Expertly directed by John Sturges in breathtaking colour and CinemaScope the film holds your attention throughout its tight running time. The characters are well drawn. Spencer Tracy had a wonderful gift for the theater, his on screen persona was often able to offer audiences quality entertainment. This was something of a departure for the actor. Andre Previn provided the musical score that serves the film well. This is a keeper. It's all in the ledger Less is more is a maxim that most directors should eschew and here John Sturges gives an object lesson in just that with this moody, suspenseful tale of seedy smalltown violence and racism, brought to light by avenging angel Spencer Tracy. This is how it was done in the good old days: nothing falls by the wayside. Bad Day at Black Rock soundtrack from 1949-1954, composed by André Previn. He was 54 years old when he made it but with his silver hair he could look ten years older. Sturges laces his allegory with mounting tension. Considerable excitement is whipped up in this suspense drama, and fans who go for tight action will find it entirely satisfactory. Bad Day at Black Rock follows the character John Macreedy, a World War 2 veteran who’s ventured to Black Rock on a mission. You'll hate Robert Ryan's character in this movie; it's a terrific portrayal of an evil person. Fine modern Western in which the events crackle with intrigue and suspense, McCarthyism microcosm in the Mojave desert, " It isn't just that a man is dead, it's the fact , no one seems to care ", "You're just a lost ball in the high weeds.". Folks in Black Rock have their own way of welcoming mysterious, one-armed stranger John J. As it becomes clear that they are hiding a secret & fearful that Tracy may uncover it, the tension rises. Not a word or scene or character is wasted or unnecessary. But from the moment he steps off the train, Macreedy finds himself labeled as the repository of stored tensions, fear and hatred from the town's folk. Released by Rhino Records in 2001 (RHM2 7765) containing music from Bad Day at Black Rock (1954), Cause for Alarm! Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, New Details Emerge About Warner Bros.’ Next. You can be Rain Man." And John Sturges does not disappoint. MUCH the same sort of situation that prevailed in the memorable "High Noon" is apparent in "Bad Day at Black Rock," which came yesterday to the Rivoli. Get it at Amazon.). Borgnine and Marvin are also great villains. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) is a milestone in film making for several reasons. While, McReedy tries to go Adobe Flat to find the Kamako corpse and finally is helped by some villagers. Nicely turned performances by other major players, too: Dean Jagger (the drunkard Sheriff Tim), Anne Frances (nervous Liz), and Walter Brennan (loquacious, self-justifying Doc). Pretentious as it may sound, there's a perfect balance of tension and space about this film. Spencer Tracy is a one armed war veteran who comes looking for a Japanese American farmer. I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. In fact Cagney was originally slated to do the movie but Tracy - while filming a western "Tribute To A Badman" - fell out with its director Robert Wise and walked off the set and was replaced by Cagney at very short notice. John Sturges’ film is a noir-ish crime thriller first, and western in setting and theme. Suspenseful movie with top notch actors such as Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Walter Brennan, Dean Jagger, an early Lee Marvin, and many others. Nicely put together by Sturges, its suspense derives largely from the excellent performances and imaginative use of the 'Scope frame by cameraman William C Mellor. Tracy steps into a sun-baked desert town bristling with secrets and hateful prejudice... Fine faux western with a "film noir" touch. Tight, clear characterizations, with minimalist dialog, costume, manner, and facial expression all reflecting the inner lives of people in their self-constructed hell. A stranger John J Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) rides into town on a train that hasn't stopped in Black Rock in four years only to find the people edgy and suspicious of his arrival. And I thought Dan was going to pass out laughing when Dean took out Kubrick with the remote control. | For its time it was incredibly risky and even considered subversive in some ways, taking a very open shot at post-war racism towards the Japanese and yet placing it in an almost traditional Western setting. A great cast to name one. An one armed war veteran gets off looking for a man whose name causes hostility among the residents of the town, led by Reno Smith. His search brings out the xenophobia, racism and moral cowardice of the residents of Black Rock. Supernatural: Bad Day at Black Rock. It relates the story of John Macreedy, (Spencer Tracy) a U.S. Army veteran who decides to visit the town of Black Rock, the hometown of a Japanese friend killed during the war. Tip-off to evil doings in Black Rock. Macreedy attempts to investigate the killing a Japanese farmer that happened shortly after the attack on the Pearl Harbor, the unconditional surrender of Japan, and the resultant hatred towards Japanese-Americans , including the events from Bataan and Corregidor .John suffers a strong hostility and hatred by the inhabitants and neighbours. T he unassuming but forceful execution of purpose exhibited by Bad Day at Black Rock ’s John J. Macreedy (Spencer Tracy), a mysterious, no-nonsense WWII vet who exposes the titular town’s xenophobic secret, mirrors that of John Sturges, a mostly forgotten big-budget director whose diverse studio pictures were defined by their brawny, efficient craftsmanship and preoccupation with … As the old saying has it, for evil to prosper it only requires good men to do nothing. BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK is a taut and terrific melodrama of a town silenced by a mean-spirited bully (ROBERT RYAN) and too afraid to be civil to a man who comes to the hot-baked desert town to deliver a posthumous medal to a Japanese farmer. Melodrama. The film was then run in reverse to create the opening shot. Though the vast scenic desert, surrounds this forgotten town, it nevertheless allows the foreboding atmosphere to commit itself to a linger secret which prevails and haunts the towns folks. Parents need to know that this film is a thriller, with intense scenes including a scary car chase and a scene in which one person is shot and another is killed with a homemade bomb, but the violence is not graphic. Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 Page 1 of 2 I think it's really great the way it addresses the way small communities and isolated communities close in on themselves to protect ugliness. An action film for people who don't like action films. But of course it's Tracy who transcends everything with his portrayal of an everyday man confronted by petty evil and who decides not to turn the other cheek when the option to run away seems best. Spencer Tracy heads a great cast in this much-admired drama that takes place in the west. But I'm not totally convinced Tracy was wholly right for the part. According to MGM records the film earned $1,966,000 in the US and Canada and $1,822,000 elsewhere, making the studio a profit of $947,000. Perhaps there are echoes here of the contrasting responses to a similar victimisation of innocent foreigners then running high in Hollywood as McCarthyism took hold. A silence conspiracy speaks louder than words. However upon arrival, he is greeted with suspicion, resentment and apathy. Don't have an account? Film Court review of Bad Day At Black Rock dir. Bad Day in Blackrock is a 2008 novel by Kevin Power.The plot was loosely based on the real-life death of Brian Murphy that occurred in Dublin in 2000 as a result of a violent assault outside a nightclub. Southern Pacific train express stops in Black Rock . But now that Bad Day at Black Rock is here, there's one less film on the wish list. When I published commentary on John Ford’s My Darling Clementine (1946), I focused on the patience required to enjoy such a film. Directed by: John Sturges. Spencer Tracy is wonderful as John J. Macreedy, a one-armed WWII veteran who has arrived in the desolate town of Black Rock in search of a Japanese man. 'Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)' might just be one of the most suspenseful non-Hitchcock films of the 1950s, a near-perfect mechanical construction of unspoken tension and looming disaster. Since Tracy now owed MGM a picture and BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK was without a lead and a start-up date imminent he reluctantly took up the assignment. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) ~Review by Grawlix (December 2017) A mysterious stranger arrives at a remote midwestern town, causing consternation among the locals (about ten people, all told), none of whom are very receptive to strangers or mysteries. Spenser Tracy had that special star quality in that you can't take your eyes off him. Sturges cleverly plays the first two thirds of the film in blazing colour-soaked sunshine, as if to say that the appearance of normality often hides an ugly undercurrent, as Tracy's innocent goodwill - trip turns into a one - man mission to either redeem those of the townsfolk with a scrap of conscience left (the Walter Brennan, John Ericson and Dean Jagger characters) or physically rage against and ultimately vanquish the irredeemable elements (Ernst Borgnine and Robert Ryan). Upon arrival, he discovers that the town's isolation has spawned a local law of its own, and his suspicions of foul-play make him a target for the antagonism of its residents. Two truly top-notch veterans, with exemplary career acting achievements. The film is a little gem. Black Rock is a speck of a town set in the desolate West at the end of World War 2. But I still would have loved to see what sort of a job Cagney would have made of it. It starts out with a terrific setup, too: one-armed John Macreedy (Spencer Tracy, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, … Good, Tense Drama & Fine Psychological Study, Edgy Critique of Racial Prejudice in a Small Town, A taut moral drama as an outsider confronts a town's evil past. Macreedy has come to deliver a war medal to the father of a Japanese soldier killed in WWII. Most of the photography was done in Lone Pine, California, where cinematographer William Mellor was able to capture the atmosphere of the dusty town and surrounding area with its majestic beauty. Advertisement It is, first of all, beautiful to look at. Portrayed over a 24 hour period and shot almost exclusively in a bright, oppressive sun which mirrors the welcome Tracy receives you can't help but find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat as you wonder if he'll make it or if the shear weight of angry townsfolk will make him disappear as well. As a noir-tinged Western hybrid, the film is a classic character study, morality play, and adventurous mystery. FAQ A tense, marvelous film-noir Western, if there is such a thing, and if not then this movie created the genre. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. The movie, Directed by John Sturges, is called " Bad Day at Black Rock. " Some reward for an actor who brought so much prestige to that studio. Like High Noon, it's a self-conscious genre picture, a modern version of the traditional Western used to tackle the problem of racism and discrimination against Japanese-Americans. The small town location is also put to good effect as it appears claustrophobic and spooky, as if everyone is constantly watching the new stranger, afraid of what he might uncover. Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2017. The cinematography is great, you can just feel the sweat oozing from the characters' pores and the symbolism of the train which both announces and then dissipates the tension was probably not lost on Hitchcock when working out the denouement of "North by Northwest" some years later. Written for the screen by Millard Kaufman, and adapted by Don McGuire, from the short story “Bad Time at Honda” by Howard Breslin, and directed by John Sturges, “Bad Day at Black Rock” has elements of both noir and western as an inquisitve one-armed man comes to the small desert town of Black Rock in search of answers. Genres: Thriller, Neo-Western, Mystery. Forgot your password? External Reviews Unfortunately, everyone he questions has been told not to talk to him. Bad Day at Black Rock is a tightly knit classic that helps one to admire the continuing power of good movies. "Bad Day at Black Rock" is only a short film by present day standards (at just 81 minutes) but in that time it manages to pack in more intrigue, mystery and action than many Hollywood films of two hours or more. This was an early CinemaScope film, and William Mellor frames it all beautifully. Movie Review: Bad Day At Black Rock (1955) A tense thriller set after World War Two but otherwise containing all the elements of a Western, Bad Day At Black Rock is a small movie with a long reach. The camera work emphasizes the emptiness and isolation of Black Rock. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy I would have given 10+ marks, but I found the music intrusive, a fault common to American films. (Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" It is hard to categorize director John Sturges' 1954 film. The plot concerns a one-armed war veteran, John J. Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) and his journey to the desolate and isolated little bit of nothing known as Black Rock. It's shot on location in CinemaScope and Eastman Color at Lone Pine, Death Valley & Alabama Hills in California, with William C. Mellor on photography and André Previn scoring the music. But will they stand up now? And there is even humour, when the conductor on the train says "This is the first time this train has stopped at Black Rock". John Sturges. This film offers a dark view of how overseas wars affect those on the homefront, and has strong themes of race and prejudice. So I will award it 9, which is 10 for everything else in this taut, exciting and understated film. Serves as a moralizing Hollywood lecture on racial prejudice against Japanese-Americans during World War II. by Billie Doux. The good versus evil battle is outlined with the physically handicapped and hopelessly outnumbered Tracy character seemingly doomed against the sinister, swaggering, physically domineering characters of Ryan (when was he not great in his evocation of downright orneriness), Borgnine (until Spence dispatches him with some aplomb in their justly famous bar-room fight scene) and especially Lee Marvin who really does seem like "the daddy" until he meets literally face on undertaker Brennan's spade in the prelude to Tracy's escape. Overview -. Here is one exceptional example. John Sturges directed with great care, and it shows. Pull a little Rain Man. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! … Dean: "I say we hit Vegas. The car chase required no augmentation; the scene has sufficient tension & uncertainty to use the sound of the cars to heighten the drama. As he unfolds the mystery the people start to fall into three camps, those who are with him, those who are against him, and those too scared to speak out. Metacritic Reviews. Bad Day at Black Rock turned out to be the final film that Spencer Tracy did on his MGM contract. Bad Day at Black Rock Review John J. Macreedy arrives in Black Rock to deliver a posthumous war medal to the Japanese father of an American soldier. A small town, the residents treat him with skepticism and contempt, pushing back against him at every turn. Famous suspense film, with a history lesson and Civil Rights message. From the first shot of the modern day locomotive traveling along the same path that many a stagecoach may have taken, you realize that this is a story about a way of life that has not been totally brought up to date. In this film, nothing is quite what it seems. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. It is always interesting that Europe recognizes the better Hollywood works than the Academy ("Thin Red Line" got the top award in Berlin, "Scarecrow" in Cannes--two geat American films ignored at the Oscar ceremonies). Bad Day at Black Rock. First, it features one of the greatest American actors, Spencer Tracy, in a seminal role that proved to be his last for alma mater, MGM. Blurring the lines between westerns, film noir, and mysteries, Bad Day at Black Rock emerges as a seamless marriage of multiple genres. John Sturges writ. You've got to love a picture that strips itself down to its bare elements, strikes right at the heart of the audience's sympathies and winds up in just over 80 minutes. Bad Day At Black Rock is an extraordinary film. | Macreedy digs deeper to find a town hiding a shameful secret that they were too apathetic to deal with. Like all good Supernatural episodes, this one was heavy on the brotherly interaction. The story unfolds in layers. There probably isn't another film like it from the 1950s. The problem with Bad Day At Black Rock is that it simply is a film that has no clue what it’s about, and its hero, John J. Macreedy (Tracy)- a one-armed World War Two vet, is simply too good and powerful, almost to the point of being superhuman. Check out how Hector (Lee Marvin) uses the word "boy" to suggest racial overtones well in advance of the slowly-revealed background plot; how Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) in his dark suit and no-nonsense manner contrasts with everyone else's casual dress and edginess, perfectly reflecting his role as avenging angel; how Coley (Ernest Borgnine), trying to run Macreedy off the road, resembles (probably unintentionally) Joe McCarthy, especially as caricatured by Walt Kelly; and of course how the arch-villain, Reno Smith (Robert Ryan), suggests limitless power with his inimitable smirk and almost languid movements: he controls the town without actually doing anything overt--until Macreedy forces his hand. A short movie by today's standards (1 hour, 22 minutes), 'Bad Day at Black Rock' is a really good movie that stands the test of time. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. I might add that this is also a fault in too many British films. McReedy uncovering up a terrible secret and being threatened ; attempts will be made to run him off the road while driving ; he will be chased , and the telephone operator will deny to connect him to the Police Station ; the Railway Station's employee will not dispatch a telegram ; meantime the local Mortician will warn him that he should aware for his death by nightfall. Spencer Tracy did not get an academy award for this film but he was compensated with a more important award--the Cannes Film festival award. Sign up here. This is a film to which I keep returning; one of Tracy's best, with great support from Robert Ryan. William C. Mellor edt. And in those other films, his character was believable. The combination of tense drama and fine psychological portrayals makes "Bad Day At Black Rock" an absorbing movie that grabs you right away and doesn't let go. The following year he was fired off the set of Tribute to a Bad Man and left MGM abruptly. Here's the reaction to Supernatural Season 3 Episode 3 "Bad Day at Black Rock. Expertly directed by John Sturges in breathtaking colour and CinemaScope the film holds your attention throughout its tight running time. Starring: Robert Ryan, Spencer Tracy. and the Terms and Policies, It is the type of movie that was made in the forties in black & white and would have been regarded as a typical classic noir. "Bad Day at Black Rock" is one of the more interesting "westerns" ever made. He is a bigot & a bully & you, as an audience want to see him brought down. Told in the present(1955), it has all of the elements and feel of the classic western that may have taken place eighty years prior to this. Judgment At Nuremberg. If you've never thought of Spencer Tracy as an "action hero," there's a nice surprise in this movie. Bad Day at Black Rock does have many things going for it. Legendary actor Spencer Tracy leads notable cast in unmissable film. Inherit The Wind. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) is both a tightly-written, suspenseful, dramatic action film (with film noirish qualities) and a western. Produced by Dore Schary out of MGM, Bad Day at Black Rock is directed by John Sturges and stars Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, John Ericson, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin. Good neo-western with Spencer Tracy excellent as the one-armed war veteran who arrives in a small, suspicious town looking for a missing Japanese farmer. Clive Roberts. Before he can even shade the bright sun out of his eyes, someone's asking him what he wants and when he might be leaving. "Bad Day at Black Rock" has an exceptionally talented supporting cast including Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, Anne Francis, John Ericson, Dean Jagger and Walter Brennan who all give accomplished performances - particularly the baddies Ryan, Borgnine and Marvin. "Bad Day at Black Rock" is a film seldom seen these days, and it's a shame because this small 81 minutes movie is packed with a lot of action, none of it coming from special effects, or shoot outs. It was more like something his friend James Cagney would do with little difficulty. | Walter Brennan and Dean Jagger are good in their character roles. Fcourt Lawrence Russell. It's an outstanding thriller. Rated the #9 best film of 1955, and #1129 in the greatest all-time movies (according to RYM users). And Bad Day At Black Rock. Robert Ryan, probably the greatest screen villain of all time, is, as always, outstanding. Sturges has made some good ones ("Gunfight," "Bad Day at Black Rock," "The Magnificent Seven"), and "Hour of the Gun" belongs in the same company but slightly lower on the guest list. Review Date February 2nd, 2017 by David Krauss. Suspenseful movie with top notch actors such as Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Walter Brennan, Dean Jagger, an early Lee Marvin, and many others. A short movie by today's standards (1 hour, 22 minutes), 'Bad Day at Black Rock' is a really good movie that stands the test of time. Third, the film's plot must be considered one of the most gritty, hard-edged and tough hitting melodramas ever put on film. It's a rare treat to see Tracy and Robert Ryan in the same film, with scenes together. MGM's glitzy 1955 thriller BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK is still one of the most popular movies of the fifties. It's adapted by Don McGuire and Millard Kaufman from the story "Bad Day at Hondo" written by Howard Breslin. Newell P. Kimlin music. His attempts to do so will confront him against the entire little town including the Sheriff (Dean Jagger) himself , a hotel receptionist (John Ericson) , a doctor (Walter Brennan) , the powerful Smith (Robert Ryan)and two thugs ( Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine) , among them . On the surface, this American film classic is concerned with the themes of individual integrity, group conformity and complacency, and civic responsibility. The short (81 minutes) 1955 film, shot in Cinemascope color is a hybrid of the Western modernized, the film noir Westernized, the urban social problem film desertized, the melodrama bowdlerized, the exploitative B film given an A cast, and the psychodrama simplified. ...watching this set of actors go at it with each other, with Tracy as the calm center of gravity, is impressive. Led by Reno Smith (Robert Ryan), others are intimated not to co-operate with the stranger, The exceptional cast includes Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine, Anne Francis and Lee Marvin. Told in the present(1955), it has all of the elements and feel of the classic western that may have taken place eighty years prior to this. Director John Sturges doesn't waste a second. Millard Kaufman (based on the story by Howard Breslin) cine. Bad Day At Black Rock (1954) dir. There's even a bit of sadistic plotting over Macreedy's demise. Bad Day At Black Rock. The suggestion that one man can--literally single-handedly--make a moral difference is inspiring (and how that one hand utterly confounds Coley is a nifty, low-key precursor of Bruce Lee-inspired acrobatics). Sturges tells this story with epic forbearance and methodical pacing managing a suspenseful tale of secrets timely revealed. The problem with Bad Day At Black Rock is that it simply is a film that has no clue what it's about, and its hero, John J. Macreedy (Tracy)- a one-armed World War Two vet, is simply too good and powerful, almost to the point of being superhuman. There is nothing complicated about Tracy's motives for visiting Black Rock, yet his presence unnerves the townspeople; they become shifty; their curiosity is not the normal variety that accompanies a stranger in a small hick town, in the outback. Verified Purchase. 100-word review: This big movie in a small 80-minute package tells the story of John Macreedy’s Bad Day at Black Rock where he tries to uncover the truth of what happened to the person he came to visit, while forcing the hostile inhabitants to face that truth. Hateful subject given a master class telling. Bad Day at Black Rock follows Spencer Tracy’s John J. Macreedy as he arrives at the title locale looking to track down the father of an old war buddy, with problems ensuing as it becomes increasingly clear that the entire town is hiding a terrible secret involving that missing character. Produced for the studio by Dore Schary it was nicely written for the screen by Millard Kaufman and came from a story called "Bad Time At Hondo" by Howard Brisken. He hadn't really appeared in this kind of picture before. Bad Day at Black Rock. All rights reserved. SPENCER TRACY is the man on a mission and he doesn't know what he's in for until he steps off that train and has to deal with some mighty cantankerous citizens, full of hatred, fear and prejudice. One-armed John J. Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) alights at Black Rock from train express in order to give a medal to the last known relative, Komoko who died five years ago , of a deceased Japanese-American army officer named Joe. In every scene, he exudes this. Copyright © Fandango. That said he does a fair enough job and it even earned him an Oscar nomination. Bad Day at Black Rock is an even better example of what we do not find in popular movies today. Verdict "Bad Day at Black Rock" shows Supernatural can not only do humor but can handle it with incredible success. Awards No one portrayed morality, ethics, and decency like Spencer Tracy. The longer he stays, the more questions he has to ask. | Social problems. Bad Day at Black Rock is a tightly knit classic that helps one to admire the continuing power of good movies.
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