Review of Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) by Stephen C — 10 Feb 2014
In a time wher most movies stars as bland as oatmeal ,This Classci conatains greata cting all round an a fantastic central performance from Spencer Tracy.
He Plays McCreedy a one armed war veteran who has come to the small town of Black Rock on a personal quest.
Trouble is most of the town dont want him there as he starts digging around to uncover a shocking crime which took place a few years before.
Director John Sturges gives us a slow reveal of this crime and its resonance is still relevant today.
Tracy is pitted against some fine viallny lead by Robert Ryan as the killer with a smile Reno Smith,and Lee Marvin and Ernest Brognine as he two lowlife followers.
The scene where the one armed McCreedy beats the living hell out of Brognine is suitably memorable and Sturges is enough of a craftsman to build an exciting desert climax.
Considering the film was made by MGM it feels a million miles away from there happy go lucky classic musicals of the period ,but the us of Cinemascope here is a major plus point .
They really dont make them like this anymore.
This review of Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) was written by Stephen C on 10 Feb 2014.
Bad Day at Black Rock has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
