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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
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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:

Reno Smith: Tim, you've got the body of a hippo but the brain of a rabbit; now don't overtax it.
Reno Smith: Tim, you're just a lost ball in the high weeds.
Liz Wirth: What do you care? What do you care about Black Rock?
John J. Macreedy: I don't care anything about Black Rock. Only it just seems to me that there aren't many towns like this in America. But... one town like it is enough. And because I think something kind of bad happened here, Miss Wirth, something I can't quite seem to find a handle to.
Liz Wirth: You don't know what you're talking about.
John J. Macreedy: Well, I know this much. The rule of law has left here, and the guerrillas have taken over.
John J. Macreedy: You're not only wrong. You're wrong at the top of your voice.
Hector David: I believe a man is nothing unless he stands up for what's rightfully his. What do you think?
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Bad Day at Black Rock Facts
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.
The projectionist's records have revealed that over the years this has become one of the most frequently shown films in the screening room of The White House.
The suit that Tracy wears throughout the film was bought by him off the rack, at his insistence.
Average Shot Length (ASL) = 10 seconds
In the original short story, MacReedy brandishes a Beretta and brags of his prowess with it, but in the movie, he uses judo - an idea meant to suggest that MacReedy is Japanese-American.
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