The Big Clock

The Big Clock was directed by John Farrow, an Australian filmmaker who was working under contract at Paramount Pictures. Farrow, who was the father of actress Mia Farrow, directed the film with a tight, gripping pace. He won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay for "Around the World in 80 Days" later in his career.

The film stars Ray Milland as George Stroud, an ambitious magazine editor who finds himself trapped in a complex murder investigation. Milland was fresh off his Academy Award-winning performance in Billy Wilder's "The Lost Weekend." The supporting cast features classic noir staples like Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Sullivan.

The story follows George Stroud, a publishing executive who is tasked by his tyrannical boss to investigate a murder, not realizing he is actually the prime suspect. He must simultaneously run the magazine's murder investigation while planting false clues to throw his own investigative team off his trail. The tension builds as the net closes in around him within the massive publishing building.

Yes, the 1948 film is an adaptation of a 1946 novel of the same name written by Kenneth Fearing. Fearing was a prominent poet and novelist, and his book provided the sharp, cynical foundation for the film's screenplay. The novel is still highly regarded today as a classic piece of mid-century noir fiction.