Clash by Night (1952)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Clifford Odets (play)
Alfred Hayes (writer)

Release Date:

4 August 1952 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

Livin' in my house! Lovin' another man! Is that what you call bein' honest? That's just givin' it a nice name!

Plot:

Mae Doyle comes back to her hometown a cynical woman. Her brother Joe fears that his love, fish cannery worker Peggy...

Plot Keywords:

Fishing | Loveless Marriage | Adultery | Beautiful Woman | Based On Play

Cast

Barbara Stanwyck	...	Mae Doyle D'Amato
Paul Douglas	...	Jerry D'Amato
Robert Ryan	...	Earl Pfeiffer
Marilyn Monroe	...	Peggy
J. Carrol Naish	...	Uncle Vince
Keith Andes	...	Joe Doyle
Silvio Minciotti	...	Papa D'Amato
Tony Martin	...	Singer of 'I Hear a Rhapsody' (voice)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #15599) | UK:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Monterey, California, USA

Company:

Wald/Krasna Productions

Quotes:

[after watching the movie, Mae and Jerry are visiting earl in the projection booth]
Earl Pfeiffer: Like the show?
Mae Doyle D'Amato: She's beautiful.
Earl Pfeiffer: Who? That celluloid angel you just saw? They oughta cut her up a little bit - she'd look more interesting.
Jerry D'Amato: Cut her up?
Earl Pfeiffer: Didn't you ever wanna cut up a beautiful dame?
Jerry D'Amato: No.
Earl Pfeiffer: Jeremiah, you're a simple man.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Biography: Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Don't Cry

Interesting characters and setting...Stanwyck, Douglas and Ryan are terrific...

CLASH BY NIGHT is a melodrama that betrays its stageplay origins with some artful but sometimes arty dialogue that attempts to get us beneath the skin of its three main characters--and occasionally does. But it's a tribute to the acting skill of Stanwyck, Paul Douglas and Robert Ryan that their characters come alive with all their flaws and longings exposed.

Barbara is excellent as a woman who returns to a fishing village after a long time away, a bitter, defeated woman still trying to find a niche for herself. Paul Douglas does a remarkably fine job as a good-hearted man, simplistic in nature, who latches onto her only to have her betray him with the lusty Robert Ryan. Lookers on include two very interesting performers--Keith Andes and Marilyn Monroe (on her way up). Andes breathes life into the role of Barbara's disgruntled brother and should have been groomed for stardom--he had the looks and appeal of a major star.

A somewhat downbeat ending resolves the conflict--but along the way there are some very high-strung moments from Stanwyck that she plays to perfection. Marilyn Monroe demonstrates talent in a minor role.

A bit talky and stagebound in some scenes--but an interesting melodrama thanks mainly to the gripping performances of Stanwyck, Douglas and Ryan. Ryan would have made a great Stanley Kowalski in 'Streetcar' based on his drunk scene in this one. He can play a brute about as well as anyone and here he's quite an actor, matching Stanwyck's intense performance with a sturdy one of his own.