| Bad Day, Pretty Good Movie |
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| written by talltale |
November 25, 2005 - 8:48 PM PST |
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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An interesting icon of the 1950s, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK was important in it day and remains so now, though perhaps for different reasons. Directed by John Sturges and filmed in Cinemascope and Eastmancolor (the reds tend to fade), it works pretty well as a one-man-against-a-town, B-level movie, giving Spencer Tracy a chance to shine in his taciturn manner (which he does).
The supporting cast is full of good name actors, from Ernest Borgnine to Lee Marvin, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger and Walter Brennan. Only Robert Ryan fails to ignite, due not to any weakness on his part; the script gives him a one note character and little screen time, unlike his roles in films such as Sam Fuller's "House of Bamboo" or Fritz Lang's "Clash by Night."
The going may seem a tad slow for nearly an hour (Andre Previn's musical score is, as usual with films of the 50s, too often over the top), but it's all building up to one humdinger of a scene in the town café. This few minutes is superb moviemaking, which even the film's climax fails to match, let alone outdo. One of the themes here--racism as the result of war--speaks to our country as strongly today as it did in 1955: The need to stand up to injustice never goes out of date. |
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