Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

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

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

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

Stars:

Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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)

Storyline

From the time John J. Macreedy steps off the train in Black Rock, he feels a chill from the local residents. The town is only a speck on the map and few if any strangers ever come to the place. Macreedy himself is tight-lipped about the purpose of his trip and he finds that the hotel refuses him a room, the local garage refuses to rent him a car and the sheriff is a useless drunkard. It's apparent that the locals have something to hide but when he finally tells them that he is there to speak to a Japanese-American farmer named Kamoko, he touches a nerve so sensitive that he will spend the next 24 hours fighting for his life.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese american | stranger | town with a secret | world war two veteran | post world war two | 

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Taglines:

Suspense in CinemaScope

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 1955 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Bad Day at Hondo

Filming Locations:

Mojave Desert, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,271,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,966,000, 31 December 1955

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,788,000, 31 December 1955

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Eastman Color)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The script called for Macreedy to light matches one-handed. Spencer Tracy had difficulty with this and convinced director John Sturges to let him use a Zippo lighter, as every veteran he ever met had one.

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Goofs

Spencer Tracy is said to be 5' 9 1/2" tall, although he appears to be the same height as Anne Francis, who is said to be 5' 8" tall. Either way, he could hardly be described as "big". Yet, several times, his character Macreedy is pointedly described by various townspeople as a "big man".

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Quotes

John J. Macreedy: Your friend's a very... argumentative fellow.
Reno Smith: Sort of unpredictable, too. Got a temper like a rattlesnake.
Coley Trimble: That's me all over. I'm half horse, half alligator - you mess with me and I'll kick a lung outta' ya! What d'ya think of that?
John J. Macreedy: No comment.
Coley Trimble: You know, talkin' to you is like pullin' teeth. You wear me out.

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Alternate Versions

To receive an 'A' (PG) certificate in 1955 the UK cinema version was subject to heavy BBFC cuts. These included Macreedy striking Hector with the brass fire hose nozzle and the climactic shots of Reno on fire. Later TV showings and video releases were fully uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Sanctimony (2000)

User Reviews

Spence licks the town with one arm

Bad Day at Black Rock turned out to be the final film that Spencer Tracy did on his MGM contract. The following year he was fired off the set of Tribute to a Bad Man and left MGM abruptly. Some reward for an actor who brought so much prestige to that studio.

Tracy gets off a train at a hole in the wall, whistlestop, speedtrap of a town called Black Rock located somewhere in the Mojave desert. He's looking for a Japanese farmer named Komoko who seems to have vanished. And the townspeople are downright unfriendly to the stranger.

It gradually dawns on Tracy that by probing about Komoko's whereabouts, he's stepped in one big festering pile and he's put himself in danger. What he does about it is the rest of the film.

John Sturges keeps the tension going here worthy of an Alfred Hitchcock film. In fact if Hitchcock had ever decided to do a western and was presented with Bad Day at Black Rock, I doubt he could do it any better. Certain arty Hitchcock touches are missing, but the suspense is there. Sturges was in fact nominated for Best Director.

As was Tracy nominated for Best Actor. He lost ironically to one of his fellow cast members Ernest Borgnine who copped the big prize for Marty. But in fact any one of the small cast could have been nominated. I'm not sure why chief villain Robert Ryan wasn't.

A fews years later John Sturges directed another film The Law and Jake Wade about Robert Taylor being held prisoner by Richard Widmark and his gang. There was a lot of suspense there as well, similar to Bad Day at Black Rock, as to whether Taylor would escape his predicament.

For a feature film in 1955 it is a rather short one, less than 90 minutes. But as Tracy said in another film, what there is is cherce.