The Big Clock (1948)

Directed by John Farrow. Starring Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, George Macready, Maureen O’Sullivan, Rita Johnson, Elsa Lanchester, Harold Vermilyea, Harry Morgan, Dan Tobin, Richard Webb.

Exciting noir turns the mystery template inside out by making no secret of the villain’s identity, yet still builds suspense in seeing how it will all work out. Tyrannical magazine publisher Laughton (sporting an eyesore moustache) kills his mistress in a fit of rage and plots to frame the last person seen with her alive as the real killer; to discover the man’s identity, he assigns his estranged editor-in-chief (Milland) to investigate…even though Milland is that mystery man. An example in the genre far more concerned with rigorous plot complications and unexpected humor than character hubris and mood; Farrow’s taut direction and John F. Seitz’s imaginative camerawork keep the timepiece ticking along nicely. As expected, Lanchester can be relied upon for a quirky supporting turn. Scripted by John Latimer from a Kenneth Fearing novel. Remade in 1987 as No Way Out.

75/100