Reflections on characters and themes in "Bad Day at Black Rock"

 

Reflections on “Bad Day at Black Rock” (1954)

Directed by John Sturges

Written by Millard Kaufman

Starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Dean Jagger,

 Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin and Anne Francis

 

“Bad Day at Black Rock” offers a unique blend of genres, with elements of a thriller, crime drama, revisionist western, film noir and even, to a limited degree, of martial arts.

John Macreedy, a second world war veteran who lost his left arm in battle in Italy, steps off a train shortly after the end of the war in 1945 at the isolated hamlet of Black Rock in the Californian Desert in search of a man named Komoko, a resident of nearby Adobe Flat. He also steps into a small barren community governed by secrecy, fear and conspiracy, and Macreedy’s suspicions are raised as he encounters a decidedly unfriendly and even hostile reception.

By way of taut pacing, terse character development, excellent use of the isolated location bathed in radiant and illuminating light and surrounded by pressure-inducing searing heat, writer Kaufman and director Sturges steadily build tension, conflict and threat as Macreedy uncovers the truth about Komoko’s fate. He died violently at the hands of a local mob in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Macreedy seems set to face a similar end as he tries to involve the authorities and then leave town.

This stripped-back setting and these sinister events make for an exciting and highly engaging thriller and crime drama in their own right, but the scope and interest of the film are extended and compounded by the involvement of racism as a motivating factor, and are further enhanced by a swipe at McCarthyism as characters are pressured to conform to and support views or actions that they might not, normally, embrace.

Farmer Komoko is killed by local kingpin Reno Smith, accompanied by some henchmen, as they project responsibility and guilt for the heinous act of attacking Pearl Harbor onto Komoko, merely because he shares the nationality of those actually responsible. Smith’s humiliation at Komoko’s hard work and success in unearthing water on land rented from Smith and consequently making a go of farming it, combined with Smith’s rejection on health grounds by the draft board, may also have contributed to this egomaniac’s disproportionate desire for condemnation and revenge and suggests personal rather than, as he sees it, vaguely principled, if quite irrational, reasons for his actions.

The senselessness and illogicality of racism (by which I mean the apportioning of responsibility and blame due simply to nationality, ethnicity or culture) is accentuated by the fact Macreedy’s life was saved by Komoko’s son (a serving member of the American military) but he lost his life and Macreedy simply wishes to pass on to Komoko the medal awarded to his son for bravery. These citizens of Japanese descent therefore embodied many of the characteristics rightly held so high by American citizens, including, presumably, Reno Smith and his cohort.

The small town of Black Rock may exemplify the small minds that inhabit it. Smith appears to lack the empathy, compassion or social awareness required to understand the depth of his crime. He wields considerable financial and social influence in his town and as such he exercises influence and control over most of the residents. Some offer him blind loyalty and obedience while others retain enough integrity and independence for their consciences to bother them but they lack the leadership and guidance to motivate and encourage them to challenge a situation they know to be wrong but which they have accepted through fear and a sense of allegiance to their friends, neighbours and employers, as well as a natural inclination toward self-preservation.

However, John Macreedy represents reason, objectivity, determination and integrity, and he lights their fuse of heart-searching, challenge and indignation, provoking them into taking action to seek justice and save Macreedy.

Smith acts to exercise his values, as he sees them, and maintain his freedom, but this is clearly at the expense of others’ freedom and rights. This can certainly be viewed as an oblique reference to the era of McCarthyism in vogue at the time of the film’s release, with the implication that individuals should summon the courage and strength to defy attempts to impose conformity and adherence to a prescribed position at the expense of thought, freedom and perhaps morality, a message that holds good today.

This film is expertly crafted and builds tension, suspense and excitement while inviting reflection on morality and social duty before reaching its explosive and satisfying end.

Spencer Tracy was undoubtedly a little too old for his role as Macreedy but his very age, experience and appearance add much to many scenes, especially the scene in which he defends himself in the bar/diner using some karate moves, suggesting there is much we can learn from the culture of others rather than simply reject it.

Other roles are played equally well and contribute greatly to this excellent thought-provoking thriller.

My thanks for taking the time to read this article. I hope you found it of some value.

Stuart Fernie (stuartfernie@yahoo.co.uk)        BLOG       YOUTUBE