The Big Clock

The Big Clock is a 1946 novel by Kenneth Fearing. Published by Harcourt Brace, the thriller was Fearing's fourth novel, following three for Random House (The Hospital, Dagger of the Mind, Clark Gifford's Body) and five collections of poetry. The story, which first appeared in abridged form in The American Magazine (October 1946) as "The Judas Picture", was adapted for three films: The Big Clock (1948) starring Ray Milland, Police Python 357 (1976) starring Yves Montand, and No Way Out (1987) starring Kevin Costner. Plot The novel's innovative structure is presented from the point-of-view of seven different characters. Each of the 19 chapters adopts the perspective of a single character. The first five chapters are told by George Stroud, who works for a New York magazine publisher not unlike Time-Life. Stroud is a borderline alcoholic and serial adulterer. His latest affair is with Pauline, who is also the girlfriend of his boss, Earl Janoth. After a weekend together in upstate New York, George and Pauline spend a leisurely evening in Manhattaneating dinner, bar-hopping, and browsing antique stores. George is a collector of the artist Louise Patterson and finds one of her works in shabby condition in an antique store. He outbids another customer for it. (The other customer turns out to be Patterson herself.) Later, George leaves Pauline at a corner near her Manhattan apartment. He watches her approach the entrance and sees Earl emerge from a limousine and enter the building with her. Earl sees George observing him, but, crucially, he cannot make him out in the shadows.