Tick, Tick, Tick (film)

Last updated
Tick, Tick, Tick
Tick Tick Tick 1970.jpg
1970 movie poster
Directed by Ralph Nelson
Written by James Lee Barrett
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Loyal Griggs
Edited byAlex Beaton
Music by Jerry Styner
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • January 9, 1970 (1970-01-09)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2,144,000 (US/Canada rentals) [1]

Tick, Tick, Tick, stylized as ...tick...tick...tick..., is a 1970 American crime drama film directed by Ralph Nelson. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. [2] Racially provocative for its time, it stars Jim Brown in the role of an African American man elected as the sheriff of a rural county in the American South. It has become something of a cult classic for its cutting-edge portrayal of racial relations and its tense narrative.

Contents

Plot

In a small Southern town, a black man, Jim Price is elected sheriff over John Little, the white incumbent. Racial tensions exist in the community, and Price gets little assistance from Little, who is leaving office, or from Mayor Parks, who insists he be consulted on any decision the new sheriff makes.

A white man, John Braddock, is arrested on a manslaughter charge after his drunken driving causes the death of a young girl. Braddock's father carries considerable influence and demands his son be freed. Price's deputy, Bradford Wilkes, is beaten by Little's former deputy, Bengy Springer.

Another arrest is made, this time of a black man, George Harley, accused of rape. The townspeople's mood turns uglier by the minute, particularly when Braddock's father threatens to spring his son by force if necessary.

Little's conscience gets the better of him. He agrees to become Price's new deputy. Together, they try in vain to persuade other men in town to side with them against Braddock's vigilantes and to convince the mayor to call in the National Guard for help. Alone against the mob, Price and Little form a barricade and prepare for the worst when their fellow townsmen suddenly join them in the street.

Cast

Jim Brown and Janet MacLachlan in ...tick...tick...tick... - publicity still, 1970 ...tick...tick...tick... (1970) 1.jpg
Jim Brown and Janet MacLachlan in ...tick...tick...tick... - publicity still, 1970

Production

Writing

Screenwriter and producer James Lee Barrett also created the television adaptation of In the Heat of the Night .

Casting

The film's lead was played by Jim Brown, who had recently retired as a professional football player. Brown and George Kennedy had previously appeared together in the war film The Dirty Dozen . Another co-star, Bernie Casey, had played in the National Football League from 1961 to 1968, his career intersecting with that of Brown, who was an NFL star from 1957 to 1965.

It was the penultimate film appearance of screen legend Fredric March.

Filming

It was made in and around Colusa, California. The town's central courthouse square was remodeled to appear like those found in the American South. The same courthouse was also used for exterior shots in the 1962 classic To Kill a Mockingbird .

Release

The film was released theatrically in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in January 1970, [5] the same year as Nelson's Soldier Blue . It was shown in an anamorphic 2.40:1 aspect ratio. [6] A radio advertisement for the film summarized the story simply: "tick...tick...tick is the sound of time...running out."

Home media

The film was never given an official VHS release in the United States. It was released on DVD in 2012 via the Warner Archive on-demand service.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Autry</span> American football player, politician and actor (born 1952)

Carlos Alan Autry Jr., is an American actor, politician, and former National Football League (NFL) player. During his brief football career, he was known as Carlos Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifton James</span> American actor (1920-2017)

George Clifton James was an American actor known for roles as a prison floorwalker in Cool Hand Luke (1967), Sheriff J.W. Pepper alongside Roger Moore in the James Bond films Live and Let Die (1973) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), the sheriff in Silver Streak (1976), a Texas tycoon in The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977), and the owner of the scandalous 1919 Chicago White Sox baseball team in Eight Men Out (1988).

<i>Backlash</i> (1956 film) American Western starring Richard Widmark

Backlash is a 1956 American western film directed by John Sturges and starring Richard Widmark, Donna Reed and William Campbell. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chill Wills</span> American actor (1902–1978)

Theodore Childress "Chill" Wills was an American actor and a singer in the Avalon Boys quartet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dub Taylor</span> American actor (1907–1994)

Walter Clarence "Dub" Taylor Jr., was an American character actor who from the 1940s into the 1990s worked extensively in films and on television, often in Westerns but also in comedies. He is the father of actor and painter Buck Taylor.

<i>The Cheyenne Social Club</i> 1970 film by James Lee Barrett

The Cheyenne Social Club is a 1970 American Western comedy film written by James Lee Barrett, directed and produced by Gene Kelly, and starring James Stewart, Henry Fonda and Shirley Jones. The film is about an aging cowboy who inherits a brothel and decides to turn it into a respectable boarding house, against the wishes of both the townspeople and the ladies working there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernie Casey</span> American actor and professional football player (1939–2017)

Bernard Terry Casey was an American actor, poet and professional American football player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Conrad</span> American actor (1925-1983)

Michael Conrad was an American actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of veteran cop Sgt. Phil Esterhaus on Hill Street Blues. He won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Hill Street Blues in 1981 and 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan White (actor)</span> American actor (1908–1980)

Dan White was an American actor, well known for appearing in Western films and TV shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Swenson</span> American actor (1908–1978)

Karl Swenson was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Early in his career, he was credited as Peter Wayne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Siegmann</span> American actor

George A. Siegmann was an American actor and film director in the silent film era. His work includes roles in notable productions such as The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), The Three Musketeers (1921), Oliver Twist (1922), The Cat and the Canary (1927), and The Man Who Laughs (1928).

Lee Roberts was a film actor during the Hollywood Golden Age. Sometimes he is credited as Robert Allen or Lee J. Roberts.

<i>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</i> (1960 film) 1960 film

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a 1960 American drama film directed by Michael Curtiz. Based on the 1884 novel of the same name by Mark Twain, it was the third sound film version of the story and the second filmed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film was the first adaptation of Huckleberry Finn to be filmed in CinemaScope and Technicolor. It stars Eddie Hodges as Huck and former boxer Archie Moore as the runaway slave Jim. Tony Randall also appeared in the film, and Buster Keaton had a bit role in what proved to be his final film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, his former studio. Neville Brand portrayed Pap Finn, Huck's alcoholic father.

<i>Hit Man</i> (1972 film) 1972 film by George Armitage

Hit Man is a 1972 American crime film directed by George Armitage and starring Bernie Casey, Pam Grier and Lisa Moore. It is a blaxploitation-themed adaptation of Ted Lewis' 1970 novel Jack's Return Home, more famously adapted as Get Carter (1971), with the action relocated from England to the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet MacLachlan</span> American actress

Janet Angel MacLachlan was an American actress who had roles in such television series as The Rockford Files, Alias, All in the Family and The Golden Girls. She is best remembered for her key supporting part in the film Sounder (1972) where she portrayed Camille Johnson, a young teacher. MacLachlan worked with numerous well-known actors and actresses and celebrities such as Bill Cosby, Jim Brown, James Earl Jones, Maya Angelou and Morgan Freeman.

<i>Rimfire</i> (film) 1949 film by B. Reeves Eason

Rimfire is a 1949 American Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason. It is a noir Western.

<i>Man from the Black Hills</i> 1952 film by Thomas Carr

Man from the Black Hills is a 1952 American Western film directed by Thomas Carr and starring Johnny Mack Brown, James Ellison and Rand Brooks. It was distributed by Monogram Pictures which focused on low-budget second features. The film's sets were designed by the art director Martin Obzina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harlan Briggs</span> American actor (1879–1952)

Harlan Briggs was an American actor and Vaudeville performer who was active from the 1930s until his death in 1952. During the course of his career he appeared on Broadway, in over 100 films, as well as appearing on television once towards the end of his career.

Marshal of Reno is a 1944 American Western film directed by Wallace Grissell starring Wild Bill Elliott in the role of Red Ryder. It was the second of twenty-three Red Ryder feature films that would be produced by Republic Pictures. The picture was shot on the studio’s back lot along with outdoor locations at Iverson Ranch, 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

<i>The Gun Hawk</i> 1963 film by Edward Ludwig

The Gun Hawk is a 1963 American Western film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Rory Calhoun, Rod Cameron, Ruta Lee and Rod Lauren.

References

  1. "Big Rental Films of 1970", Variety, 6 January 1971, p. 11.
  2. "...tick...tick...tick..." Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  3. "Janet MacLachlan". IMDb.
  4. "Richard Elkins". IMDb.
  5. "Company Credits for ...tick... tick... tick..." imdb.com. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
  6. "Tick...Tick...Tick... (1970)". wbshop.com. Retrieved 2012-04-26.