Review of Violent Saturday

This was a pleasant surprise. Good acting all around, even Richard Egan. Victor Mature is always good to have in a film. His unusual looks plus his always good performances belie his statement that he was not a good actor and he has 56 films to prove it. Sylvia Sidney, way down the cast list, way past her starring days, was given short shrift as a thief of a librarian, but she did plenty with the brief role. Stephen McNally, the ringleader of the bank heisters, had the right touch of villainy; Lee Marvin did his standard psychopath. The females were all okay but nothing outstanding. The real kicker is Ernest Borgnine as an Amish farmer. Never seen him so subdued. It was cleverly done, photography - the town's design was well put together; the assemblage of the characters from the planning of the heist to the execution of it. All in all, a decent diversion from reality.