...tick... tick... tick... (1970)

Racial tensions threaten to explode when a black man is elected sheriff of a small, racially divided town in the Deep South.

Director:

Ralph Nelson

Writer:

James Lee Barrett

Stars:

Jim Brown, George Kennedy, Fredric March

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Brown	...	Jimmy Price
George Kennedy	...	John Little
Fredric March	...	Mayor Jeff Parks
Lynn Carlin	...	Julia Little
Don Stroud	...	Bengy Springer
Janet MacLachlan	...	Mary Price
Richard Elkins	...	Bradford Wilkes
Clifton James	...	D.J. Rankin
Robert Random	...	John Braddock (as Bob Random)
Mills Watson	...	Joe Warren
Bernie Casey	...	George Harley
Anthony James	...	H.C. Tolbert
Dub Taylor	...	Junior
Ernest Anderson	...	Homer
Karl Swenson	...	Frank Braddock Sr.

Storyline

This is the story of a black man who has been elected sheriff in a U.S. southern county, due to the vote of blacks. He receives a huge amount of hostility from the non-tolerant white establishment, making his job very hard. The white former sheriff has his own struggle, as he balances his devotion to the law with his family and community relations. Things come to a head when the black sheriff puts a white man, the son of a wealthy land-owner of a neighboring county, in jail, and his daddy comes after him. Everyone around has to decide where their values really lie.

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Plot Keywords:

sheriff | black man | hostility | racial tension | town | 

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Taglines:

A town turns into a time-bomb.

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Genres:

Drama | Action

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

...Tick... tick... tick... byen der var en bombe

Filming Locations:

Colusa, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Jimmy Price: What's going on back there?
Black Deputy: Police brutality.

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Crazy Credits

A clock is ticking during the opening credits. With each tick one word of the credits is added.

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Connections

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Soundtracks

"California Girl And The Tennessee Square"
Words and Music by Jack Clement
Sung by Tompall and The Glaser Brothers

User Reviews

Good Performances and Nice Drama

...tick...tick...tick... (1970)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Interesting drama about a new black sheriff (Jim Brown) who takes over duties in a Southern town where the KKK aren't too happy about his election. The Mayor (Fredric March) doesn't want any violence because he doesn't want federal men in his town but after a white man is arrested for murder, some of the good ol' boys don't like the idea of a black man arresting him. The former sheriff (George Kennedy) decides to step in and try to help but soon all sorts of racist types are coming in. I think it's fair to call this movie a wannabe IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT but the three lead performances make it worth viewing. I think the weakest thing is the screenplay, which tries too hard to be like that previous film but in the end it really can't come close to the tension in its story. I think the one thing that really does work well here is that the racial tensions against Brown are because he's black but the interesting thing is that those sides turn against him for crimes dealing with the same race. The white man is arrested for drunk driving that kills a white girl and the black man arrested is for raping a black teen girl. I think the fact that this film tries to stay away from a race riot was something rather refreshing and I liked how the film didn't solve the race issues but instead simply tried to get both sides to fight for a common cause. Brown is very good in his role and I really liked the laid back approach that he brought to the role. There's no screaming and there's no tough, macho action but instead he plays a man with morals and I thought the actor did a very good job with the part. Kennedy was born to play the good-hearted redneck and he too does nice work here. March certainly overacts a bit in his next to last film role but he's always fun to see. The supporting cast also step up with everyone fitting their roles quite nicely. ...TICK...TICK...TICK... isn't the greatest race drama out there but I think there are enough interesting aspects to make it worth viewing.