IMDb RATING
7.6/10
8.8K
YOUR RATING
A magazine tycoon commits a murder and pins it on an innocent man, who then tries to solve the murder himself.A magazine tycoon commits a murder and pins it on an innocent man, who then tries to solve the murder himself.A magazine tycoon commits a murder and pins it on an innocent man, who then tries to solve the murder himself.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
8.8K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Jonathan Latimer(screenplay)
- Kenneth Fearing(novel)
- Harold Goldman(contributor to screenplay construction and dialogue)
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- Jonathan Latimer(screenplay)
- Kenneth Fearing(novel)
- Harold Goldman(contributor to screenplay construction and dialogue)
- Stars
- Awards
- 2 nominations
Harry Morgan
- Bill Womack
- (as Henry Morgan)
- Director
- Writers
- Jonathan Latimer(screenplay)
- Kenneth Fearing(novel)
- Harold Goldman(contributor to screenplay construction and dialogue) (uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe novel on which this film is based was written by poet Kenneth Fearing, as revenge on publisher Henry Luce and his "Time" magazine. Fearing was obliged to work there (for financial reasons) for many years. The fearsome Earl Janoth is often regarded as a libelous parody of Luce, even though the book received a rave review from the "Time" critic, as did the film.
- GoofsKiller Earl Janoth (Charles Laughton) dispatches his employee Steve Hagen (George Macready) to the crime scene to eliminate any evidence connecting him to victim Pauline York (Rita Johnson). Hagen alters the broken clock time as well as removing the murder weapon and miscellaneous incriminating evidence. What Hagen failed to notice and left behind is the potentially incriminating evidence of a photo of the real killer, Earl Janoth, prominently displayed in the apartment.
- Quotes
Earl Janoth: [talking on intercom to Steve Hagen] On the fourth floor - in the broom closet - a bulb has been burning for several days. Find the man responsible, dock his pay.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Clock (2010)
- SoundtracksI'm in the Mood for Love
(uncredited)
Music by Jimmy McHugh
source music heard when Pauline first meets George at the bar
Review
Featured review
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 of his New York building. 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.
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 of his New York building. 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.
helpful•404
- blanche-2
- Jan 29, 2009
Details
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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