Bad Day at Black Rock (Cinema)


This film-still shows Spencer Tracy by the tracks in the John Sturges film, Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). The film combines elements of the western and film noir genres. It’s got a terrific title sequence of the huge diesel-powered train thundering through the Arizona desert. You can watch the opening of the film, here

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/293554/Bad-Day-At-Black-Rock-Movie-Clip-Open-Adobe-Flat.html

and you can find out about the film, here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Day_at_Black_Rock

You can tell something bad is going to happen even as the title sequence begins. The train powers along and seems unstoppable. The townsfolk are clearly surprised as the train makes an unscheduled stop. A one-armed stranger gets off…

The film is shot in Cinemascope and processed in Eastmancolor, so it has a wide-angle aspect ratio that does justice to the huge landscapes of the American South West. The Eastmancolor has the distinctive colour palette of the 1950s.

The train in the film is a Southern Pacific.

Definitely one to watch.

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