Tick, Tick, Tick

source: Tick, Tick, Tick

The plot to "...tick...tick...tick..." might sound familiar. A black man becomes sheriff in a racially divided town and the white folks are NOT happy about this. This sounds a lot like the plot to "Blazing Saddles"...though unlike the Brooks film, it's certainly NOT a comedy and is set in the contemporary South! Not surprisingly, there is a lot of discontent in the white community with the new sheriff. You also know that sooner or later it's coming to a head...and you wonder if the sheriff will survive. One day, a drunk guy runs over a kid and kills her. When the sheriff tries to arrest him, the guy is cocky and runs...but is soon caught. The arrestee's father is apparently a rich and powerful man...and soon a lot of pressure comes on the sheriff to just forget about the case...which he can't do. At the same time, he's also getting pressure from the black community to do something...or else. This film surprised me. Often around this time period, race relations in films about the South were often very dramatic and over the top...such as in "Mandingo" or "Hurry Sundown". This is probably why these films stink! Instead, "...tick...tick...tick..." handles it in a much more realistic and restrained manner...a major plus for the movie. It also didn't portray all white folks or black as either good or bad...and this was a very intelligent choice. In this sense, the film has a lot in common with "In the Heat of the Night". Overall, this is a very good film and Jim Brown was assisted ably by some excellent supporting actors like George Kennedy, Frederic March, Clifton James, and Bernie Casey. It's intelligently written as well and well worth seeing.

...tick...tick...tick... (1970) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Interesting drama about a new black sheriff (Jim Brown) who takes over duties in a Southern town where the KKK aren't too happy about his election. The Mayor (Fredric March) doesn't want any violence because he doesn't want federal men in his town but after a white man is arrested for murder, some of the good ol' boys don't like the idea of a black man arresting him. The former sheriff (George Kennedy) decides to step in and try to help but soon all sorts of racist types are coming in. I think it's fair to call this movie a wannabe IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT but the three lead performances make it worth viewing. I think the weakest thing is the screenplay, which tries too hard to be like that previous film but in the end it really can't come close to the tension in its story. I think the one thing that really does work well here is that the racial tensions against Brown are because he's black but the interesting thing is that those sides turn against him for crimes dealing with the same race. The white man is arrested for drunk driving that kills a white girl and the black man arrested is for raping a black teen girl. I think the fact that this film tries to stay away from a race riot was something rather refreshing and I liked how the film didn't solve the race issues but instead simply tried to get both sides to fight for a common cause. Brown is very good in his role and I really liked the laid back approach that he brought to the role. There's no screaming and there's no tough, macho action but instead he plays a man with morals and I thought the actor did a very good job with the part. Kennedy was born to play the good-hearted redneck and he too does nice work here. March certainly overacts a bit in his next to last film role but he's always fun to see. The supporting cast also step up with everyone fitting their roles quite nicely. ...TICK...TICK...TICK... isn't the greatest race drama out there but I think there are enough interesting aspects to make it worth viewing.

"...tick... tick... tick" is a wonderful, uplifting movie about racism and hatred in a small Southern town. I cannot believe that is the film is not more popular or acclaimed. Jim Brown is perfect as the first black sheriff in a rural town, facing resistance on all sides. The whites despise him for the color of his skin and the black community considers him a sell-out. George Kennedy is excellent as the displaced former sheriff who understands better than anyone what Brown is up against. The movie has moments of suspense, drama, gritty violence, and genuine humor. The best line in the movie comes when Kennedy is beating his former deputy in the back room while the current deputy sits at his desk reading a magazine. Brown walks in and asks what's going on and, without missing a beat, the deputy replies "police brutality" with a wide grin on his face! The supporting characters are all great- they genuinely look like they've all been roasting under the Southern sun all their lives. And the pressure-cooker opening sequence in which the townspeople literally fry an egg on the sidewalk fits in perfectly with the ticking on the soundtrack and the stylized opening credits. Okay, the movie isn't perfect. The cinematography dates the film, making it look much older than 1970, and the finale is a little sudden, mainly because ALL of the good ol' boys have a change of heart instead of just a brave few. That said, this is an inspiring, entertaining movie with its heart in the right place. "...tick... tick... tick" builds the tension AND its characters and delivers a powerful, satisfying message about tolerance, bigotry and the strength of the human spirit. DO NOT miss your chance to see this movie! GRADE: A-

George Kennedy has never been better as the frustrated outgoing sheriff, and Jim Brown is good also, as his disillusioned replacement. Pot boiling is kept on the high burner by Don Stroud and his band of KKK rednecks. When a White boy is arrested for manslaughter following his drunken car accident, things reach the time bomb stage of the film's title. Special mention must be made of the sound track that although somewhat inappropriate, is none the less excellent. Ultimately "Tick Tick Tick" comes across as a dark period of history, frozen in time by this wonderful film. Despite the good and plenty of stereotypes, the movie does not come across as preachy, but merely as an entertaining look into the past. - MERK

1. If the movie was made five years later, there would be a lot more cursing, although they use the "n" word quire frequently. That's just an observation. 2. The film is entertaining 3. The film has a goofy/horrible soundtrack....a product of its era. 4. The ending where all the white Ku Klux Klan guys get together to help the black sheriff and other black deputies is "feel good" but not believable for a minute. 5. Frederic March could never give a bad performance. It was nice to see him in one of his last roles. 6. Jim Brown and George Kennedy were very good. 7. The movie does not have the power of In The Heat of the Night. It's more like Finian's Rainbow without the music.

...tick...tick...tick is the story of a county somewhere in the Deep South undergoing some radical changes in the wake of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of the Sixties. A new black sheriff has been elected as a result of the Voting Rights Act and the organizers who came down from the North to see it enforced. But now that Jim Brown has the job, the organizers have gone back North and what to do now in a tense racially divided situation. One person trying his best to deal with things is Mayor Fredric March who is a southern politician of the old school, but by no means a stupid man. March recognizes the old order is gone and the thing he fears the most is interference from the federal government. He will govern his town as best he can without any outsiders, thank you. The key in the situation is former sheriff George Kennedy who is a good old boy, quite comfortable with the white power structure, but also an honest and fundamentally decent man. Things come to a head quickly when a punk kid from another county runs down a little girl who happens to be white and leaves the scene. When Brown arrests Bob Random the kid's father who is a bigwig in the neighboring county threatens to invade Brown's jurisdiction, the new sheriff has a crisis on his hand. What will ALL the residents of Collusa County do in this situation? In many ways this film is something of a successor to In The Heat Of The Night which covered many of the same issues. In The Heat Of The Night takes place in a time right on the cusp of the changes being voted in Washington. ...tick...tick...tick take place after those changes have taken place. Sad to say that the Academy Award winning In The Heat Of The Night has overshadowed this film, especially after it became the basis of a television series. ...tick...tick...tick in my opinion could also be readily adapted to the small screen. One thing that In The Heat Of The Night has way over this film is a superior musical score. Whose brilliant idea was it at MGM to have Jim Brown chase Bob Random through the woods with the Mike Curb Congregation singing Gentle On My Mind? It was so out of place. The three leads are superb in their performances and such folks as Clifton James, Dub Taylor, and Don Stroud play some of the good old boys who deal with the crisis in Collusa County in their different ways. Janet MacLachlan and Lynn Carlin are the supportive women in the lives of Brown and Kennedy respectively. And Bob Random plays one nasty little redneck punk. ...tick...tick...tick still has great entertainment value and it's a portrait of the new emerging American South, one of the best done by the American cinema.

This by no means is a sequel to the much more critically acclaimed 1967 In the Heat of the Night starring Academy Award winners Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. Mind you both the cinematography and musical score are top notch, but where In the Heat of the Night rose to fame bringing racial tension to reality through strong acting performances, this film, ...Tick...Tick...Tick... leaves me with an empty feeling of just another film trying to piggyback off the established fame and success of another racially toned film. Similar films such as "Billy Jack", "Return to Macon County Line" and of course, "In the Heat of the Night" allowed their audiences to feel the cruelty of either racial tension and/or law versus disorder, of their townsfolk and their local small town police station. Jim Brown did his best to carry this movie alongside the versatile actor George Kennedy. (Who can forget George Kennedy's stellar performance as the prisoner named Dragline in Cool Hand Luke?) But a good film needs a good script and this film is not going to explode as the films' title may indicate. Instead it implodes, and instead of being suspenseful, I would have rather the title be delete...delete...delete.... The music score is a harmonized track that is more relevant to a film like Midnight Cowboy than to this film. Sorry Jim, you were good in 100 Rifles, even better in Ice Station Zebra, but ...Tick...Tick...Tick... stopped time completely 20 minutes in to the film and never really started for my taste. I give it a 3 out of 3 rating and another pass.

This film is hugely under rated and deserved a clutch of awards. "Racial tensions threaten to explode when a black man is elected sheriff of a small, racially divided town in the Deep South". The movie is set in a time when race almost defined a nation. And the picture captures the period brilliantly illustrating the culture, language and music of the era. There are stand out performances from George Kennedy-surely one of his finest- as the former sheriff coming to terms with unemployment and racism. The town mayor played by Frederic March, who gives a charismatic amusing performance. But the best of all and the one who steal the show is Clifton James who is apparently hostile to the new sheriff but events have a way of changing minds. Where he excels is his ability to convey his thoughts silently, a skill few actors possess. All the cast are convincing as is the ultimate theme and outcome of the story. Highly recommended: 8/10.

I disagree with an earlier post that criticized this film as not being very well made. Having grown up in the South, I felt that the film conveyed the ugliness of racism very well. I think that this was a very well made film. Jim Brown was excellent in the role of a newly elected black sheriff. This film showed a side to racism that most people outside of the South didn't see. I will agree with the previous reviewer on one point, though. Racism is, and was, a very ugly aspect to life in the South at the time that this film was made. While society has made many advances in stamping out racism, there is still much to be done.