Film Review
John Sturges directed many great films -
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
(1957),
The Magnificent Seven
(1960) and
The Great Escape (1963), to
name just three - but the one that most demonstrates his flair for
dramatic storytelling is assuredly
Bad
Day at Black Rock, a slick concoction of film noir melodrama and
traditional western woven into a tense suspense thriller of the first
order. From the stunning opening sequence of a train shooting
bullet-like across a barren desert landscape, the film holds the
spectator in its thrall and doesn't let up until the dust has settled
from its climactic denouement. Don't be deceived by the film's
slow pace and sparse narrative. This is edge-of-the-seat stuff
from start to finish, Sturges' most compelling, most perfectly
constructed film.
With its portrayal of one man taking a stand against the collective
moral vacuity of an entire community, the film comes close to being a
remake of
High Noon (1952), but Sturges
and his screenwriters make it something much more substantial - a dark
commentary on America's appalling treatment of its Japanese citizens
during WWII and a powerful study in paranoia. The film still
manages to send a cold shiver up the spine when it lets slip that the
United States had its own concentration camps (for those deeemed to be
a threat to the country at a time of war), although it equally serves
as an allegory on the anti-Communist witch-hunting which blighted
American society for much of the decade that followed the end of the
war.
Bad Day at Black Rock is not
only superbly directed and written, with remarkable economy and
precision, but it is perfectly cast. In an iconic role
that won him the Best Actor award at Cannes in 1955, Spencer Tracy
personifies the lone good guy, suitably well-matched by Robert
Ryan as his soulless nemesis. Meanwhile, Lee Marvin, Walter Brennan and Ernest
Borgnine turn in some admirable supporting contributions, doing their
best to ratchet up the tension with their displays of taciturn meanness. This
film stands as both a classic western and a classic film noir, but its
real value lies in the fact that it dared to confront some unpalatable
truths about America's recent past, reminding audiences that even a
nation which prides itself on its moral superiority can sometimes stray
down the dark path and play the role of the barbarian. It's funny
how history repeats itself...
© James Travers 2010
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next John Sturges film:
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
Film Synopsis
Shortly after WWII, a one-armed stranger arrives in the sleepy desert
town of Black Rock. The locals do not take kindly to this
newcomer and react in a hostile manner when he begins to ask seemingly
innocent questions. The stranger, war veteran John Macreedy,
claims to be looking for a Japanese settler named Komoko, but the
town's self-appointed authority figure Reno Smith insists that Komoko
was taken away to an internment camp not long after the attack on Pearl
Harbour. Macreedy is unconvinced and hires a jeep to visit the
missing man's homestead. What he finds confirms his suspicions
and he realises that he is in the greatest of danger...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.