The Big Clock

"The Strangest and Most Savage Manhunt in History!"

1948 1h 35m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 192

CrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

George Stroud, a crime magazine's crusading editor, has to postpone a vacation with his wife - again - when a glamorous blonde is murdered and he is assigned by his publishing boss to find the killer. As the investigation proceeds to its conclusion, Stroud must try to disrupt his ordinarily brilliant investigative team as they increasingly build evidence that he is the killer.

“The Strangest and Most Savage Manhunt in History!”

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Cast

Ray Milland
George Stroud
Charles Laughton
Earl Janoth
Maureen O'Sullivan
Georgette Stroud
George Macready
Steve Hagen
Rita Johnson
Pauline York
Elsa Lanchester
Louise Patterson
Harold Vermilyea
Don Klausmeyer
Dan Tobin
Roy Cordette

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Farrow
Writers: Jonathan Latimer
Languages: English, Italian
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

ERA

Did you know

78 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Farrow, shot by John F. Seitz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ray Milland and Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Sullivan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The Strangest and Most Savage Manhunt in History!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0040160 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Farrow directs. John F. Seitz behind the camera. Victor Young scores. LeRoy Stone cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

178 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
3Directed by John Farrow, shot by John F. Seitz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Victor Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor LeRoy Stone shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ray Milland and Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Sullivan carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The Strangest and Most Savage Manhunt in History!".
8IMDB entry: tt0040160 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "new york city", "based on novel or book", "clock", "magazine".

The technical file

Cinematography: John F. Seitz
Original score: Victor Young
Editing: LeRoy Stone
Costume design: Edith Head
Makeup / hair: Wally Westmore
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Big Clock (1948)

Also by

John Farrow

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-01-05
★ 9/10
How did I get into this rat race? Egomaniac publisher Earl Janoth (Charles Laughton) murders his mistress in a fit of temper. He then uses all his power and connections to pin the crime on another man seen close to the crime. George Stroud (Ray Milland), editor of Janoth's own Crimeways magazine, is put in charge of tracing the mystery man. Which is fine until he finds that as he digs deeper, all the evidence points to he himself being the fall guy! Ostensibly film noir it may be, but The Big Clock still has something to offer even the most casual of cinema goer. Directed by the still criminally undervalued John Farrow, The Big Clock has a touch of the Alfred Hitchcock "wrong man" theme about it. Based on a novel written by Kenneth Fearing, Farrow and his writer, Jonathan Latimer, have managed to craft a piece that is both twisty and unique in its execution. With both things working towards a quite clever and suspenseful ending. As with the best of film noir, The Big Clock has an intricate plot that's awash with dubious characters and sexual ambiguity. Headed by Laughton's tyrannical philandering Janoth (apparently based on real life publisher Henry Luce), the piece boasts what maybe a gay scar-faced right hand man? (George Macready) and a butch masseur henchman (Harry Morgan playing against type). Only in the wonderful world of film noir can such characters not only exist, but also be so riveting within the film's structure. The piece is also very funny, particularly when Elsa Lanchester's batty artist Louise Patterson is on the screen. I almost fell off my chair laughing during one scene as she hands in a sketch of the wanted man, Picasso would have been proud! But ultimately it's the story and Ray Milland's ability to see it through that wins the day. Even with the odd little problem, such as the underusing of Maureen O' Sullivan as Stroud's wife, Georgette, thus the domestic strife feels like filler. The Big Clock still finishes as an excellently constructed picture containing interesting thematics on time (this will be down to the individual viewer) that's cunningly set in amongst a media empire environment. Remade with some success in 1987 as a political thriller (No Way Out), The Big Clock still remains the essential film to see. Crime, mystery, drama, comedy and a thriller, it has a little for everyone, even if it is basically a film noir treat. 9/10

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