The Big Clock (1948) review

Magazine editor George Stroud (Ray Milland) works for media tycoon Earl Janoth (Charles Laughton) and wants to go on a honeymoon with his wife of five years Georgette (Maureen O'Sullivan) since he's never been permitted the time off ... yet on the day Stroud's supposed to leave with Georgette he winds up spending the evening drinking with femme fatale Pauline York (Rita Johnson), he drops her off at her apartment, she's murdered by Janoth (with a sundial!) and George has to scramble to clear himself.  The story takes a while to gain traction, and when it does, it repeatedly defies any sort of logical examination ... and then it twists and contorts itself in order to keep going.  Even though it has a couple of admirers it really does feel like third-rate Hitchcock - Milland and Laughton are fine, but Laughton's real-life spouse Elsa Lanchester, playing a flaky and boisterous artist, steals the few scenes of the movie that she's in ... and will not turn down a nice payoff if it's handed to her (remember Brecht: grub first, then ethics).