Bad Day at Black Rock

A one-armed stranger (Spencer Tracy) gets off a train in a dusty town and starts asking questions.

Bad Day at Black Rock is a great blend of the western, mystery, and film noir genres executed by a top-notch cast.

Spencer Tracy is great as the lead. Physically smaller than either Rob Ryan or Lee Marvin, Tracy looks the underdog, yet his quiet presence and steel gaze betray hints of a much stronger man inside. His measured performance simultaneously wins over the audience and elevates the story’s tension.

Opposite Tracy, Robert Ryan does a great job as the mysterious town’s de-facto leader. He’s simultaneously charming and menacing, though never too much of either.

Supporting them, Ernest Borgnine pulls off a very convincing bully. His confrontation with Tracy in the town diner is one of the film’s most satisfying scenes. Also well cast is Walter Brennan as Tracy’s lone ally.

But the man who overshadows everyone, save Tracy, is Lee Marvin. Marvin is a rumbling terror of a man, easily more frightening than either Ryan or Borgnine, yet he does it without any overt aggression. His presence makes an impression.

Director John Sturges not only manages his cast exceptionally well, but also limits the film to a lean 81 minutes that keeps the essentially thin story from going stale.

You can’t argue with the math—a great cast plus a great script adds up to a hell of a film.