any other in their respective lives. Shelley Martin (Victor Mature) is a man who yearns for his son's respect. Boyd Fairchild (Richard Egan), a cuckold, still loves his wife. Bank manager Harry Reeves (Tommy Noonan) is a voyeur, while librarian Elsie Braden (Sylvia Sidney) is a thief. But when a gang of criminals led by the vicious Harper (Stephen McNally) holds up the town's bank, all of their lives change dramatically.
Director
Richard Fleischer
Producer
Buddy Adler
Screenwriter
Sydney Boehm
Production Co
Twentieth Century Fox
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 20, 1955, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 1, 2010
Runtime
1h 31m
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