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

...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 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 can't rate it a 10 because of the music, the music did not go with the movie, happy go lucky in a racially tense movie, didn't make any scence to me, I guess when I first saw it, I didn't mind the music back then but now the music is stupid

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

...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.