Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Interesting story and it lands well when you see it for the first time. People in a town that you just arrived in do not like you and this is in the first five minutes of arriving. Furthermore, it makes no sense especially to the guy it is being acted out on but he handles it well. It stays consistent throughout the movie until the viewer is dying to know just what is going on and why. Add some fine actors and you got yourself a movie to be watched until the very end. Tracy holds his own playing a man who has no fear but should especially since he has only one arm. Boy does that slowly creep up on you and then explode into some fine, memorable action not to be missed. The rest of the cast supports as well as plays out their roles to perfection. This movie reminds me of when someone tries to commit a crime and thinks they have it all covered only to find out what has been proved over and over again i.e. you cant' cover all the bases. Very nicely portrayed here and the movie gives us good closure too. I like eating when watching a movie. I had bowl of miscellaneous fruits with some homemade double roasted filberts and almonds. Mmm good! Add a tasty drink and do not be bothered for a couple of hours. Enjoy this

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) was directed by John Sturges. Sturges specialized in Westerns, especially Grade B Westerns, set in the Old West. This film--set in 1945--was Sturges' foray into the New West, but it didn't really work out that way.In this movie, Sturges simply transfers the action 70 years ahead, but the plot is the same. First of all, Black Rock is portrayed as a city to which progress has never come. So, the telephones don't work, and the characters must rely on the telegraph station. They ride cars instead of horses, but that's about it in terms of technological advances.Also, Sturges uses a classic Western theme--the protagonist just returned from war. (For example, John Wayne just home from the Civil War in "The Searchers.") The protagonist, John J. Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) is just back from WW II. What's different--and excellent--about this movie is that Spencer Tracy was a superb actor, and Sturges gives him plenty of screen time to show us his talents. Another interesting highlight is that Macreedy is missing his left arm. That's a part for a great actor. In fact, someone has written that the missing arm was what made the character interesting enough for Spencer Tracy to agree to portray him.All the rest of the supporting cast is pretty standard Western movie talent--Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Lee Marvin, and Ernest Borgnine. They all portray bad guys and not-so-bad guys. The only woman in the film is played by Anne Francis. She was a pretty talented actor, but she doesn't belong in this movie. It's obvious that director Sturges thought he needed at least one woman in the film, and he picked Francis. We are to understand that she is Robert Ryan's girlfriend. So, the girlfriend of a bad guy has to be either a bad woman or terribly naive. Francis' role was so feeble that I couldn't tell which she was supposed to be.We saw this film at Rochester's wonderful Dryden Theatre, as part of an Ernest Borgnine retrospective. It will work well on the small screen, because Black Rock is a set, not a real city, and the mountain scenery looks painted.If you want to see a pretty good Western, with a truly great star, this is the film for you. It begins one day with the streamlined passenger train coming into Black Rock, and it ends the next day with the streamlined passenger train leaving Black Rock . The shots of the train are fabulous.

This movie is a thrill ride from start to finish, full of suspense and drama. The film feels like a traditional western but its actually set in WW2 Arizona. I think it would be fare to compare this film with High Noon another classic western. However in High Noon where McCreedy (played by Spencer Tracy) faces sociopathic bullies and the locals won't help him, Bad Day at Black Rock deals with racism against Japanese Americans. I must say John Sturges does an excellent job in creating this film and the screen play works in such a way you don't think somebody is preaching at you. Spencer Tracy does a really good job playing the part of a 1 armed inquisitor. Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, and Lee Marvin all play excellent supporting parts. Good colour and really good use of widescreen. Well worth watching. Fantastic.

This is one of the all time classics with a great plot and the certain twists and turns it takes you on wondering if Spencers character is going to get out of town alive or not and where everyone clicks just right having movie greats like Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin and of course Spencer Tracy you can't really say anything bad about this movie other than the fight scene between Ernest Borgnine and Spencer Tracy where he does his judo throw on Ernest is such a terrible job as a double standing in. Every time I see that part of the movie I want to find out how that got by the director. The guy was like more slender and like a foot taller and he didn't even look anything like Spencer Tracy. I always wonder how things like that get by unnoticed in the great Hollywood? Other than that great movie. Ben the critic