The Big Clock (1948)

What if you were asked to investigate a murder in which you were the prime suspect? From this seemingly impossible notion comes a grandly entertaining nail-biter. Charles Laughton plays the punctuality obsessed, slave-driving head of a publishing empire who won't let his crime magazine's star editor (Ray Milland) take a day off to spend with his family. The overworked Milland, having just upset a delayed honeymoon trip for the umpteenth time, goes on a sorrow-drowning, bar-hopping bender with a mysterious woman who, it turns out, is Laughton's mistress. Later that night after Milland has gone home, Laughton murders her, and the next day he assigns Milland to investigate, since a number of clues point to her having spent time with another man that night. Milland, then, must not only find the real murderer but sidetrack the investigation away from himself. That both characters are solving the crime in tandem yet unwittingly working toward pinning the murder on each other is at the heart of The Big Clock's labyrinthine brilliance. Helping bring out the dark humor in this adaptation of Kenneth Fearing's noir novel (included in the Library of America's Crime Novels collection) is Elsa Lanchester as a high-strung painter who can sketch the prime suspect (Milland), a time-bomb plot device that only adds to the already unbearable suspense. This is a taut, lean thriller, superbly handled by director John Farrow, who never fails to remind his audience through repeated use of clocks, timepieces, and watches that all too often in our lives that ticking sound is the enemy. This was remade in 1987 with Kevin Costner as No Way Out. --Robert Abele Amazon.com

A fascinating, well-made crime film

Crime magazine editor, George Stroud (Ray Miland), is about to go on his first holiday in years when he finds himself involved in the murder of his boss's mistress. Not knowing that Stroud is involved, Stroud's boss, Earl Janoth (Charles Laughton), has Stroud search for the man that was with his mistress the night before her death (which happens to be Stroud), while Stroud searches for the true killer in order to acquit himself of the crime.

"The Big Clock" is not a murder-mystery, as the audience is made well aware of the identity of the killer, but is more a fascinating and well-made game of cat-and-mouse between the film's two main characters. What makes it so interesting is the fact that, although the audience knows what is going on, Stroud and Janoth do not know that each is searching for the other. The best part about this film, however, is Elsa Lanchester in a supporting role as an eccentric Greenwich Village painter. I have been a fan of Lanchester for as long as I can remember, but I would have to say that this is my favourite of all of her film roles. Every time she appears on screen she steals the show. Quite an achievement, considering whom she is working with.

Although this film was made in 1948, it has weathered the passage of time extremely well. It is fast-paced, cleverly-written and does not seem dated at all. This film was remade in 1987 as "No Way Out". However, in my opinion, a remake was unnecessary.
May 12, 2008

Milland, Laughton, Lanchester and Macready in a minor gem from the great Studio days

This film is classified as a film noir but visually, at least, it is fairly bright. While the prologue and one scene near the end are enveloped in satisfyingly inky shadows, the most memorable scenes and the moments of highest tension take place beneath a cold, corporate glare. As far as the drama goes, though, it's noir all the way: an ordinary schnook does something that he knows perfectly well he ought not to do and all-too soon finds himself in a cold sweat as he attempts to wriggle out of the deadly consequences of his own folly.

Both the original book by Kenneth Fearing and the movie took the classic elements of a whodunit and mischievously turned them inside out. The who-, how- and whydunit are perfectly clear. The story is about how the noirish human rat (so to speak) attempts to escape from a trap of his own making.

For those familiar with the book, it is enlightening (or perhaps depressing) to see the then all-powerful Hollywood Code at work. Stroud, the protagonist of the book, is distinctly not a heroic or even admirable character on the printed page. His attitudes, his motives and his actions are, to put the most favorable spin on them, unsavory. To a considerable extent, he deserves the misery that falls on his head. On screen, he is still not a paragon, but he's sidled a heck of a lot closer to Jim Anderson of "Father Knows Best" and Mr. Cleaver of "Beaver" fame. He is even faithful, more or less, to his wife, portrayed by Maureen O'Sullivan. (Alas, she is demurely clothed throughout and long past the great old days when she was Tarzan's barely dressed main squeeze.)

Ray Milland is fine as the poor schnook trapped in the gears. He has presence, rakishness, charm and the rare ability to project inner turmoil and aching discomfort through all three of those other qualities.

Charles Laughton, that prince of bulky character actors, is delightfully revolting as an egotistical, self-centered swine with a continent-sized sense of entitlement, who presides over a vast publishing empire and is absolute lord of his New York skyscraper kingdom. Elsewhere it has been suggested that his character bears some resemblance to Henry Luce in the glory days of Time and Life Magazines. More current reference might be made by Canadians to Conrad Black and by Americans to Rupert Murdoch. For the era of the book and movie, Condé Nast Publications or even Street and Smith might have served as a better match for Laughton's publishing behemoth than Time-Life.

This is a movie that provides an unusually large number of small speaking parts for people whose features are familiar but whose names hardly register. Two character actors stand out, however. George Macready may have had a limited acting range, but nobody ever bettered him as an icy, uptight SOB. He's at the top of his form here as Laughton's chief henchman. More impressive yet is the wonderful Elsa Lanchester, who--as always!--owns every scene in which she appears. She was Laughton's wife, in a marriage strange even by Hollywood standards. I suspect that her role, really not very much as written, grew as she took the bit between her teeth and director John Farrow had enough sense to let her go where she would.

This story was updated, rethought and remade with Kevin Costner under the title, "No Way Out": deplorable, deplorable, deplorable and deplorable.

"The Big Clock" is not a great picture nor even a great film noir, but it is vastly entertaining. That's enough for five stars by my reckoning.

****

A MINOR OBSERVATION: The director of this film was John Farrow. His wife was Maureen O'Sullivan (hence, I suppose, the modest outfits and even more modest performance.) Their daughter is Mia Farrow. John Farrow may be seen with Milland in the trailer for "The Big Clock" as they jointly tout the forthcoming picture. September 15, 2007

The Big Clock

Memorable for its edgy dialogue and tense, sinister atmosphere, John Farrow's 1948 adaptation of Kenneth Fearing's novel boasts an ingenious plot device: two characters, one guilty and one innocent, both attempt to "solve" a crime in which they are circumstantially implicated. Milland, solid as ever, anchors the action as the cornered protagonist, while portly Charles Laughton is superbly loathsome as the controlling, megalomaniac killer. Fine support from Maureen O'Sullivan, Elsa Lanchester, and Harry Morgan--chilling as Janoth's mute, gun-toting bodyguard--round out this time-tested thriller. June 25, 2007

hardly the noir classic id been led to believe

poor ray milland gets caught up in a wacko murder plot and illicit love affair in this overrated film noir from director john farrow, who is best remembered for directing second-rate movies and siring a second-rate actress. even charles laughton is dull here!
April 6, 2007

"The Big Clock (1948) ... Ray Milland ... Paramount Pictures Film Noir"

Paramount Pictures present "THE BIG CLOCK" (1948) (95 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Starring Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan, George Macready & Rita Johnson, released in April 9, 1948, from director John Farrow, who would go on to greater things, but who shows his abilities here ---- the story line thus far, a woman has been murdered, and a witness has a description of a suspect leaving her apartment. A magazine editor (Ray Milland) knows that he is the man that the witness saw - but he's innocent, and he must investigate the crime and pretend to search for the suspect. He only has an hour to nail his boss, the real killer (Charles Laughton), before being identified himself. Maureen O'Sullivan (Mrs. Farrow) helps him out, George Macready is Laughton's evil sidekick, and Elsa Lanchester turns up in a brief, but funny and marvelous bit part. Milland is at his most appealing. Laughton is great as a detestable villain. Watching the movie is like reading a stylish page-turner - smooth in style, but with plenty of tension, it clips along at a fine pace, and winding up with an inspired "poetic justice" type ending. Pure entertainment.

Under John Farrow (Director/Producer), Richard Maibaum (Producer), Kenneth Fearing (Novel), Jonathan Latimer (Screenplay), Victor Young (Original Score), Daniel L. Fapp (Cinematographer), LeRoy Stone (Editor) - - - - the cast includes Ray Milland (George Stroud), Charles Laughton (Earl Janoth), Maureen O'Sullivan (Georgette Stroud), George Macready (Steve Hagen), Rita Johnson (Pauline York), Elsa Lanchester (Louise Patterson), Harold Vermilyea (Don Klausmeyer), Dan Tobin (Ray Cordette), Harry Morgan (Bill Womack), Richard Webb (Nat Sperling), Elaine Riley (Lily Gold), Luis Van Rooten (Edwin Orlin), Lloyd Corrigan (McKinley), Frank Orth (Burt) - - - - Film noir has sources not only in cinema but other artistic mediums as well...the low-key lighting schemes commonly linked with the classic mode are in the tradition of chiaroscuro and tenebrism, techniques using high contrasts of light and dark developed by 15th- and 16th-century painters associated with Mannerism and the Baroque...film noir's aesthetics are deeply influenced by German Expressionism, a cinematic movement of the 1910s and 1920s closely related to contemporaneous developments in theater, photography, painting, scultpture, and architecture...opportunities offered by the booming Hollywood film industry and, later, the threat of growing Nazi power led to the emigration of many important film artists working in Germany who had either been directly involved in the Expressionist movement or studied with its practitioners...Directors such as Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, and Michael Curtiz brought dramatic lighting techniques and a psychologically expressive approach to mise-en-scène with them to Hollywood, where they would make some of the most famous of classic noirs. Lang's 1931 masterwork, the German M, is among the first major crime films of the sound era to join a characteristically noirish visual style with a noir-type plot, one in which the protagonist is a criminal (as are his most successful pursuers). M was also the occasion for the first star performance by Peter Lorre, who would go on to act in several formative American noirs of the classic era ... featuring top performances from the '40s and '50s with outstanding drama and screenplays, along with a wonderful cast and supporting actors to bring it all together ... another winner from the vaults of almost forgotten film noir gems

SPECIAL FEATURES BIOS:
1. Ray Milland (aka: Reginald Alfred John Truscott-Jones)
Date of Birth: 3 January 1905 - Neath, Glamorgan, Wales, UK
Date of Death: 10 March 1986 - Torrance, California
2. Charles Laughton
Date of Birth: 1 July 1899, Scarborough - Yorkshire, England, UK
Date of Death: 15 December 1962 - Hollywood, California
3. Maureen O'Sullivan
Date of Birth: 17 May 1911 - Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland
Date of Death: 23 June 1998 - Scottsdale, Arizona
4. John Farrow (Director)
Date of Birth: 10 February 1904 - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Date of Death: 28 January 1963 - Beverly Hills, California,

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 95 min on DVD ~ Universal Video ~ (7/06/2004) March 13, 2007

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