Ray Milland plays George Stroud, an editor at a crime magazine who has a real talent for finding people who didn't want to be found. Through circumstance, he spends some time with the mistress (Rita Johnson) of his boss Earl Janoth (Charles Laughton), a tyrannical publishing magnate. Then Janoth ends up murdering the mistress in a jealous rage. Anxious to pin the crime on somebody else, Janoth tasks Stroud with finding the mystery man whom he glimpsed leaving the mistress' apartment - who, of course, is Stroud himself!
The delicious irony of the ingenious set-up (Jonathan Latimer scripted, based on the novel by Kenneth Fearing) makes for solid, classy entertainment. "The Big Clock" (so named for an important time piece situated in the workplace) is a top mystery-thriller, although not really a film noir as it may be sometimes promoted. Granted, one has to be patient sitting through the first third of the film, as it concentrates on setting up characters and situations. But once the killing takes place, the story proper takes off, and from there it's a great deal of fun. The final act features some brilliant, sweat-inducing tension generated by director John Farrow.
Milland is engaging in the lead, and Laughton is at his best as the pompous antagonist. They receive excellent support from a very large cast that includes such familiar faces as Maureen O'Sullivan (as Strouds' wife), George Macready (as Janoths' incredibly loyal associate), Harold Vermilyea, Richard Webb, Luis Van Rooten, Lloyd Corrigan, Margaret Field, Douglas Spencer, et al. A young Harry Morgan makes quite the impression as an unsmiling goon without one word of dialogue; Laughtons' wife Elsa Lanchester steals the show whenever she's on screen as an eccentric painter. Noel Neill and Ruth Roman have uncredited bit parts.
Everybody involved tells a highly absorbing story, as the viewer waits to see if A) Stroud can possibly extricate himself from this mess, and B) if the slippery Laughton will ever be held accountable. All in all, this is well worth a viewing.
If the story sounds familiar, it's because the novel was filmed again as "No Way Out" in 1987.
Eight out of 10.
The delicious irony of the ingenious set-up (Jonathan Latimer scripted, based on the novel by Kenneth Fearing) makes for solid, classy entertainment. "The Big Clock" (so named for an important time piece situated in the workplace) is a top mystery-thriller, although not really a film noir as it may be sometimes promoted. Granted, one has to be patient sitting through the first third of the film, as it concentrates on setting up characters and situations. But once the killing takes place, the story proper takes off, and from there it's a great deal of fun. The final act features some brilliant, sweat-inducing tension generated by director John Farrow.
Milland is engaging in the lead, and Laughton is at his best as the pompous antagonist. They receive excellent support from a very large cast that includes such familiar faces as Maureen O'Sullivan (as Strouds' wife), George Macready (as Janoths' incredibly loyal associate), Harold Vermilyea, Richard Webb, Luis Van Rooten, Lloyd Corrigan, Margaret Field, Douglas Spencer, et al. A young Harry Morgan makes quite the impression as an unsmiling goon without one word of dialogue; Laughtons' wife Elsa Lanchester steals the show whenever she's on screen as an eccentric painter. Noel Neill and Ruth Roman have uncredited bit parts.
Everybody involved tells a highly absorbing story, as the viewer waits to see if A) Stroud can possibly extricate himself from this mess, and B) if the slippery Laughton will ever be held accountable. All in all, this is well worth a viewing.
If the story sounds familiar, it's because the novel was filmed again as "No Way Out" in 1987.
Eight out of 10.