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Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

Director(s) John Sturges
Producer(s) Dore Schary, Herman Hoffman
Top Genres Crime, Drama, Film Adaptation, Mystery, Thriller/Suspense, Western
Top Topics Book-Based
More Films Directed by John Sturges More Films Produced by Herman Hoffman More Films from 1955 More Films from the 1950s Top Classic Movies of the 1950s Top Book-Based Films

Bad Day at Black Rock Overview:

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) was a Drama - Mystery Film directed by John Sturges and produced by Dore Schary and Herman Hoffman.

SYNOPSIS

A taut suspense story that seems to be always teetering on the edge of explosive violence. Tracy commands attention as a one-armed man who tames the ruffians who run roughshod over a weatherbeaten desert town. In the process, he uncovers the town's secrets and fulfills a promise made to the man who saved his life. A powerful, influential film. Based on Howard Breslin's novel.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Academy Awards 1955 --- Ceremony Number 28 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActorSpencer TracyNominated
Best DirectorJohn SturgesNominated
Best WritingMillard KaufmanNominated
See More Oscar Winners

Bad Day at Black Rock BlogHub Articles:

Hidden Classics Blogathon – Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

By Carol Martinheira on May 18, 2021 From The Old Hollywood Garden

Hidden Classics Blogathon – Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) On May 18, 2021May 18, 2021 By CarolIn Uncategorized The Spring Blogathon at the Classic Movie Blog Association is here and this year, our lovely hosts decided to go with Hidden Classics – movies not ... Read full article

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955): Spencer Tracy and Small-Town Bigotry

By 4 Star Film Fan on Nov 10, 2019 From 4 Star Films

In its theatrical cut, Bad Day at Black Rock opens furiously, charging forward with the momentum of a freight train as the credits roll and Andre Previn’s score thrashes in the film’s most manic moment. From thenceforward, its greatest strength is restraint. The whole town cowers around ... Read full article

Warner Archive Blu-ray: Spencer Tracy Fights a Whole Town in Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

By KC on Feb 15, 2017 From Classic Movies

Bad Day at Black Rock opens with a startling long shot of a train shooting through the desert like an angry centipede. There is a feeling of recklessness to the image, as if the hurtling Streamliner could go off the rails from the aggression of its momentum. From that first jarring moment, there is ... Read full article

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

By Beatrice on Feb 12, 2016 From Flickers in Time

Bad Day at Black Rock Directed by John Sturges Written by Millard Kaufman and Don McGuire based on a story by Howard Breslin 1955/USA Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Repeat viewing/Netflix rental #287 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Reno Smith: He was a Jap, wasn’t he? This is an excellen... Read full article

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Oct 7, 2014 From 4 Star Films

Starring Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan with Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Dean Jagger, and Anne Francis, the whole story takes place in an isolated desert town. Tracy as the one-armed man Macready comes to the town and soon is face to face with many cold, detached, and suspicious folks. He has his ow... Read full article

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Bad Day at Black Rock Quotes:

Hector David: I believe a man is nothing unless he stands up for what's rightfully his. What do you think?
Reno Smith: Tim, you've got the body of a hippo but the brain of a rabbit; now don't overtax it.
Reno Smith: I believe a man is as big as what he's seeking. I believe you're a big man, Mr. Macreedy.
John J. Macreedy: Flattery will get you nowhere.
Reno Smith: Why would a man like you be looking for a lousy Jap farmer?
John J. Macreedy: Ohhh, dadgum, maybe I'm not so big.
Reno Smith: Oh yes you are. I believe a man is as big as what'll make him mad. Nobody around here seems big enough to get you mad.
John J. Macreedy: What makes you mad, Mr. Smith?
Reno Smith: Me? Nothing, nothing...
John J. Macreedy: Ah, you're a pretty big man yourself, then. Yet the... the Japanese make you mad, don't they?
Reno Smith: Well, that's different.
Reno Smith: Tim, you're just a lost ball in the high weeds.
John J. Macreedy: You're not only wrong. You're wrong at the top of your voice.
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Bad Day at Black Rock Facts
MGM's then president Nicholas Schenck was actively opposed to the film as he felt the storyline was subversive.
The sign behind the hotel desk is a quote from English evangelist John Wesley:"Do all the good you can,By all the means you can,In all the ways you can,In all the places you can,At all the times you can,To all the people you can,As long as ever you can."
According to director John Sturges' commentary track on the Criterion Laserdisc, this film was also filmed simultaneously in a standard 4:3 ratio version (as well as Cinemascope), because MGM executives were unsure of the wide screen version. It was never released.
Impressed with the job Richard Fleischer had done on Arena, the studio head offered the film to the director, but Walt Disney wouldn't release him from post-production duties on _20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1976)_.
Exteriors for this film (particularly the trip to "Adobe Flat") were filmed in and around Lone Pine, California (a location often used by other films). The Japanese farmer central to the plot was (supposedly) sent to an (unnamed) internment camp after Pearl Harbor. Coincidentally, Lone Pine is just five miles from Manzanar, the best known internment camp. Present day visitors may inspect both the Alabama Hills and Manzanar.
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