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Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan, George Macready, Elsa Lanchester ... see more see more... , Rita Johnson , Dan Tobin , Harold Vermilyea , Henry Morgan , Richard Webb , Tad Van Brunt , Elaine Riley , Luis Van Rooten , Lloyd Corrigan , Margaret Field , Philip Van Zandt , Henri Letondal , Douglas Spencer , Eric Alden , Lucille Barkley , James Burke , Lane Chandler , Mary Currier , Lester Dorr , Ralph Dunn , Julia Faye , Bess Flowers , Henry Guttman , Theresa Harris , Len Hendry , Earl Hodgins , Edna Holland , Norman Leavitt , Bert Moorhouse , Frances Morris , Noel Neill , Barry Norton , Frank Orth , Joey Ray , Gordon Richards , Ruth Roman , Harry Rosenthal , Harland Tucker , Ernö Verebes , Bobby Watson , Joe Whitehead , Napoleon Whiting , Harry Anderson , Robert Coleman , Jerry James , William Meader , Pepito Pérez , Diane Stewart , Bea Allen , B.G. Norman , Charlie Hall

John Farrow's movie adaptation of Kenneth Fearing's The Big Clock, based on a screenplay by Jonathan Latimer (and produced by future James Bond screenwriter Richard Maibaum), is a near-perfect match f... read more read more...or the book, telling in generally superb visual style a tale set against the backdrop of upscale 1940s New York and offering an early (but accurate) depiction of the modern media industry. Told in the back-to-front fashion typical of film noir, it opens with George Stroud (Ray Milland) trapped, his life in danger, his survival measured in the minute-by-minute movements of the huge central clock of the office building where he's hiding. In flashback we learn that Stroud works for media baron Earl Janoth (Charles Laughton), loosely based on Henry Luce, as the editor of Crimeways magazine. Janoth is a manipulative, self-centered megalomaniac with various obsessions, including clocks; among other manifestations of the latter fixation, the skyscraper housing his empire's headquarters has as one of its central features a huge clock that reads out the time around the world down to the second. Twenty-four hours earlier, on the eve of a combined honeymoon/vacation with his wife, Georgia (Maureen O'Sullivan), that has been put off for seven years, Stroud was ordered by Janoth to cancel the trip in order to work on a special project, and he resigned. As the narrative picks up speed, in his depression, Stroud misses the train his wife is on and crosses paths with Pauline York (Rita Johnson), a former model for Janoth's Styleways magazine, who is also Janoth's very unhappy mistress, and the two commiserate by getting drunk together in a night on the town. While hurriedly leaving Pauline's apartment, he glimpses Janoth entering. Janoth and York quarrel, and the publisher kills her in a jealous rage, using a sundial that she and Stroud picked up the night before while wandering around in their revels. Janoth and his general manager, Steve Hagen (George Macready), contrive to pin the murder on the man that Janoth glimpsed leaving York's apartment, whom he thinks was named Jefferson Randolph -- the name Stroud was drunkenly bandying about the night before. He gets Stroud back to Crimeways to lead the magazine's investigators in hunting down "Jefferson Randolph," never realizing that this was Stroud. And Stroud has no choice but to return, desperately trying to gather evidence against Janoth and, in turn, prevent the clues gathered by the Crimeways staff from leading back to him. The two play this clever, disjointed game of cat-and-mouse, Janoth and Hagen planting evidence that will hang "Randolph" (and justify his being shot while trying to escape), while Stroud, knowing what they don't about how close the man they seek to destroy is, arranges to obscure those clues and, in a comical twist, sends the least capable reporters and investigators to follow up on the most substantial clues. Janoth sometimes seems to be unraveling at the frustrating pace and lack of conclusion to the hunt, but Stroud can't escape the inevitable, or the moments of weakness caused by fear and his own guilt over his near-unfaithfulness to his wife or the inscrutable gaze of Janoth's mute bodyguard Bill Womack (Harry Morgan), a stone-cold killer dedicated to protecting his employer. The trail of proof and guilt winds ever tighter around both men, taking some odd twists courtesy of the eccentric artist (Elsa Lanchester) who has seen the suspect. Milland is perfect in the role of the hapless Stroud, and Laughton is brilliant as the vain, self-centered Janoth, but George Macready is equally good as Hagen, his smooth, upper-crust Waspy smarminess making one's skin crawl. Also worth noting is Harry Morgan's sinister, silent performance as Womack, and sharp-eyed viewers will also recognize such performers as Douglas Spencer, Noel Neill (especially memorable as a tart-tongued elevator operator), Margaret Field (Sally's mother), Ruth Roman, and Lane Chandler in small roles. Additionally, the Janoth Publications building where most of the action takes place is almost a cast member in itself, an art deco wonder, especially the room housing the clock mechanism and the lobby and vestibules, all loosely inspired by such structures as the Empire State Building and the real-life Daily News headquarters on East 42nd Street. This film was later remade as No Way Out. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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PG-13, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: John Farrow

Release Date: January 1, 1948

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DVD Release Date: July 6, 2004

Stats: 104 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (104)

  • jjnxn
    May 3, 2010
    jjnxn
    Tightly made thriller, the inspiration for No Way Out with Kevin Costner, is well paced and well acted by an excellent cast. Laughton is great and Rita Johnson stands out as the mistress, she is given some wonderful lines and knows how to make them count. A worthwhile view.
  • rubystevens
    May 4, 2009
    rubystevens
    an intense thriller with ray milland and charles laughton that was remade in the 80's as the kevin costner vehicle called no way out. this is better of course. some of the dialogue is line for line
  • mjgildea
    April 15, 2007
    mjgildea
    A nerve-wracking noir classic you've probably never heard of.
  • anastasia57001
    May 2, 2011
    anastasia57001
    Combining equal doses of drama and comedy, this entertaining piece of the crime genre is a must-see, not only for Ray Milland's star performance, but for the story's timing as well as execution. Based on Kenneth Fearing's novel, and directed by John Farrow, here is a suspenseful ... read moretale of a man racing against time, and as the proverb has it, eventually against his own boss (time=money=boss). If you loved "His Girl Friday" then this one won't disappoint you. Elsa Lanchester in the role of painter Patterson is a delight.
  • beveric
    April 28, 2010
    beveric
    Well, it has it's moments but I couldn't help but think it was sending the wrong message about wartime weddings.
  • Turfseer
    April 4, 2010
    Turfseer
    The Big Clock keeps ticking despite the implausibilities

    *** This review may contain spoilers ***

    'The Big Clock' features Ray Milland, as George Stroud, an editor/investigator of a crime magazine. Stroud's boss is mega-publisher Earl Janoth, played by Charles Laughton, who ham... read mores it up as the arrogant mover and shaker of a publishing empire. Janoth is obsessed with time and has a giant clock installed at company headquarters, a modern high-rise, where the big clock controls all the other clocks in the building. Most critics will agree that 'The Big Clock' starts off quite slowly in its first thirty minutes. During the slow-moving exposition scenes, we learn that Stroud is Janoth's best employee, solving various crimes with the aid of his staff?they rely on a bulletin board which Stroud utilizes to organize various clues garnered during the course of their investigations. We also learn that Stroud is on the verge of quitting his job since Janoth will not give him the time to take the honeymoon he never had with his wife.

    The story begins to shift into high gear when George finally tenders his resignation but misses his train to meet his wife for the honeymoon. Instead he gets drunk with Janoth's mistress, Pauline York, and ends up at her apartment. Janoth shows up and George makes a quick exit; neither of the men can identify one another. Janoth and Pauline argue and Janoth kills her with the sundial which George purchased earlier at a bar. Janoth then enlists his right-hand man, Steve Hagen, to help him cover up the crime by ordering his staff to investigate the illusory 'Jefferson Randolph' (the name Pauline concocted and the person who Janoth ended up believing left her apartment right before he killed her). Janoth then orders George to return to work and find Randolph. George has no choice to comply with Janoth's order after realizing he may be implicated in the murder (Janoth mentions the inscription on the base of the sundial is from the bar where George purchased it).

    The tension in the plot grows exponentially as George must prevent his staff from believing that Randolph might be him. George locates a cabdriver who gives him information about another cabdriver who drove Janoth to Pauline's apartment the night of the murder. But Janoth finds the cabbie first (offscreen) and pays him off. After an antique dealer (who sold George a painting during his drunken night out on the town with Pauline) spots him in the Janoth Publication's Building, George must do everything he can to prevent himself from being identified by this man. To make matters worse, it just so happens that the artist, Louise Patterson (Elsa Lanchester), who painted the painting George bought at the antique store, was at the store that night and haggled with George over its purchase. She shows up at Janoth company headquarters and tells Janoth she is willing to draw a picture of the man who bought the painting at the antique store for a price. It turns out that George gets to her first and promises to compensate her for the painting. As the comic relief, Louise does draw the man's portrait for Janoth but it's in the style of an abstract Picasso!

    The climax of the story finds George in Hagen's office along with his wife and one of his pals from the bar where George lifted the sundial (later used as the murder weapon). A handkerchief which Pauline took from the bar is found in Hagen's cigar box so George accuses Hagen of the murder. Hagen manages to concoct various alibis until George's associate mentions that he saw Hagen return the murder weapon to the bar. Hagen no longer is willing to take the rap for Janoth and informs his boss that he'll turn him into the police. Janoth shoots Hagen and then tries to escape via the elevator but falls down an empty shaft (George kept the elevator cab on a lower floor after climbing out of the shaft and fiddling with the controls, preventing the cab from moving).

    Some have referred to The Big Clock as a 'film noir'. Certainly the film has noirish elements (dig some of the dark cinematography), but really shouldn't be classified as a true film noir. While Pauline York can be viewed sort of as a 'femme fatale' (her numerous affairs are alluded to), she doesn't lead the protagonist to his doom (George is more responsible for getting himself in trouble during his drunken foray on the night of the murder). More importantly, the protagonist, ends up prospering at the end. Think of a classic noir such as 'Double Indemnity' in which the protagonist (Fred MacMurray), the hapless insurance agent, ends up dead after committing a murder with the help of Barbara Stanwyck's quintessential femme fatale.

    Some have argued that the big clock is a powerful image as it symbolizes Janoth's megalomania. To me it's a rather obvious symbol and an awkward one at that. The big clock itself really doesn't figure directly in the plot. Contrast that with the 'The Stranger', where the clock is integral to the narrative (Orson Welles, who plays a Nazi war criminal, ends up impaled by a statue's protruding sword, which moves as a result of a clock striking at the appointed hour).

    After the slow-moving introduction, the Big Clock picks up and holds your interest for the rest of the film. Despite the good entertainment, the story hinges on the police not finding the body. You would think that one of the victim's friends would have attempted to contact her since she was missing for such a long period of time. Had the police found the body, all the machinations back at the office could not have occurred.

    The Big Clock is also worth watching for the trivia: watch for Noel Neal (TV's Lois Lane in the 50s) as an uncredited elevator operator. And Director John Farrow was Mia Farrow's father! There are other stories about the cast of this film well worth investigating.
  • jam233
    January 28, 2010
    jam233
    A remarkable film, the cast is great and Charles Laughton, as always is magnificent. Ray Milland gives one of his best performances as well. Good film-noir, great score. A fine classic, that is always interesting and suspenseful.

View All The Big Clock Reviews

Critic Reviews

David Nusair
January 10, 2007
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...there's no denying that the movie possesses a surprisingly contemporary vibe. Full Review

Carol Cling
July 22, 2005
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Terrific suspense ... still packs a punch.

Dennis Schwartz
January 19, 2004
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Thrilling psychological film noir. Full Review

Ken Hanke
August 13, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

First-rate 'noirish' thriller with comedy.

Bob Bloom
January 30, 2003
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Wonderful thriller as Milland tries to prove his innocence while Laughton plots to get away with murder.

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 18, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Jim Ridley
August 19, 2009
Jim Ridley, City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

Click to read the article Full Review

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The Big Clock Trivia

  • Which 1948 thriller, directed by Mia Farrow's father, was remade as No Way Out (1987) with Kevin Costner in the starring role?  Answer »
  • The plot of the Big Clock (1948), in which Ray Milland is assigned to lead the hunt for a killer while knowing all the clues will eventually point to him, was loosely rehashed in which thriller starring Kevin Costner?  Answer »
  • No Way Out, starring Kevin Costner was a remake of the classic film noir:  Answer »
  • True/False: In the movie Jumper, when David is perched at the top of Big Ben in London, the clock behind him states it is half past 6?  Answer »
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