The Big Clock

Ray Milland stars as the editor of a crime magazine whose latest assignment from his publisher (Charles Laughton) is to track down a mystery man in this clever 1948 film noir thriller. Laughton delivers a suitably hammy performance as Earl Janoth, an imperious, micromanaging media mogul obsessed with time and punctuality—every clock in his office building is synchronized with the giant clock in the lobby—and Milland is George Stroud, a family man who goes on a drinking binge with Janoth’s vindictive mistress (Rita Johnson) when he is fired. After Janoth murders his mistress in a rage, he hires Stroud back to lead the search for the man she was seen with. Director John Farrow avoids the more lurid aspects of the story—Stroud never makes a pass at his beautiful drinking buddy—focusing instead on the ordeal of an innocent man trying to save himself as the investigation closes in. The visual style lacks the evocative heavy shadows and claustrophobic atmosphere of more traditional film noirs—only one scene in the basement clockworks presents the characters slipping in and out of darkness in a visual labyrinth—but the direction of the actors is excellent and the pacing builds the tension beautifully as Stroud races to find the real killer before he himself is identified in this solid thriller. Extras include audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin, new featurettes on the film and Laughton, a 1948 radio play version featuring Milland, and a gallery of stills and artwork. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)