atrocious . the first 20 minute or so be competent and establish the normally reliable premise of a curious stranger stumble upon a paranoid and hostile town . but bad day at black rock this isn not . at a certain point and the viewer develop the queasy feeling that the producer give up and say oh to hell with it . we do not know what be do here . what do you say we just try to wrap thing up and go bowling . bad performance abound and especially from lead man elliott reid ( sort of a poor man farley granger ) who do everything except raise his eyebrow and stroke his chin whenever he put together another piece of the puzzle . whoever play the pitiful old shopkeeper rather embarrassingly seem to break character a couple time . the only person who leave any kind of favorable impression be raymond burr ( play a sleazy local ) . he ham it up entertainingly and undoubtedly aware of how awful the whole thing be . there be one incredibly weak exchange during a supposedly suspenseful chase towards the end . reid and his cardboard love interest be try to escape and he inquire be you wear a watch . she answer in the affirmative . his matter of fact reply . good . i half expect her to fire back with yes . do you comb your hair . at another point the love interest be in a reflective mode . i can not believe my brother a communist she state sadly . i want to say that reid responds with yeah and tough break huh . but it hard to recall . i have lose a number of brain cell by that point . the last ten minute of this sorry excuse for a motion picture have to be see to be believe . just go to show that clunkers be indeed make back then as well . then again it be quite unintentionally funny if one watch it in the right frame of mind .