...tick...tick...tick...
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Ralph Nelson
Jim Brown
George Kennedy
Fredric March
Lynn Carlin
Don Stroud
Film Details
Technical Specs
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.
Director
Ralph Nelson
Cast
Jim Brown
George Kennedy
Fredric March
Lynn Carlin
Don Stroud
Janet Maclachlan
Richard Elkins
Clifton James
Bob Random
Mills Watson
Bernie Casey
Anthony James
Dub Taylor
Ernest Anderson
Karl Swenson
Barry Cahill
Ann Whitfield
Bill Walker
Dan Frazer
Leonard O. Smith
Renny Roker
Roy Glenn
George Cisar
Paulene Myers
Dino Washington
Calvin Brown
Beverly Taylor
Crew
Newt Arnold
James Lee Barrett
James Lee Barrett
Alex Beaton
Robert R. Benton
Jack Clement
Evelyn Coffey
Mike Curb
George W. Davis
William S. Gilmore Jr.
William S. Gilmore Jr.
Chuck Glaser
Jim Glaser
William Glasgow
Michael Glick
Don Greenwood Jr.
Loyal Griggs
John Hartford
Willis Hoover
Franklin Milton
Leonard Murphy
Ralph Nelson
Arthur Owens
Jimmy Payne
Jerry Styner
William Tuttle
Bruce Wright
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Articles
...tick...tick...tick
...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
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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