The Big Clock

The Big Clock creates a closed world of paranoia reminiscent of the films of Fritz Lang. Ray Milland plays George Stroud, editor of Crimeways magazine, part of a publishing empire owned by Earl Janoth (Charles Laughton). “When Janoth murders his mistress . . . he is forced to engage the resources of his organization to track down the one witness to his guilt. Every part is ideally cast, from Rita Johnson’s wry mistress to Elsa Lanchester’s gurgling Greenwich Village artist. Above all, the giant clock which dominates the proceedings—nerve center of the Janoth organization . . . with its endlessly ticking dials, pulsing dynamo, and gliding levers reminds one of the heart of Metropolis” (Charles Higham, Joel Greenberg, Hollywood in the Forties).