A short movie by todays standards 1 hour, 22 minutes, bad day at black rock is a really good movie that stands the test of time. Released in 1955, the movie was filmed in california. It was based on howard breslins short story bad time at honda 1947. Bad day at black rock 1955 movie stills and photos. The black widow of black rock southern pacific in bad day at black rock unstoppable. You can watch random movie trailers instantly, no need to login. Alabama hills, lone pine, california, usa 24 of 24 found this interesting interesting. Spencer tracy moves around the town looking for a solution for how to handle the impending dust up. With spencer tracy, robert ryan, anne francis, dean jagger. It stars spencer tracy, robert ryan, anne francis, dean. Bad day at black rock is a 1955 american crime thriller film, directed by john sturges and starring spencer tracy and robert ryan, that combines elements of. Bad day at black rock marked mgms first release shot in cinemascope, and sturges, nominated for an academy award for the film, transforms the expansive emptiness of his frame into an omnipresent character. A onearmed stranger comes to a tiny town possessing a terrible past they want to keep secret, by violent means if necessary. Former filming location for the fictional town of black rock, arizona.
There probably isnt another film like it from the 1950s. Bad day at black rock 1955 is a thriller film directed by john sturges that combines. One of the all time great movies and certainly one of the all time great scenes from bad day at black rock. More information about bad day at black rock 1955 on imdb. Writer millard kaufman stopped for gas in the tiny town of black rock, arizona, and a new title was born. Filming locations 6 filming dates 1 filming locations. Filming location of bad day at black rock wikimapia. Bad day at black rock 1955 is both a tightlywritten, suspenseful, dramatic action film with film noirish qualities and a western. Alaska railroad in runaway train 1987 a railfans movie the trains of the film the station agent shut down our. It really jumps off the screen in this version, highly recommended. Bad day at black rock is very film nourish with the mysterious spencer tracy coming to the isolated town of black rock and being welcomed by equally mysterious robert ryan, lee marvin, ernest borgnine, and walter brennan. Closeups are sustenance to most film actors, who feel like mannequins put through their paces unless they get a chance to scowl and sob and seethe and otherwise use their marvelous faces to their full effect.
The japanese farmer central to the plot was supposedly sent to an unnamed internment camp after pearl harbor. Bad day at black rock 1955 full movie 123movies free watch online with english subtitles. Spencer tracy, ernest borgnine, walter brennan, lee marvin onearmed war veteran john j. The black widow of black rock southern pacific in bad. John sturgess 1955 film bad day at black rock sets spencer tracy against a barren desert landscape in this beautifully filmed widescreen.
Bad day at black rock deals with the countrys xenophobic feelings against japaneseamericans after world war ii and the film is a study of what happens when no one stands up for their. The film serves as one of the first hollywood statements about the racist treatment of japaneseamericans during world war ii a group that suffered vicious prejudice and was forced into internment camps. The supporting cast includes anne francis, dean jagger, walter brennan, lee marvin, and ernest borgnine. Black rock has nothing to do with it the script was called bad day at hondo until john wayne turned up in 1953 with a movie called hondo. A classic 1955 thriller with some film noir elements directed by john sturges and starring. Bad day at black rock draws heavily on high noon for inspiration. Its a great message picture, produced by a master of the genre, dore schary.
After an opening credit sequence in which a train hurtles through the empty desert an aggressive image of contemporary 1945 culture intruding into the antiquated old west. John sturges spencer tracy, robert ryan, anne francis. Sturges like king vidor, seemed to pick up stories to film that looked at the oppressed and tried to present. Bad day at black rock 1955 movie clip looking for a.
A little about this movie, bad day at black rock is probably my favorite of the postwestern or modern westerns that has been made. Not all locations i go to are that inspiring to go to. Thats why, when the library of congress announced its 2018 national film registry entries, the 25 films chosen this year to be preserved for the rest of our nations existence, bad day at black rock 1955 stood out. Lee and daniel kick off 2018 with the westernnoir bad day at black rock 1955, directed by john sturges. Bad day at black rock letterboxd your life in film. Thought i might offer an update, based on some framebyframe study on a nice dvd copy of the film. A description of tropes appearing in bad day at black rock. True to the formula of the hollywood social problem film, the film centers on a heroic white male character exposing bigotry, hegemonically asserting that white patriarchal capitalist culture is a cure. Compare this film with sturges the magnificent seven. Alabama hills, lone pine, california, usa 24 of 24. Railroad station abandoned, in an extreme state of dilapidation. It tells the story of a mysterious stranger who arrives at a tiny isolated town in a desert of the southwest united states in search of a man. Great scene from the movie with ernest borgnine, robert ryan, and lee marvin.
There are no closeups in bad day at black rock, a film that deliberately keeps the characters at arms length. Bad day at black rock film by sturges 1955 britannica. For akiko and takashige, filmmaker rea tajiri uses footage from bad day at black rock to critique mainstream representations of asian americans, or in this case the lack of such representation even in a movie largely built. For its time it was incredibly risky and even considered subversive in some ways, taking a very open shot at postwar racism towards the japanese and yet placing it in an almost traditional western setting. Macreedy spencer tracy, a onearmed war veteran, arrives in the small desert town of black rock, hes not greeted warmly. The first two screened the film as originally conceived, without the aerial train shots or opening music that were later added, beginning with a shot of macreedy stepping off the streamliner train and walking down the main street of black rock, accompanied only by the sound of the wind. The trains of the hit movie and the even that inspired the movie.
Macreedy alights at black rock from a train in order to give a medal to the last known relative, komoko. Interiors were filmed on the lot at mgm, but the desert exteriors were shot on the edge of death valley, at lone pine on route 395, central california. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder. Wondering if bad day at black rock is ok for your kid.
Shortly after the attack on the pearl harbor, the unconditional surrender of japan, and the resultant hatred towards japaneseamericans, onearmed john j. Bad day at black rock 1955 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Its got the same type of tension and the train station is a dead ringer for the one in high noon. Suspenseful movie with top notch actors such as spencer tracy, robert ryan, ernest borgnine, walter brennan, dean jagger, an early lee marvin, and many others. Bad day at black rock is a tightly knit classic that helps one to admire the continuing power of good movies. Bad day at black rock, american mystery film, released in 1955, that fused elements of the western with those of film noir. Set preferences and get ageappropriate recommendations with common sense media plus. Exteriors for this film particularly the trip to adobe flat were filmed in and around lone pine, ca a location often used by other films, especially westerns. Bad day at black rock was based on the short story bad time at hondo by howard breslin and adapted by don mcguire. Bad day at black rock 1955 is a thriller film directed by john sturges that combines elements of westerns and film noir. Free wallpapers download of bad day at black rock movie, hero, heroine, etc is available in our gallery section. The boundries sturges pushes against with the material relative to the time the film.
Bad day at black rock is a 1955 american crime thriller film, directed by john sturges and starring spencer tracy and robert ryan, that combines elements of the western genre with those of film noir. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of black rock. Macreedy alights at black rock from a train in order to give a medal to the last known relative, komoko, of a deceased japaneseamerican army officer, joe. Rebuffed by the sheriff, macready spencer tracy gets the outwardly friendliest welcome hell receive, from locallyinfluential reno robert ryan and then liz anne francis, her first scene, as tension builds in john sturges bad day at black rock, 1955. Spencer tracy starred as john macreedy, a onearmed world war ii veteran whose life was saved during. Bad day at black rock nyt watching the new york times. This film offers a dark view of how overseas wars affect those on the homefront, and has strong themes of race and prejudice. Suggest me movie is a free webbased film recommendation service. The cast, although small, had five academy awardwinning actors tracy, borgnine, brennan. A town was built on location at lone pine california, one of the most used backgrounds for. The enigmatic john j macreedy spencer tracy arrives in a small desert town with a big secret in this excellent, pareddown suspenser. Stream free bad day at black rock full movie online on. Still, since this movie is a classic, i am sure there are some out there that might want to see where it was filmed at.