Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

The Streamliner train whips across the California desert carrying a lone passenger, John J. Macreedy. It stops at a shell of a town and he steps down, the first man to get off at Black Rock station in four years.

In this remarkable film, Spencer Tracy slips into the role of John Macreedy as he does all of his roles, like a man slipping into a comfortably worn shoe. He has come to Black Rock on a mission. He tells the conductor he'll be leaving in 24 hours. The conductor replies "In a place like this a day can be a lifetime."

It is 1945. World War II is just over but the citizens of Black Rock are held captive by their prejudice, their desolation, and something more. From his first moments in the hot, dusty town, Macreedy is met with suspicion and hostility. The locals do not know who this tight-lipped man is but they are convinced he will reveal their closely guarded secret.

Tension builds. The easy-going Macreedy appears to give in to the taunts and threats that grow ever more intimidating, yet the viewer senses his inner strength. Macreedy is a powerful man, something even the evil rancher Reno Smith (played by Robert Ryan) feels in his gut.

The movie addresses mankind's prejudice and the mob mentality present in the old west, in the post-war years of McCarthyism, and yet today. It is a tightly crafted classic, a timeless film. It is well worth viewing, or viewing again.

Director John Sturges, Actor Spencer Tracy, and Screenwriter Millard Kaufmann were all nominated for Oscars for this amazing film. Other actors include Anne Francis, Walter Brennan, Lee Marvin, Dean Jagger, and Ernest Borgnine.


Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Directed by John Sturges
Story by Howard Breslin ("A Bad Day at Hondo")
Adaptation by Don McGuire
Screenplay by Millard Kaufmann