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

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

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.

Film-critic Leonard Maltin called this "a poor man's In the Heat of the Night", which sounds like an easy way to dismiss a movie that is actually quite good on it's own terms, and not really anywhere close "In the Heat of the Night" story-wise (except for the part of white southerners learning to respect a black man).

In my opinion, Jim Brown is one of the coolest athletes-turned-actors of his generation. Sure, he's no Sidney Poitier, but who is? Here he's given one of the best parts of his career, and he even gets great support from a number of wonderful actors, notably the legendary Fredric March, who chews the scenery as a quarrelsome old mayor and George Kennedy as the former sheriff (and I guess this movie's equivalent to Rod Steiger if Leonard Maltin had a say in it). Don Stroud (whatever happened to his career?) is creepy as a racist ex-deputy and any fan of Clifton James should get a kick out of his part, as a leading klan-member who in the end turns out to be one of the main characters in the plot, and not such a bad guy after all.

A surprisingly engaging movie, at times quite gripping, with inspired direction by Ralph Nelson and a show of force from a first-rate cast.

7.5/10

This was one of my most memorable movies from when I was a kid. It seems to be about real people, who move from humor to fierce tension back to humor again. Northern organizers help a southern black man get elected sheriff in a small town (which feels like a lot of small towns down south) in the 60's, and he gets to deal with the reality of being elected. The movie sets up quite a few stereotypical characters; for some of them, it knocks down the stereotype, and then for others it lets it stand. People (black and white) in the town have to choose between their traditions, their comfort, and their values, as tensions rise when the new sheriff tries to do his job.

It's not high drama, but it's real.

...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.