Wonkette Movie Night: The Big Clock

'Isn't it a pity ... the wrong people always have money.'

The Big Clock is one of those thrillers that starts out by telling you who the murderer is and how they committed the crime. It all swirls around one man, George Stroud, who has gotten himself caught up in a web of deception. But he is not the killer. “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” perfectly encapsulates where George finds himself after a night of too much alcohol and sharing the company of his boss’s mistress.

George oversees Crimeways magazine for Janoth Publications, owned by the demanding Earl Janoth, located in a building topped by a big clock. The biggest, most technically advanced clock ever built, which controls all the clocks in the building. What kicks off the mystery is a missing work of art, as the murder is not immediately discovered. But that work of art just happened to have been purchased by one George Stroud on the evening in question.

When the victim is finally discovered, George’s boss puts Crimeways on the case. And George is now overseeing the investigation of a crime he is involved with, as his reporters seek out the mystery man only he knows is him. He not only is fighting to not be imprisoned, he also fighting to save his marriage. His drunken revelry with the boss’s mistress ended innocently but the lies George tells to protect his marriage and career have gotten himself into a trap of his own design. George must uncover the real killer or be devoured by the spider and have all his lies exposed.

The Big Clock stars Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Sullivan, Elsa Lanchester, Dan Tobin, and Harry Morgan. Directed by John Farrow.

The Big Clock is available for free on the Internet Archive. $3.99 in the usual places.

To make requests and see the movie lists and schedules go to WonkMovie.

The animated short is The Brown Dog. From WeTransfer, it stars the voice talents of Michael K. Williams and Steve Buscemi.

Find me on Bluesky as ziggywiggy.