The Big Clock (1948)

After murdering someone, a magazine tycoon tries to frame an unknown, innocent man of the murder instead, while the innocent man tries to solve the murder himself.

Director:

John Farrow

Writers:

Jonathan Latimer (screenplay), Kenneth Fearing (novel)

Stars:

Ray Milland, Maureen O'Sullivan, Charles Laughton

2 nominations.

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 Janoth 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 happens 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" Janoth, to elude the police and to find proof of his innocence and Janoth's guilt.

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Plot Keywords:

editor | frame up | magazine | manhunt | tycoon | 

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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:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Spiel mit dem Tode

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

One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. An immediate favorite among local television audiences, its initial telecast took place in St. Louis Wednesday 7 January 1959 on KMOX (Channel 4), and it soon spread across the country, grabbing key prime time movie slots in Los Angeles Saturday 31 January 1959 on KNXT (Channel 2), in Minneapolis 5 February 1959 on WTCN (Channel 11), in Philadelphia 7 February 1959 on WCAU (Channel 10), in Chicago 5 March 1959 on WBBM (Channel 2), in Milwaukee 18 April 1959 on WITI (Channel 6), in Phoenix 29 May 1959 on KVAR (Channel 12), in San Francisco 6 August 1959 on KPIX (Channel 5), in Seattle 15 August 1959 on KIRO (Channel 7), in Detroit 21 October 1959 on WJBK (Channel 2), in Toledo 24 October 1959 on WTOL (Channel 11), in both Pittsburgh and Asheville 9 November 1959 on KDKA (Channel 2) and WLOS (Channel 13), in Grand Rapids 11 November 1959 on WOOD (Channel 8), in Omaha 26 November 1959 on KETV (Channel 7), and in Johnstown 20 December on WJAC (Channel 6); but New York television viewers did not get their first look at it until 12 September 1960 on WCBS (Channel 2). It was released on DVD 6 July 2004 as part of the Universal Noir Collection, and since that time has received frequent airings on cable TV on Turner Classic Movies.

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Goofs

Killer Earl Janoth (Laughton) dispatches his employee Steve Hagen (Macready) to the crime scene to eliminate any evidence connecting him to victim Pauline York (Johnson). Hagen alters the broken clock time as well as removing the murder weapon and misc.incriminating evidence.George Stroud (Milland) subsequently enters the York apartment and changes the clock time again. What both fail to see and leave behind is the most incriminating evidence of all. A photo of the real killer, Earl Janoth, prominently displayed in the apartment.

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Quotes

George Stroud: White clocks, yellow clocks, brown clocks, blue clocks. Oh, Miss York, where are the green clocks of yesteryear?

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Connections

Version of Police Python 357 (1976)

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Soundtracks

The Wearin' of the Green
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

Good Film Noir With Fine Cast, Complicated Plot

"The Big Clock" takes some chances with unusual characters, and with complicated and sometimes outlandish plot developments, but it holds together well to produce a generally satisfying, and always interesting, suspense film. A fine cast makes us both believe in and identify with the characters, and good direction by John Farrow keeps the film moving, and blends together what otherwise could have been a lot of incongruous plot devices.

Ray Milland is a vital part of the film's success in his role as George Stroud, the editor of a crime magazine who has an amazing talent for tracking down elusive criminals. Already caught in a conflict between his neglected wife and his domineering employer, Stroud finds himself asked to direct a search for an unknown murderer in a case where, because of a chain of circumstantial evidence, all the clues point back to himself. What the audience knows, but Stroud does not, is that the real killer is his boss, played with panache by Charles Laughton, who is obsessed with time and whose proudest creation is a gigantic clock that dominates the publishing house that he runs. The title refers literally to this clock, and perhaps metaphorically refers to the urgency faced by Milland's character as he fights against time trying to extricate himself from his troubles. Milland nicely underplays all of this, and communicates his dilemmas with a lot of credibility.

The supporting cast is an important part of the film, as they must bring life and credibility to a series of oddball plot elements, and they are all quite good. Especially noteworthy is Elsa Lanchester's performance as an eccentric artist whose paintings become one of the clues to the crime. Lanchester is simply wonderful in her scenes, and the movie would be worth watching over again for those alone.

"The Big Clock" is a good example of a "film noir", and will be most enjoyed by those who are fans of the way films of the genre were made in their heyday. But it would also be a good choice for anyone who likes crime/mystery stories and who is willing to look at the way such films were made in an earlier era. After watching "The Big Clock", you might want to see more of them.