The Big Clock (1948)

A career oriented magazine editor finds himself on the run when he discovers his boss is framing him for murder.

Director:

John Farrow

Writers:

Jonathan Latimer (screenplay), Kenneth Fearing (novel)

Stars:

Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Milland	...	George Stroud
Charles Laughton	...	Earl Janoth
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Georgette Stroud
George Macready	...	Steve Hagen
Rita Johnson	...	Pauline York
Elsa Lanchester	...	Louise Patterson
Harold Vermilyea	...	Don Klausmeyer
Dan Tobin	...	Ray Cordette
Harry Morgan	...	Bill Womack (as Henry Morgan)
Richard Webb	...	Nat Sperling
Elaine Riley	...	Lily Gold
Luis Van Rooten	...	Edwin Orlin
Lloyd Corrigan	...	McKinley
Frank Orth	...	Burt
Margaret Field	...	Second Secretary

Storyline

When powerful publishing tycoon Earl Janouth commits an act of murder at the height of passion, he cleverly begins to cover his tracks and frame an innocent man, whose identity he doesn't know, but who just happen to have contact with the murder victim. That man is a close associate on his magazine whom he enlists to trap this "killer" George Stroud. It's up to George to continue to "help" Janouth, to elude the police and to find proof of his innocence and Janouth's guilt.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | magazine | tycoon | editor | handkerchief | 

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Taglines:

The strangest and most savage manhunt in history!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

A nagy óra

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Co-stars Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton were married, as were star Maureen O'Sullivan and director John Farrow.

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Quotes

Don Klausmeyer: I'm Don Klausmeyer, from Artways magazine.
Louise Patterson: Yes.
[giggles]
Louise Patterson: Oh, yes. Didn't you review my show in '41?
Don Klausmeyer: I think I did.
Louise Patterson: Oh, come in, Mr. Klausmann.
Don Klausmeyer: KlausMEYER.
Louise Patterson: [laughs gleefully] I've been planning to kill you for years.

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Connections

Referenced in L.A. Noire (2011)

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Soundtracks

"I'm in the Mood for Love"
(uncredited)
Music by Jimmy McHugh
source music heard when Pauline first meets George at the bar

User Reviews

Terrific

Remade in 1987 as "No Way Out," the 1948 film "The Big Clock" is a wonderful suspense film starring Charles Laughton, Ray Milland, George MacCready, and Maureen O'Sullivan, directed by O'Sullivan's husband, John Farrow.

Earl Janoth (Laughton), the owner of a publishing empire, is a quiet, enigmatic tyrant who loves clocks and has them all over his buildings throughout the country, including a big one in the lobby. The clocks everywhere run together on naval observatory time.

Janoth's right-hand man, Steve Hagen (MacCready) does his dirty work for him. When Janoth kills his mistress (Rita Johnson), Hagen cleans up the mess. Janoth is sure he saw someone in the hall when he arrived at his girlfriend's apartment, and feeling that the man can identify him, wants him found and eliminated. He orders his executives to get the man, telling them the person they want is involved in a war contract scheme. One man, George Stroud (Ray Milland), who is heading up the investigation, isn't fooled. He knows that he is the man Janoth is looking for -- and why.

"The Big Clock" is a great cat and mouse story, with Stroud ducking people who saw him in various places with the mistress on the night she was killed. He also attempts to leave the building to find a cab driver when someone who can identify him is standing at the exit with security people.

Milland does an excellent job of being both cool and panicky, and Laughton's underplaying makes the character of Janoth all the more deadly. Maureen O'Sullivan is delightful as the long-suffering Mrs. Stroud, who's never had a honeymoon because of her husband's work. Elsa Lanchester is hilarious as an artist whose painting figures into the story.

My only complaint is that the ending is a tiny bit abrupt, though very amusing.

A really wonderful film for suspense-lovers, Hitchcock-like, and highly entertaining.