The Clock (1945) Directed by Vincente Minnelli, is a little film from a big studio. Judy Garland had been spirited to fame by a cyclone in 1939. Robert Walker had most recently starred in Since You Went Away playing a similar character. He was still fresh in everyone's hearts and minds. Vincente Minnelli was a "big" director more known for musicals and such other over-the-top entertainment. Many of his films, (especially those with Judy Garland) were big, splashy affairs with a lot of technicolor and a little corn. But in The Clock, all the elements come together in such a quiet, understated sort of way that it lends a unique intimacy and timelessness to the romantic movie genre.
Alice Mayberry (Garland) and CPL. Joe Allen (Walker)"meet cute" in the Big Apple in Penn Station. He's a soldier on a short leave and she's a secretary coming back from the country. They meet when he accidentally damages her shoe. If any other actor and actress of that era would have tried an introduction like that, it would have come off as terribly trite and hokey. But Judy and Robert manage to make it look real and (almost) adlibbed. Its this off-hand, almost careless kind of acting that sets this movie apart from its contemporaries. We wouldn't see this kind of acting until Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift came on the scene, in the next decade. Robert Walker was, by all accounts, a very fragile sort of person, similar in temperament to the aforementioned Mr. Clift. That fragility is translated into a performance that transcends the usual romantic lead performance. Judy Garland, of course, had her own built-in time bomb composed of rampant insecurity and little-girl sensibiltiies. Their chemistry subtly underscores their roles. Alice is at first very cautious and careful to keep a "disinterested" attitude toward Joe when she first meets him. She is after all, a very sensible girl, as her friend and roommate Helen is quick to point out early in the first reel.
