This blog entry is part of my "movie year countdown round #2". Read more about that here.
The Big Clock
This movie is an exciting piece of film-noir. The main character, George, is a bit stupid and unsympathetic at times, at least to me. The crux of the movie is supposed to lie in the fact that you are sympathetic to him for trying to change his life around and start spending more time with his wife who he loves rather than working his life away at his job. He quits his job so he can go on a retreat with his wife. It's clear that making the decision to go on this retreat is what he needs to invest in completely as a last effort to prove to his wife he really cares about her more than his job. He quits his high paying job to go on this trip. And then after he quits, he goes to a bar and starts drinking with some other woman to waste time. Then he misses his train!! From there it's hard to be sympathetic. But nonetheless, the movie is saved by the fact that Charles Laughton's performances as despicable boss is so loathsome that it completely draws you in to see how everything will end up. He's the epitome of the lowlife at the top of the ladder.
I bet the titular Big Clock was at least partially in the minds of the Coens when they made The Hudsucker Proxy (amongst a plethora of other movies from the same era of course).
Rating: 8/10