The Clock is a beautifully understated drama/romance, set during World War II, about a soldier (Robert Walker) on a two day leave, who meets, falls in love with, and decides to marry a young woman (Judy Garland) in the brief time that he has. Director Vincente Minnelli (The Bad and the Beautiful, Home from the Hill, The Cobweb) superbly catches the tentative edge of life, of grasping at what might be short-lived moments of happiness, during the war years and his movie provides Garland with one of her first substantial adult roles.