Bad Day at Black Rock is a 1955 film that was directed by John Sturges, and stars Spencer Tracy, and Robert Ryan. It was based on a supposedly true story and the film follows a one handed man as he goes to a desolate and tiny town, where he is trying to find a Japanese man. The more time he spends in the town the more he feels as if something is wrong. John Sturges is an incredible director, who has directed some of the best American films of all time! He directed The Great Escape, The Magnificent 7, and Gunfight at the O.K. Corrall, and this film is no different!
This is a really compelling and well done Western, Mystery, Thriller, with an absolutely incredible performance by Spencer Tracy. He basically carries the entire film on his shoulders, and the film would be much less enjoyable without him. I have only seen him in It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, which is a fantastic film, but it doesn’t give him a lot of opportunities to shine as an actor, but in this film he was absolutely incredible! His character is tough and mysterious, and we don’t know much about him, but by the end of the film you are really attached to him, even though we don’t know a lot about him. He brings a lot of charisma and charm but also a lot of great emotion and depth to the character.
Another thing that made the film really good was the tension! The tension was built incredibly well and throughout the entire film there is a constant fear that something bad is going to happen to Spencer Tracy’s character. This is mostly derived from the performances in the film, and not just Tracy. Robert Ryan, who plays the main antagonist in the film, does a really phenomenal job! He is very imposing and with the mystery as to what happened to the Japanese Man he is made even more threatening. He was also very believable, and it is shown throughout the film, how brutal and cruel he actually is, and it always felt like he would actually do what he did.
The tension is also built really well in the music. There wasn’t a whole lot of music in the film, but when there was it was very imposing and quite loud. It was composed by Andre Previn, who was a very successful composer from the fifties and sixties, but it’s interesting because he mostly composed musicals and romantic films, like My Fair Lady, but this is a very serious film. The Music was really impressive and made the film’s story and villain more threatening.
The cinematography was really well done, and I think that was what made the film a western. The environments in the film are all heavily reminiscent of classic westerns, and the film ended with a very tense shoot out. What set this film apart is the heavily realistic tone, and not wanting to be too action packed or focused. The film is about the mystery, it’s about the story, and it’s about the characters. This is shown not just in the actual film, but also in its run-time. The film is only about 80 minutes long and is very fast paced, it never wastes its time, and it is constantly introducing a character or advancing the plot.
Bad Day at Black Rock was a really well made film, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes westerns or mysteries. I would watch the film again, but I don’t think that I would ever want to own it. I will give Bad Day at Black Rock a 8 out of 10.
Finn Kane Reviews 