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Bad Day at Black Rock

Bad Day at Black Rock

Western · Drama · Crime · 1955

One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.

Movie details

Bad Day at Black Rock

“Just the way it happened!”

1955 Western · Drama · Crime 1h 21m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Bad Day at Black Rock?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Sturges

Written by

Millard Kaufman · Howard Breslin

Spencer Tracy

Spencer Tracy

John J. Macreedy

Robert Ryan

Robert Ryan

Reno Smith

Walter Brennan

Walter Brennan

Doc T.R. Velie Jr.

Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin

Hector David

Dean Jagger

Dean Jagger

Tim Horn

Anne Francis

Anne Francis

Liz Wirth

John Ericson

John Ericson

Pete Wirth

Court is in session

Put Bad Day at Black Rock on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.