Expected more

Best movie ever!

A lot of fun.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Fantastic looking, well played, low key film that really doesn't put a foot wrong. From the wonderful opening with a locomotive coming full on (a story in itself) to the laconic ending, we are bewildered, concerned and intrigued throughout. Not a great fan of Spencer Tracy (same goes for many people he worked with as well, apparently) I found that he was very effective here. The very thing that I find difficult about him, the tendency to not make his intentions clear, work for this mystery as we struggle to ascertain quite what is going on, which is very much tied up with what has gone on in the past. Beautifully shot landscapes and sky ensure that the visuals are always up there with the ever involving dialogue.

Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, and Dean Jagger themselves make this M-G-M modern western something of a classic. John Ericson, Anne Francis, and Walter Sande lend great support. And too, John Sturges shows that he has performed a great direction feat. The Cinemascope and the color are very enhancing as well. If you like the dry southwest, and I do personally, then the rough-looking beauty is drawing. Though there's definitely little of a plot, the viewers are still held in suspense. Again, there's something of a dearth of a plot. John J. Macreedy (Tracy), a one-armed man in the movie, comes from L A to the deserted town of Black Rock again, in the southwest on a hot day in 1946, only shortly after the end of WWII, and all the people in the town wonder why he has made the trip. The townspeople are very suspicious, which is why they are cold and vengeful toward him; in one scene two large henchmen try fighting the rather small, one-armed man, but he handles himself very well. They are hiding a big, shameful secret, which is why they are as they are toward him. The climax may be somewhat surprising when one of the mean men there tries his best to have Tracy killed. Though there is focus mostly, again, on cast and action, there is something drawing about it, which is why personally I have always liked it.

I really can't believe it took me until 2016 to see Bad Day at Black Rock. Starring Spencer Tracy and Ernest Borgnine, two favorites, and directed by the notable John Sturges, Bad Day at Black Rock seems like a film that would have been on my cinematic radar much sooner than now. Nevertheless, I am thrilled to have finally seen Bad Day at Black Rock. The 1955 film explores a town that attempts to keep itself closed off from the world hiding a secret, and just the lengths those that live there will go when a stranger comes to town with motives they cannot discern. Themes of secrecy and isolation are heavily considered in a truly powerful way all throughout Bad Day at Black Rock.John J. Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) comes barreling into the town of Black Rock via train and is instantly warned about the tone of the town by the engineer who can't get back on the train out of there fast enough. Black Rock is the kind of town you wouldn't;t know existed unless you were looking for it, leaving the residents left to wonder, why is John Macreedy looking for it. Arriving only with a briefcase in tow, he is initially denied a hotel room, recommendation for a garage, and any pleasantries typically offered to a visitor. He thinks he might have found solace in the local sheriff until Macreedy finds out he is a drunk. At first, Macreedy is tight-lipped about the reason for his arrival, but when he does offer that he is looking for a Japanese-American farmer named Kamoko, the residents are more steadfast than ever to get rid of him. The mystery of who John Macreedy is becomes just as engaging as the mystery the residents of Black Rock are trying to hide.Excuse me while I climb onto my soapbox and sing Spencer Tracy's praises. I was surprised to read several negative audience reviews about Spencer Tracy's portrayal. Many felt as though Tracy was too old for the part, a claim which I find unfounded. People of all ages were fighting in wars in the 1950's, so Tracy's age presents no problem at all. We think of military personnel as younger on the whole, but the military is filled with people of all ages and that was no different 60 years ago. Also, I'm not sure anyone could have portrayed the cool exterior, yet understated certainty that Tracy embodied with ease. Also, kudos to a film released in 1955 for confronting post-war anti-Japanese racism, a brave decision creating a meaningful impact both in the time it was released and today. Bad Day at Black Rock was a perfect thriller keeping one engaged from the first scene to the last, and I'm completely baffled as to why this isn't one of the great most well-known classics.

This film must have been shown as a sneak preview. Although the release date was Jan. 7,1955,I first saw it in the summer of 1954 in Roanoke, Virginia. I was 9 years old and was visiting my grandmother. It was the last time I visited my grandmother until I was grown. I consider this movie one that would appeal more to adults than children, yet it had a profound impact on me. It's psychological action and dealing with racial discrimination has stuck in my mind since. This is one of, if not the best movie of the 1950's. A few years ago I saw a copy for sale and jumped on it. It is a prized possession. The cast is of the highest caliber. This was Lee Marvin's first substantial role among some of the best actors ever. Many of them went on to make more movies together. This kind of movie with this type of cast will probably never happen again. A must see for the TRUE movie lover. ENJOY!