The Clock (1945)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Paul Gallico (story) and
Pauline Gallico (story) ...

Release Date:

25 May 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Every second a heart-beat

Plot:

Soldier Joe Allen is on a two-day leave in New York, and there he meets Alice. She agrees to show him the sights and they spend the day together...

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Grand Central Station New York | Milk Man | Blood Test | Train

Cast

Judy Garland	...	Alice Mayberry
Robert Walker	...	Corporal Joe Allen
James Gleason	...	Al Henry
Keenan Wynn	...	The Drunk
Marshall Thompson	...	Bill
Lucile Gleason	...	Mrs. Al Henry
Ruth Brady	...	Helen

Also Known As:

Under the Clock (UK)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

In the scene where Judy Garland and Robert Walker are riding in the milk truck, the song being played over the radio is "Our Love Affair" which was a hit song from Judy's movie Strike Up the Band (1940) with Mickey Rooney.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Joe shows up for date with Alice at 7 pm. And even though date lasts nearly a day, he's still clean-shaven 24 hours later.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Going Shopping (2005)

Soundtrack:

If I Had You

superb romance from MGM

This film gives Judy Garland a chance (her first, I think?) to appear in a non-singing role, as Alice Mayberry, a hopeless romantic who works in New York. When she meets soldier Joe Allen (Robert Walker) they fall deeply in love with each other and are soon beating a path to the altar.

As a war-based romance, this story moves fast because it has to - in a matter of days Alice and Joe know they belong together, and we know it too, thanks to the scenes we see in the museum, in the park away from the bustling traffic, and within the railway station. Garland and Walker are both excellent, the perfect representations of dewy-eyed young lovers.

We're not disappointed by the little roles, either - James and Lucille Gleason play a friendly milkman and his wife, Keenan Wynn plays a drunk in a diner, Ruth Brady plays Alice's housemate Ruth, and Marshall Thompson gathers many laughs all to himself as Ruth's silent boyfriend Bill, never allowed to say anything in response to her constant questioning, gossiping, and nagging.

Directed by Garland's husband Vincente Minnelli, 'The Clock' is a quiet and lovely film, not often quoted as one of the greats, but a good example of the best entertainment MGM could offer in the 1940s.