Bad Day at Black Rock

Filmmaker John Sturges's powerful and still relevant 1954 Western opens with John J. Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) stepping off a train and into a small town where everyone views him with suspicion that verges on hatred—especially after Macreedy says that he's looking for a Japanese farmer whose son saved his life during the war. The town turns out to be holding a dreadful secret, and the central question here is whether Macreedy will discover it before he is killed by the local boss (Robert Ryan) and his gang of henchmen, who include Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine (the scene in which one-armed Macreedy judos the bejeezus out of Borgnine's character is excellent). Serving up a sharp portrait of racial intolerance and mob psychology, Bad Day at Black Rock—which costars Anne Francis—scored Oscar nominations for Sturges, Tracy, and its screenplay. Bowing on Blu-ray, extras include an audio commentary by film historian Dana Polan. Recommended. (R. Pitman)