The Big Clock (film)
| The Big Clock | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John Farrow |
| Produced by | John Farrow Richard Maibaum |
| Screenplay by | Jonathan Latimer |
| Based on | The novel The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing |
| Starring |
Ray Milland Charles Laughton |
| Music by | Victor Young |
| Cinematography |
Daniel L. Fapp John Seitz |
| Edited by | LeRoy Stone |
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Production
company |
Paramount Pictures
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| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2 million (US rentals) |
The Big Clock is a 1948 crime drama film noir directed by John Farrow and adapted by renowned novelist-screenwriter Jonathan Latimer from the novel of the same name by Kenneth Fearing.
The black-and-white film is set in New York City and stars Ray Milland and Maureen O'Sullivan. Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton appear in the film, as does Harry Morgan, in an early film role, listed in the credits as Henry Morgan, as a hired thug. Noel Neill has an uncredited part as an elevator operator very early in the film.
The story is told in flashback. When it begins, George Stroud (Ray Milland), editor-in-chief of Crimeways magazine, is shown hiding from building security behind the "big clock" ― the largest and most sophisticated clock ever built, which dominates the lobby of the giant publishing company where he works, Janoth Publications in New York City.
Stroud is eager to spend more time with his wife (Maureen O'Sullivan) and plans a long-postponed vacation from his job. He sticks to those plans despite being fired for it by his tyrannical publishing boss, Earl Janoth (Charles Laughton). Instead of meeting his wife at the train station as planned, however, Stroud finds himself preoccupied with the attention being shown him by Janoth's glamorous mistress, Pauline York (Rita Johnson), who proposes a blackmail plan against Janoth. When Stroud misses their scheduled train, his wife angrily leaves without him, so he begins drinking and spends the evening out on the town with York.
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Wikipedia