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Actors: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Bad Day at Black Rock |
A mysterious one-armed man in a black hat gets off the train in a tiny, dusty town in 1945. The suspicious town wants to know what he's doing there and won't yield up its racist secrets without a fight. Spencer Tracy is terrific as the stranger; Robert Ryan suitably nasty and tough as the dishonorable opposition backed by Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin. Walter Brennan is a cowed doctor, Anne Francis provides some distaff assistance. Think of this as a noir western, or "High Noon" right after the war, and you have a sense of it.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Bad Day at Black Rock |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here). |
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 20% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 80%
Time/Era of Movie:
- 1930's-1950's
Spying & Terrorists
Yes
The terrorist enemy is...
- racists/kkk/nazis
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- champion of justice
Age:
- 40's-50's
Events of movie makes character more...
- sad
- tougher
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
How much in movie?
- 40%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- West
Desert?
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- non-gory references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- concerned
How many deaths in film?
- 3-4
How much use of techno gadgets?
- 1 (None)
Kind of violence:
- hand to hand
- guns
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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