Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

Director: John Sturges
Starring: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis

Synopsis:
A stranger comes to a desert town and the locals will resort to just about anything to keep him from learning their dark secret.

Impressions:
I would say this is a mystery story, but you pretty well have it figured out early on, so I guess it's more of a character piece. You have Spencer Tracy as the dogged man on a mission who won't back down no matter how much pushback he gets from the locals. A lot of John Sturges' fame comes from his Westerns and this has a lot of the feel of the genre even though it's set in the immediate aftermath of WWII. Robert Ryan is great as the lead villain and Lee Marvin also leaves a strong impression as his thuggish lackey. Speaking of thugs, Ernest Borgnine plays a huge lout who has a memorable fight scene with Tracy's character. It's a good film that maintains a consistent sense of tension that managed to snag some Oscar noms among other accolades. It's definitely worth a watch.

Rating:
Watch It