Monday, January 09, 2012

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)



A bunch of small town hotheads get themselves worked up after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and kill the local Japanese-American farmer. Four years later, a one-armed army vet named Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) shows up in town, and the hotheads worry he might discover their secret. They try to run him off, but he don't scare so easy, see. Tough guy Coley (Ernest Borgnine) turns to violence, but one-arm gives him an ass-kicking unlike any other on film. It satisfies.

This is a must-see film. Alan Smithee is embarrassed that he hasn't appreciated Mr. Tracy's work enough, when really he should be more embarrassed about the fact that he hasn't had a steady job in over two years.

Should be watched with beer on hand, as usual.

2 comments:

Twisted Sister? said...

You crack me up about the not having a steady job thing! lol
This movie seems really interesting! I will have to watch it soon. I'm on a quest to purchase "My Name is Nobody" but Twisted Sister doesn't want to have to wait for it to come from Seoul SK.

Mike Lynch said...

Tracy rules. BAD DAY is great stuff and rarely gets a nod today. The atmosphere of that small town is so spooky, and you can't take your eyes off of Mr. Tracy. The scene wherein Mr. Borgnine gets his comeuppance is very satisfying.

I love Tracy, especially in the well-known movies with Hepburn. Thanks for writing this and letting me know there are others who like him too.