Spencer Tracy Encounters Adversaries Aplenty in John Sturges' Blistering Black Rock

 

               A terrific, suspenseful crime drama of merit and force, 1955’s Bad Day at Black Rock grants ace director John Sturges and a stellar cast and crew the opportunity to generate standout work in unfolding the noir-tinged, exciting tale taking place just after WWII 1945, wherein during an eventful 24 hours one (and one-armed) John Macreedy enters Black Rock seeking out Komoko, the Japanese-American father of a heroic colleague, and encounters unwarranted wrath by the bullying majority of the townsfolk. The streamlined, involving screenplay by Millard Kaufman (adaptation by Don McGuire, based on the 1947 short story by Howard Breslin) is helmed with great style, economy and intelligence by Sturges, which allows the powerhouse cast of prime talent to thrive with colorful, indelible performances, whether playing morally sound citizens or the predominately unsavory denizens of Black Rock, resulting in one of the most impactful and persuasive 81 minutes found in the cinema.

                For Sturges, Black Rock provided the director a chance to dynamically display his well-honed skills for crafting an artful, riveting entertainment with efficiency and individuality, after starting his career at Columbia in 1946 and moving to a productive association with MGM at the outset of the 1950s, with intriguing fare such as Mystery Street and Jeopardy to his credit prior to Bad Day. From the opening shots (artfully set up via Newell P. Kimlin’s adept editing) depicting a training crossing a barren landscape to reach the title town courtesy of the mood-enhancing Cinemascope lensing of William C. Mellor, Sturges sets a tone of isolation and danger befitting all the intrigue to come, making audiences unsettled at the outset as they fear for safety of the serene, seemingly vulnerable hero once he steps off the train. The inspired Sturges builds the tension thereafter and maintains a swift pace (aided by Andre Previn’s gripping score) as the mystery concerning the town’s backlash against Macreedy is detailed, presenting a template of how to create a prime, thoroughly absorbing movie with precision in under 90 minutes, a rule of thumb many current directors would do well to consider instead of regularly making 2-3 hour epics that often go on aimlessly as the viewer’s patience is subjected to a stern test. Sturges would continue with success post-Bad Day, often in the Western and Adventure genres, adding classics such as Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape to his filmography before slowing down his output in the 1970s, with 1976’s The Eagle Has Landed marking Sturges’ final screen directorial assignment.

                In the lead part of Macreedy, Spencer Tracy proves himself the ideal choice to portray a calm, world-weary, ethical hero with an edge. At this stage, Tracy had become one of the most revered and successful of screen stars, with two Oscars to his credit for Captain’s Courageous and Boy’s Town and years as a top box-office draw in some of MGM’s other top output, both solo and opposite his ideal costar, Katharine Hepburn, specifically in enjoyable comedies such as Adam’s Rib and Pat and Mike. By the time of Bad Day, Tracy had honed his low-keyed, trustworthy persona and subtle acting style to a natural, perfect pitch, and he expertly conveys the casual friendliness and determination of Macreedy as he contemplates how to deal with a slew of fierce antagonists, confidently enacting one of the most fascinating and original roles in his illustrious roster of fine characterizations. Following Bad Day, Tracy would limit his screen output, but continue to shine with thoughtful, honest works in quality projects, gaining four more Best Actor nominations in the process (for a total of nine), including one for moving work opposite Hepburn in his final role, the 1967 smash Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?, wherein his key monologue towards the end of the movie shows the sublime Tracy in full control of his technique as one of the great screen actors of his generation.

After an Oscar-nominated career-establishing role as the racist killer in 1947’s Crossfire, followed by other sweaty, intent wrongdoers in noir classics such as Act of Violence and The Racket, Robert Ryan once again displays his prodigious skill at outlining a prime villain with a chilling, masterfully calm ominousness. As Reno Smith, who exhibits a firm control over Black Rock and the largely obedient citizens therein, Ryan convincingly dominates his scenes, instilling a magnetism, sense of danger and cold, calculating nature mixed with a seething paranoia in Reno that make it hard to watch anyone else whenever Ryan’s onscreen illustrating Reno’s careful weighing of his next deviant action with purposeful focus. Ryan works ideally with Tracy as the two expert thespians entertainingly engage in the battle of wits between Macreedy and Reno via tactical, ingenious playing that completely draws one into the scenario as the viewer anticipants who will ultimately emerge victorious from the stark situation. The often-underrated Ryan would contain to offer fine portraits onscreen as both heel and hero until his passing in 1973, with God’s Little Acre, Billy Budd, The Dirty Dozen and an exceptional final performance in The Iceman Cometh factoring into his admirable filmography.

                As the sole female character among in an imposing cast, Anne Francis makes her presence felt as Liz, the tough yet glamourous (this is MGM after all) young lady in charge of the gas station and bearing an unfortunate infatuation towards Reno. Francis does a nice job of showing Liz’s ambivalent nature towards the stranger in town, allowing an audience to ponder the conflicted character’s motivations and loyalties as the plot thickens. On an early career high during this period after a 1947 film debut, Francis would follow Bad Day by scoring in two other major 1955 hits, Battle Cry and The Blackboard Jungle, before finding her most iconic screen role, again as the lone (but much more altruistic) feminine player in Forbidden Planet as the lovely, inquisitive Altaira, then continue in films and television, wherein she gained further career highlights with memorable Twilight Zone episodes (specifically “The After Hours”) and a Golden Globe for her work as a spy on the Honey West series.

Ernest Borgnine, making a name for himself as one of filmdom’s most despicable villains after his breakthrough the previous year giving Frank Sinatra a sadistically hard time in From Here to Eternity, makes another huge impression as the brash, brawny Coley, the most outwardly aggressive of the town bullies. Coley’s intense focus on Macreedy and his glee in harassing the older man leads to the movie’s most famous and satisfying scene, wherein the handicapped Macreedy teaches Coley a few of the finer points of martial arts with some moves rarely seen in a Hollywood film before. Lee Marvin, who similar to Borgnine had a career-establishing bad guy role in 1953 as the cad literally throwing Gloria Grahame more than she can handle in The Big Heat, also appears to relish the chance to play a despicable type with his own unique flair, adopting a cool, detached demeanor as Hector, a cowboy with ice in his veins who seems capable of any atrocity known to man that Coley and Smith don’t get around to doing first. Although continuing to find plenty of rewarding tough bad guy roles in Westerns and dramas after their stellar Bad Day work, both Borgnine and Marvin would reach artistic peaks in other genres, with Borgnine gaining his Oscar role later in 1955 as the shy, earnest title character in Marty, and Marvin taking the Best Actor Academy Award a decade later in a dual role as the hero and (in a throwback to his earlier roles) as the steely-eyed, fierce villain in the otherwise amusing Cat Ballou.         

Among the more ethical townspeople not entirely adverse to Macreedy’s arrival, Walter Brennan and Dean Jagger offer strong work befitting the two former Oscar winners. As Doc Velie, the benevolent, sage local, Brennan adds a few bits of welcomed levity to the proceedings as Doc opines with Macreedy concerning the dire circumstances the visitor now faces. Conversely, Jagger maintains an aura of pitifulness as Tim Horn, the honest but ineffectual sheriff under Reno’s control who finds it difficult to take a stand against the hateful brood wanting to rid themselves of Macreedy. As Liz’s forlorn brother Pete, the boyish overseer of the hotel, John Ericson, one of MGM’s top young talents after an impactful debut in 1951’s Teresa, adds an interesting pensive earnestness to the often-nervous Pete’s demeanor, which makes it unclear which side the unsure juvenile will join when forced to action. Finally, character actor Russell Collins has one of his best roles as Mr. Hastings, the cagey train station agent and telegraph operator who first encounters Macreedy when he enters Black Rock and demonstrates the foreboding behavior the outsider will face thereafter from the majority of the residents.

Opening in January 1955, Bad Day at Black Rock gained solid box office returns and major praise from critics impressed by the enthralling story and expertly detailed characters orchestrated by Sturges with class and distinction. During awards season, the early release of Bad Day did not hinder its chances of notice among the higher profile awards contenders. Both the National Board of Review and The New York Times placed the film among the top ten for the year, while at the Cannes Film Festival Tracy notably tied for Best Actor with costar Borgnine (for Marty), in a year wherein Borgnine took nearly every Best Actor prize single-handedly. Sturges was cited as a quarterly winner by the Director’s Guild of America, while Kaufman and McGuire were among the nominees for Best Written Drama by the Writer’s Guild, while the film gained Best Picture and the United Nations Award nominations at the British Academy Awards. At the Oscars, Bad Day captured nominations for Sturges, Tracy and Kaufman for Screenplay. Over the years, the movie has found favor with film enthusiasts interested in the work of Sturges and his talented roster of stars, reaching a wide audience with showings on television and physical media releases, including a Warner Archive Blu Ray offering the best presentation of the classic and in 2018 attaining inclusion on the esteemed National Film Registry list. Among the tensest, most efficiently created and best acted dramas of the 1950s, Bad Day at Black Rock provides viewers with an engrossing venture to a remote hamlet offering a plethora of thrill-inducing moments as the action escalates to a fever pitch while audiences anxiously await the uncertain fate of Macreedy, a unique screen hero for the cinematic ages.