...tick...tick...tick...


1h 40m 1970
...tick...tick...tick...

Brief Synopsis

A black sheriff's arrival sets off racial fireworks in a small southern town.

Film Details

MPAA Rating
Genre
Drama
Comedy
Release Date
Jan 1970
Premiere Information
Philadelphia opening: 21 Jan 1970
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 40m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Metrocolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
2.35 : 1

Synopsis

Jim Price is elected the first black sheriff of Colusa County, Mississippi, with the help of northern organizers. A hotbed of racial prejudice, Colusa has a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Retiring incumbent John Little, though he believes he was fairly defeated, offers Price no help on the new sheriff's first day. Price is greeted only by Mayor Parks, a local patriarch who admonishes Price to consult him before appealing for outside help in solving problems. Price shows his desire for moderation when he refuses to deputize a black militant. Price's first arrest, on a charge of manslaughter, is John Braddock, the son of an influential white. Driving while drunk, Braddock caused the death of a child in an automobile accident. That night Price's deputy Bradford Wilkes is beaten by a group led by Little's former deputy Bengy Springer, who had vowed to kill Price. Price next arrests black George Harley for raping a teenaged girl, and in doing so he risks alienating the black community that unanimously elected him. Braddock, Sr., arrives in Colusa and angrily demands that Price release his son, whose bail is set at $25,000. Braddock threatens to take the boy by force, whereupon Little arrives and accepts the deputy's badge. Braddock departs, but Price, knowing that he will return with a mob, makes an unsuccessful request of the mayor to call in Federal troops. As the Braddock mob approaches Colusa, Price and Little enter Junior's Place, a bar for whites only, to look for deputies. Failing to recruit any, Price and Little set up a barricade at the edge of town. Just as Braddock's men approach, however, the whites from Junior's join the sheriff and disperse the mob.

Videos

Movie Clip

...tick...tick...tick... (1970) -- (Movie Clip) Set Yourself Free Introduction of the Glaser Brothers theme song (Set Yourself Free, by Willis Hoover), as we’ve learned that Mississippi sheriff Little (George Kennedy) lost the election to a black man (Jim Brown), and manages his disgruntled deputies (Don Stroud, Mills Watson), early in director Ralph Nelson’s …tick…tick…tick…, 1970.
...tick...tick...tick... (1970) -- (Movie Clip) It's About That Time First scene for newly elected Mississippi sheriff Jim Price (Jim Brown), at home with brother Fred (Leonard Smith) and wife Mary (Janet MacLachlan) in director Ralph Nelson's ...tick...tick...tick..., 1970.
...tick...tick...tick... (1970) -- (Movie Clip) There's A Rumor Goin' Round Opening director Ralph Nelson’s uneven and sometimes brilliant feature from James Lee Barrett’s original screenplay, menacing Dub Taylor as Junior fries an egg and George Kennedy begins his striking performance as Mississippi sheriff John Little, in …tick…tick…tick…, 1970, starring Jim Brown.
...tick...tick...tick... (1970) -- (Movie Clip) What If You Can't? Director Ralph Nelson inserts a song from the soundtrack by country music pioneers The Glaser Brothers, as new Mississippi sheriff Jim Price (Jim Brown) arrives to take over, predecessor Little (George Kennedy), deputies (Don Stroud, Mills Watson) and mayor Parks (Fredric March) receiving, in ...tick...tick...tick..., 1970.
...tick...tick...tick... (1970) -- (Movie Clip) About Your Complexion Intriguing fare as newly-ousted Mississippi sheriff Little (George Kennedy) and wife Julia (Lynn Carlin) try to laugh, then replacement Price (Jim Brown) at work with town drunk (Roy Glenn), in director Ralph Nelson's ...tick...tick...tick..., 1970.
...tick...tick...tick... (1970) -- (Movie Clip) He's Kind Of Off-White Fredric March as Mississippi Mayor Jefferson Parks with new sheriff Price (Jim Brown), who’s considering seeking federal support because he’s holding a white murder suspect, suggests he get help from the (white) former sheriff, then has a candid talk with his longtime butler (Ernest Anderson), in Ralph Nelson’s …tick…tick…tick…, 1970.

Trailer

Hosted Intro

Film Details

MPAA Rating
Genre
Drama
Comedy
Release Date
Jan 1970
Premiere Information
Philadelphia opening: 21 Jan 1970
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 40m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Metrocolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
2.35 : 1

Articles

...tick...tick...tick


Racial tensions become a powder keg waiting to go off in the 1970 MGM film ...Tick... Tick... Tick. A newly elected black sheriff (Jim Brown) in a small southern town faces a difficult transfer of power with the help of a retiring lawman (George Kennedy) and the town's mayor (Fredric March). The new sheriff's authority is soon put to the test when he arrests the son of a wealthy white businessman for a drunk driving accident that killed a small child.

...Tick...Tick...Tick followed the wave of race movies in the late 60's and early 70's epitomized by such films as Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night (both 1967). An interesting product of its era, ...Tick...Tick...Tick offered new opportunities to an emerging group of black actors like football-player-turned-actor Jim Brown as well as screen veterans like two-time Academy Award winner Fredric March.

Without a doubt, ...Tick...Tick...Tick is one of George Kennedy's finest performances. As a public official who has just been replaced by a man of less experience, Kennedy generates enormous sympathy for his plight. Battling self-pity and enduring the insults of his former constituents, Kennedy puts aside his own insecurities and follows the moral dictates of his conscience. It's one of the few roles where Kennedy is allowed to explore a character who is demoralized, socially awkward, and even foolish at times.

The other key roles are also well cast. Jim Brown, who had previously appeared with Kennedy in The Dirty Dozen (1967), was born in Georgia and raised on Long Island. He attended Syracuse University where he was recruited to play for the Cleveland Browns in 1957. During his years in the NFL, Brown was named Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year and eventually inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. He made his film debut while still with the Browns in 1963's Rio Conchos. Other notable roles would follow, including turns in Ice Station Zebra (1968) and 100 Rifles (1969). Most recently Brown combined his two careers appearing as a football coach in Any Given Sunday (1999).

Fredric March had a long and well respected career behind him by the time ...Tick...Tick...Tick came along. March's career began in the 20's with movies like The Wild Party (1929). Though he initially set out to become a banker, March made his way in Hollywood quickly, receiving his first Academy Award nomination in 1930 for The Royal Family of Broadway and winning his first Best Actor Oscar® the next year for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. ...Tick...Tick...Tick would be March's second to last film. His last film, The Iceman Cometh ended his forty plus years career in 1973.

Director: Ralph Nelson
Producer: James Lee Barrett, Ralph Nelson
Screenplay: James Lee Barrett
Cinematography: Loyal Griggs
Art Direction: George W. Davis, William Glasgow
Music: Jerry Styner
Cast: Jim Brown (Jimmy Prince), George Kennedy (John Little), Fredric March (Mayor Jeff Parks), Lynn Carlin (Julia Little), Don Stroud (Bengy Springer), Clifton James (O.J. Rankin).
C-97m. Letterboxed.

by Stephanie Thames
...Tick...tick...tick

...tick...tick...tick

Racial tensions become a powder keg waiting to go off in the 1970 MGM film ...Tick... Tick... Tick. A newly elected black sheriff (Jim Brown) in a small southern town faces a difficult transfer of power with the help of a retiring lawman (George Kennedy) and the town's mayor (Fredric March). The new sheriff's authority is soon put to the test when he arrests the son of a wealthy white businessman for a drunk driving accident that killed a small child. ...Tick...Tick...Tick followed the wave of race movies in the late 60's and early 70's epitomized by such films as Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night (both 1967). An interesting product of its era, ...Tick...Tick...Tick offered new opportunities to an emerging group of black actors like football-player-turned-actor Jim Brown as well as screen veterans like two-time Academy Award winner Fredric March. Without a doubt, ...Tick...Tick...Tick is one of George Kennedy's finest performances. As a public official who has just been replaced by a man of less experience, Kennedy generates enormous sympathy for his plight. Battling self-pity and enduring the insults of his former constituents, Kennedy puts aside his own insecurities and follows the moral dictates of his conscience. It's one of the few roles where Kennedy is allowed to explore a character who is demoralized, socially awkward, and even foolish at times. The other key roles are also well cast. Jim Brown, who had previously appeared with Kennedy in The Dirty Dozen (1967), was born in Georgia and raised on Long Island. He attended Syracuse University where he was recruited to play for the Cleveland Browns in 1957. During his years in the NFL, Brown was named Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year and eventually inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. He made his film debut while still with the Browns in 1963's Rio Conchos. Other notable roles would follow, including turns in Ice Station Zebra (1968) and 100 Rifles (1969). Most recently Brown combined his two careers appearing as a football coach in Any Given Sunday (1999). Fredric March had a long and well respected career behind him by the time ...Tick...Tick...Tick came along. March's career began in the 20's with movies like The Wild Party (1929). Though he initially set out to become a banker, March made his way in Hollywood quickly, receiving his first Academy Award nomination in 1930 for The Royal Family of Broadway and winning his first Best Actor Oscar® the next year for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. ...Tick...Tick...Tick would be March's second to last film. His last film, The Iceman Cometh ended his forty plus years career in 1973. Director: Ralph Nelson Producer: James Lee Barrett, Ralph Nelson Screenplay: James Lee Barrett Cinematography: Loyal Griggs Art Direction: George W. Davis, William Glasgow Music: Jerry Styner Cast: Jim Brown (Jimmy Prince), George Kennedy (John Little), Fredric March (Mayor Jeff Parks), Lynn Carlin (Julia Little), Don Stroud (Bengy Springer), Clifton James (O.J. Rankin). C-97m. Letterboxed. by Stephanie Thames

Quotes

Trivia

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States January 1970

Released in United States Winter January 1970

Panavision widescreen

c Metrocolor

8703 feet

rtg BBFC A

rtg MPAA G

Released in United States January 1970

Released in United States Winter January 1970