Bad Day at Black Rock

"Just the way it happened!"

1955 1h 21m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 438

WesternDramaCrimeMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.

“Just the way it happened!”

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Cast

Spencer Tracy
John J. Macreedy
Robert Ryan
Reno Smith
Walter Brennan
Doc T.R. Velie Jr.
Lee Marvin
Hector David
Dean Jagger
Tim Horn
Anne Francis
Liz Wirth
John Ericson
Pete Wirth
Ernest Borgnine
Coley Trimble

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Sturges
Writers: Howard Breslin, Millard Kaufman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

81 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

71 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Sturges, shot by William C. Mellor. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by André Previn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Newell P. Kimlin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan and Walter Brennan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Just the way it happened!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Sturges directs. William C. Mellor behind the camera. André Previn scores. Newell P. Kimlin cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

181 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
371 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by John Sturges, shot by William C. Mellor. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by André Previn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Newell P. Kimlin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan and Walter Brennan carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Just the way it happened!".
9IMDB entry: tt0047849 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "film noir", "murder", "racism", "desert".
11Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: William C. Mellor
Original score: André Previn
Editing: Newell P. Kimlin
Makeup / hair: John Truwe
Runtime: 81 min · 1h 21m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,271,000
Box office: $3,788,000
Return: 298% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

John Sturges

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-02-10
★ 8/10
Hateful subject given a master class telling. Produced by Dore Schary out of MGM, Bad Day at Black Rock is directed by John Sturges and stars Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, John Ericson, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin. It's adapted by Don McGuire and Millard Kaufman from the story "Bad Day at Hondo" written by Howard Breslin. It's shot on location in CinemaScope and Eastman Color at Lone Pine, Death Valley & Alabama Hills in California, with William C. Mellor on photography and André Previn scoring the music. A classy production that combines elements of Westerns and film noir, Bad Day at Black Rock deals with racism and all the hate and bully tactics that come with such a vile subject. It tells the story of a mysterious one armed stranger, John J. Macreedy (Tracy), who arrives at a tiny isolated town in a desert of the Southwest United States in search of a Japanese-American man. From the moment he arrives he is met with hostility and mistrust. Over the course of the day Macreedy picks apart the town to uncover the secret that the towns folk had hoped had gone away forever. From the opening sequence of a bright red train rushing towards us, it's evident that we are in the modern day West. It's just after World War II and the horse trails of the old West are now frequented by jeeps and cars. Yet the hallmarks of the old West exists and thrives because of the inhabitants of Black Rock. An ignorant group of people consisting of bullies, drunks and the head in the sand weak willed type. Yet even though the film is set mostly in the blazing sun, in a barren one horse Western town that time forgot, the film exudes a film noir sensibility. Dark secrets from the past weigh heavy on the shoulders of the towns' big players - and Tracy's High Noon like situation is moodily paced by the wily Sturges. In fact, that a film with so little "gun play" action can be so tense is actually no mean feat, with him yet again directing an ensemble cast to great effect. Tracy is at his best when he is as he is here, playing subdued. Here he is a thinking man's protagonist, calm and reflective in the face of constant hostility. That he is facing an impressive line up of heavies really brings home just how thoughtful a performance Tracy gives in the piece. Robert Ryan does yet another fine turn as a complicated villain whose rage is bubbling away under the surface. Borgnine and Marvin are memorably vile as his right hand thugs, Dean Jagger as the drunken cowardly sheriff manages to pang the heart and Walter Brennan is his usual solid scene influencing self. Anne Francis adds the glamour but really - and sadly - it's a nondescript role that the film could easily have survived without. Clocking in at just 81 minutes the film never outstays its welcome. It looks great on home format issue, and for those interested in commentary tracks, this one comes with a very good one from Dana Polan. Anyone who has not seen this film should try and seek it out. It was considered controversial back on release but now can be viewed as a smart message movie about racial tolerance. Tight, taut and expertly directed and acted, Bad Day At Black Rock is an important film from the 50s that still rings the bells loudly even today. 8/10

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