Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Millard Kaufman (screen play)
Don McGuire (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

7 January 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Western

Tagline:

Suddenly you realize murder is at your elbow! - and there's no way out!

Plot:

A one handed stranger comes to a tiny town possessing a terrible past they want to keep secret, by violent means if necessary.

Plot Keywords:

Train | Japanese American | Secret | Sheriff | Stranger

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Spencer Tracy	...	John J. Macreedy
Robert Ryan	...	Reno Smith
Anne Francis	...	Liz Wirth
Dean Jagger	...	Tim Horn
Walter Brennan	...	Doc Velie
John Ericson	...	Pete Wirth
Ernest Borgnine	...	Coley Trimble
Lee Marvin	...	Hector David
Russell Collins	...	Mr. Hastings
Walter Sande	...	Sam
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter Beaver	...	Cafe Lounger (unconfirmed)
Billy Dix	...	Cafe Lounger (unconfirmed)
Mickey Little	...	Cafe Lounger (unconfirmed)
K.L. Smith	...	Cafe Lounger (unconfirmed)
Robert Griffin	...	Second Train Conductor (uncredited)
Harry Harvey	...	First Train Conductor (uncredited)
Bobby Johnson	...	One of Two Porters (uncredited)
Francis McDonald	...	Tall - White-haired Cafe Lounger (uncredited)

Directed by
John Sturges

Writing credits
Millard Kaufman		(screen play)
Don McGuire		(adaptation)
Howard Breslin		(based on a story by)

Produced by
Herman Hoffman	....	associate producer
Dore Schary	....	producer

Original Music by
André Previn

Cinematography by
William C. Mellor		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Newell P. Kimlin		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Malcolm Brown
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Fred M. MacLean		(set decorations) (as Fred MacLean)
Edwin B. Willis

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joel Freeman	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Wesley C. Miller	....	recording supervisor
Ed Haight	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Kurt Hernfeld	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Harold Humbrock	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Danny Sands	....	stunts (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Alvord Eiseman	....	color consultant

Music Department
Leo Arnaud	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Alexander Courage	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Wally Heglin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
André Previn	....	conductor (uncredited)
André Previn	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
John Indrisano	....	judo instructor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated) (presents) (as M-G-M also) (A CinemaScope Production) (made in Hollywood, U.S.A. by)
• Loew's (as Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (France) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1964) (USA) (TV) (first airing)
• C.G. Films S.A. (1982) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (1987) (Greece) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (2011) (USA) (TV)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Synapse Films (????) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Videolog (????) (UK) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  package design (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) (Western Electric Sound System) | 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #17184) | West Germany:12 (f) | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | UK:PG (video rating) (1993) (1994) | UK:PG (tv rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The sign behind the hotel desk is a quote from English evangelist John Wesley: "Do all the good you can, / By all the means you can, / In all the ways you can, / In all the places you can, / At all the times you can, / To all the people you can, / As long as ever you can."

Goofs:

Factual errors: McCreedy rents the U.S. Army quarter-ton truck (jeep) and drives it around with his one arm. That model truck only had a standard transmission. Yet you can hear the gears shift but McCreedy never engages the clutch or works the shifter.

Quotes:

First Train Conductor:Man, they look woebegone and far away.
John J. Macreedy:Oh, I'll only be here twenty-four hours.
First Train Conductor:In a place like this, it could be a lifetime.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Petticoat Junction: Bad Day at Shady Rest (#5.26)" (1968)

A bad day, a superb film

John Sturges directed this quintessentially tight-constructed masterpiece. This is how it was done in the good old days: nothing falls by the wayside. Tight, clear characterizations, with minimalist dialog, costume, manner, and facial expression all reflecting the inner lives of people in their self-constructed hell. 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. 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). 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). This is a keeper.