Review of Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) by Monsieur R — 27 Jan 2011

3 Oscar nominations, although well done in every respect, this had a feel good ending. This fellow, Spencer Tracy, with only one arm and his wits, defends himself AND captures the bad guys all by himself and a lot of help from the doctor in town.

Pure fantasy. But captivating film making none-the-less. The story of a mysterious stranger who arrives at a tiny isolated town in a desert of the southwest United States in search of a man.

If the movie had a credible ending, this would have been a great movie.

NOTES:

O MGM's president at the time, nearly did not allow the picture to be made because he felt the story was subversive.

O This was Spencer Tracy's last film for MGM. This was MGM's first motion picture to be filmed in Cinemascope.

O The film was run in reverse to create the opening shot.

O The "town" of Black Rock, Arizona was built for the film. Today nothing remains of the set.

WINS:

1955 Cannes Film Festival: Best Actor, Spencer Tracy; (tied with the ensemble cast in Bolshaya semya).

Nominations:

Cannes Film Festival: Golden Palm, John Sturges; 1955.

Academy Award Nominations: Oscar, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Spencer Tracy; Best Director, John Sturges; Best Writing, Screenplay, Millard Kaufman; 1956.

British Academy of Film and Television Arts: BAFTA Film Award, Best Film from any Source, USA; UN Award, USA; 1956.

Directors Guild of America: DGA Award, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, John Sturges; 1956.

Writers Guild of America: WGA Screen Award, Best Written American Drama, Millard Kaufman; 1956.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:

Villain - Reno Smith (Robert Ryan).

Directed by John Sturges.

Produced by Dore Schary.

Screenplay by Don McGuire.

Millard Kaufman.

Story by Howard Breslin.

Starring Spencer Tracy.

Robert Ryan.

Anne Francis.

Dean Jagger.

Walter Brennan.

Ernest Borgnine.

Lee Marvin.

Music by André Previn.

Cinematography William C. Mellor.

Editing by Newell P. Kimlin.

Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Release date(s) January 7, 1955 (1955-01-07).

Running time 81 minutes.