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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"Bad Day at Black Rock"
(1955) is a milestone in film making for several
reasons. First, it features one of the greatest
American actors, Spencer Tracy, in a seminal role
that proved to be his last for alma mater, MGM.
Second, it was the studio's first foray into the
grandeur of widescreen with Cinemascope. Third,
the film's plot is what must be considered one of
the grittiest, hard edged and tough hitting
melodramas ever put on film. The plot concerns a
one-armed war veteran, John J. Macreedy (Spencer
Tracy) and his journey to the desolate and
isolated little bit of nothing known as Black
Rock. Macreedy has come to deliver a war medal to
the father of a Japanese soldier killed in WWII.
But from the moment he steps off the train,
Macreedy finds himself labeled as the repository
of stored tensions, fear and hatred from the
town's folk. There's even a bit of sadistic
plotting over Macreedy's demise that takes place
between Sheriff Tim Horn (Dean Jagger) and Doc
Velie (Walter Brennan).
The crux of this rabid animosity is a terribly
dirty little secret -- best left uncovered for
those who have yet to see the film -- that all
living in Black Rock have decided must be kept
secret at any cost. Director John Sturges packs a
lot into 81 minutes -- raising the bar for
bare-knuckled thrills. Rumor has it that Sturges
didn't think an actor of Tracy's caliber would be
interested in playing the part of the returning
war veteran, so he gave the character a one-arm
handicap to sweeten the deal. No actor can refuse
the challenge of hamming it up. Tracy obviously
didn't and he delivers one of his two or three
finest performances ever committed to film.
The DVD transfer for "Bad Day at Black Rock" is as
good as is to be expected with minimal restoration
efforts employed. Though the picture is softly
focused and rather dated in its color scheme --
these are inherent flaws in all early Cinemascope
productions -- and NOT the fault of DVD mastering.
That said, colors are decided dated with
unrealistic flesh tones that are either too pink
or too orange, and otherwise muted colors that
tend to fade into a wash on undistinguished hues
-- especially when we get to talking about the
subtle nuances between dark brown, beige and
blacks, which, on this occasion are very weak and
muddy. Again, discrepancies in color are the flaw
of Eastman color film stock, NOT DVD rendering.
The audio is original 4-track magnetic stereo and
quite nicely presented with decided limitations in
fidelity to contemporary expectations. Dana
Polan's audio commentary is a mixed bag as well,
ranging from remarkably informative in spots to
decidedly obtuse in others. Honestly, if you have
nothing of merit to say, it's generally best to
say nothing at all. Bottom line: "Bad Day at Black
Rock" is a seminal work of extremely taut staging
and discerning acting flair. It is a high point,
if not in picture and audio quality, then at the
very least in its storytelling prowess, which is
formidable; a highly recommended DVD to add to
your collection. |
