``No Way Out'' Three movies about Kenneth Fearing's novel ``The Clock''

Based on the novel “The Clock” by Kenneth Fearing

There is a novel that is the original story for ``No Way Out''. It was one of the pulp novels that proletarian poet Kenneth Fearing began writing around 1939, and was published in 1946 as ` `The Great Clock .'' However, the setting of this novel is not the Pentagon, but a publishing company. The story is about the main character, the editor-in-chief of a magazine, who becomes deeply involved with the president's mistress. Although the setting and time are different, the setting of a dangerous love triangle is the same as ``No Way Out.'' However, the main thrust of this story is not a romantic drama about infidelity or unfaithful relationships. This is because the story takes a sudden turn around one-third of the way through.

Bryce, the Secretary of Defense, finds out that Susan has a girlfriend and gets into an argument with her. His jealousy grows and he accidentally kills her. Scott (Will Patton), Farrell's old friend and Bryce's subordinate, plans to frame Susan's boyfriend as the culprit in order to cover up the incident. Farrell is ordered to find the culprit. In other words, the main character, Farrell, is gradually `` No Way Out '' by the absurdity of being tasked with finding evidence that he is the Notorious , while being branded as the culprit.

“No Way Out” (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Kenneth Fearing's novel ``The Clock'' was made into a movie in 1948, starring Ray Milland. John Farrow, who directed " The Big Clock " (1948), is from Australia. Also, Roger Donaldson from "No Way Out" is from New Zealand. The two directors who adapted the novel ``The Big Clock'' into a film are not from the United States, but have a strange connection in that they came to Hollywood from Oceania. By the way, John Farrow is married to Maureen O'Sullivan, who played Ray Milland's wife in The Big Clock (they were already a couple at the time of filming). Their daughter, Mia Farrow, grew up to be a famous actress.

The sudden developments in ``No Way Out'' are based on the novel ``The Great Clock,'' but there is also a movie based on this setting. That is the French movie ` `POLICE PYTHSON 357 '' (76) starring Yves Montand. In the case of this movie, the young woman the main character, a detective, loves is the mistress of the police chief. The setting is very similar to ``The Big Clock,'' in which the main character, a detective, is enraged by her breakup and kills his mistress, and in order to cover it up, she is assigned to investigate the case without knowing that she was cheating on him. By the way, there are some foreign literature that treats ``Midnight Detective'' as a remake, but Kenneth Fearing's name is not mentioned in the opening or end credits.

However, in the same way that ``No Way Out time of 114 minutes and the story takes a sudden turn when the lover is killed around 46 minutes into the movie, ``The Big Clock'' has a running time of 95 minutes. Then, around 35 minutes into the movie, even in ``Midnight Detective,'' which has a running length of 118 minutes, the story takes a sharp turn around 38 minutes into the movie. In other words, they have one thing in common: a scene in which the lover is killed about a third of the way through the story. What is important is that while all three works pretend to be romantic dramas, they are actually full of foreshadowing for what will happen in the second half. Props and supporting characters that seem meaningless at first glance become important in the second half. What makes this clever production possible is the director's belief in the audience's memory.

It is also interesting to note that each actor who plays Scott, played by Will Patton, has a cold and unique personality in common. Comparing the three books ``No Way Out'', ``Midnight Detective'', and ``The Big Clock'', the meaning of ``resisting great power'' created by the differences in the organizations of the Department of Defense, the police, and the publishing company is subtly different. It can also be pointed out that The difference in what the protagonist is trying to protect is also the reason for the suspense of having difficulty finding that person.

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