MovieChat Forums > The Big Clock (1948) Discussion > NO HERO

NO HERO

posted 18 years ago by ae7641
12 replies | jump to latest

Miland is no hero and there is really no "good guy" in this film. Miland's character is a drunk. He drinks "stingers" early and then takes the blonde on a drinking binge. Drinks enough to kill King Kong. Then he wakes up in the blondes apartment, so he also cheats on his wife. If you think nothing occured, you're living in a dream world. He also lies like crazy to his wife rather than tell her he went on a drinking binge and woke up with a blonde.

If this movie had went on a few more minutes, his wife would have divorced him as she has enough reason to do so.

That is one reason why this film can't be rated G or something. I don't belive even today's movies would show the lead character drinking as much as Miland did. It is no longer amusing or forgivable and is considered to be drug addiction, as a cause of death of motorists and teens today along with a health destroyer.

[–] wlandolfi-1 17 years ago

To an extent, ae7641, you may be right. However, I do want to point out that at the time THE BIG CLOCK was made, people probably did not realize how bad heavy drinking was for people. It is my understanding that at one time, men even viewed getting drunk as a way of being "macho." Certainly, in those days, people tolerated things like drinking and driving. Also, this was a time when smoking was very much accepted.

[–] schappe1 16 years ago

Ray Milland had just won an Oscar for playing a dipsomaniac in "The Lost weekend", (1945).

I think they were just trying to present him as an imperfect hero as many of the "noir" heroes were.

[–] jd-276 14 years ago

Yep. Nailed it. Noir characters are supposed to be imperfect and there is usually a sexual motive behind the things they do (see "Double Indemnity"). That's why Noir is great. It explores what the big movies couldn't or wouldn't at that time and they make you think.

[–] liscarkat (19418) 3 years ago

"I do want to point out that at the time THE BIG CLOCK was made, people probably did not realize how bad heavy drinking was for people."

Drunkenness and alcoholism had become such a problem in the U.S. by the late 19th century that there was a major social movement to outlaw alcoholic beverages. The production and sale of them was banned by the 18th amendment to the Constitution, called the National Prohibition Act, or Volstead Act, which took effect in 1920 and lasted until it was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.

Just a couple of years before he made "The Big Clock", Ray Milland starred in "The Lost Weekend", a film about the devastation of alcoholism on a man's life. There is no doubt that the detrimental, tragic effects of alcohol overconsumption were well known by the medical profession and the general public long before the 1940s.

[–] Jessica_Rabbit69 15 years ago

Thank you, ae7641, for this uplifting sermon.

First, I doubt he cheated on his wife, because he was way too drunk and just slept off a hangover.

And second, as for the drinking, he worked for the boss from hell and just quit/lost his very well-paying job. People do get drunk after that. And no, it is not drug addiction.

In the oh so PC 21st century having a drink and also smoking (which I personally don't like) and even eating a steak seem to be worse than the seven deadly sins. None of these things come even close to paedophilia, land mines, the A bomb, Abu Ghraib and Dick Cheney. Get a perspective.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

[–] francisbt2003 15 years ago

Dick cheney is an american hero and old movies are awesome. Calm down get a job.
LIFE IS AWESOME!!

[–] Jessica_Rabbit69 15 years ago

"Dick cheney is an american hero "

Love that one. In these depressing times some cheer and a good joke make life worth living. And now, if you'll excuse me, I must run out get a job. Never had one before in my whole life.

"LIFE IS AWESOME!!"
I didn't doubt it.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

[–] LTUM 13 years ago

jessica how did you get that name?

is it because you have the shape?

you just ruined my whole concentration when i saw your username. now i have to know! i must!

PM me darling ......

--------------------------------------------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2dKNeLqNas

[–] nutsberryfarm 8 years ago

wynn duffy is an american hero! 

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.-Albert Camus🍁

[–] Kareneeni 14 years ago

You're right, he's no hero, but I see no reason to think he cheated with the blonde. Yes, he woke up in her apartment, but on her sofa, fully clothed, after getting drunk due to losing his high-paying job and being told by his powerful boss that he'd see to it that he was blackballed in his industry. That would send many people on a bender.

[–] geoffzman04 11 years ago

wake up and pull yourself together. i won't even attempt to address your whitewashed views of life but simply to say nothing is black and white but rather many shades of grey.

[–] AvaSinatra59 (195) 5 years ago

Many of the "heroes" in Noir are anti-heroes. He was just an average guy (for the time and for his place in society) who was trying to get out of a big mess.