Indeed, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK is like the burning fuse on a stick of dynamite: a suspenseful, steady progression to a seemingly inevitable outcome, crackling and sparking along the way.
Director Sturges and screenwriters Kaufman and McGuire nicely contrast typical film noir elements - an enigmatic stranger; a dark secret kept by the inhabitants of a hostile town; a strong-arm boss ruling the roost through intimidation (and thugs) - against widescreen, Technicolor vistas, and the thematic one-man-against-a-town/nowhere-to-run claustrophobia is deftly and unexpectedly enhanced by the surrounding open spaces.
Led by Spencer Tracy - for whom the film provides an image so iconic it was echoed years later in "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - a galaxy of first-rank players delivers punchy dialogue -
"You've got the body of a hippo but the brain of a jackrabbit; don't tax it."
"You're not only wrong, you're wrong at the top of your voice."
"Talking to you is like pulling teeth; you wear me out."
"I get 'em comin' and going."
"I live a quiet, contemplative life."
"Don't get waspish with me, mister...I feel for ya, but I'm consumed with apathy."
"Do the nice little things...like keepin' yer big, fat nose outta my business."
Sturges' effective pacing is at once deliberate yet tense: a chess-game-like battle of wits and wills punctuated by moments of jeopardy met with daring gambits, after which the squared-off opponents quietly consider each other's next move.
Before urgently barreling toward its climax, very much like the diesel train seen behind the credits, BAD DAT AT BLACK ROCK packs a great deal into its brisk, 81 minute running time, and is a vest pocket tornado.
Director Sturges and screenwriters Kaufman and McGuire nicely contrast typical film noir elements - an enigmatic stranger; a dark secret kept by the inhabitants of a hostile town; a strong-arm boss ruling the roost through intimidation (and thugs) - against widescreen, Technicolor vistas, and the thematic one-man-against-a-town/nowhere-to-run claustrophobia is deftly and unexpectedly enhanced by the surrounding open spaces.
Led by Spencer Tracy - for whom the film provides an image so iconic it was echoed years later in "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - a galaxy of first-rank players delivers punchy dialogue -
"You've got the body of a hippo but the brain of a jackrabbit; don't tax it."
"You're not only wrong, you're wrong at the top of your voice."
"Talking to you is like pulling teeth; you wear me out."
- the most elegant passages of which are delivered by town doctor/undertaker Walter Brennan:
"I get 'em comin' and going."
"I live a quiet, contemplative life."
"Don't get waspish with me, mister...I feel for ya, but I'm consumed with apathy."
"Do the nice little things...like keepin' yer big, fat nose outta my business."
Sturges' effective pacing is at once deliberate yet tense: a chess-game-like battle of wits and wills punctuated by moments of jeopardy met with daring gambits, after which the squared-off opponents quietly consider each other's next move.
Before urgently barreling toward its climax, very much like the diesel train seen behind the credits, BAD DAT AT BLACK ROCK packs a great deal into its brisk, 81 minute running time, and is a vest pocket tornado.