Clash by Night (1952)

Mae Doyle comes back to her hometown a cynical woman. Her brother Joe fears that his love, fish cannery worker Peggy, may wind up like Mae. Mae marries Jerry and has a baby; she is happy but restless, drawn to Jerry's friend Earl.

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Alfred Hayes (screenplay), Clifford Odets (play)

Stars:

Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, Paul Douglas

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Mae Doyle D'Amato
Paul Douglas	...	Jerry D'Amato
Robert Ryan	...	Earl Pfeiffer
Marilyn Monroe	...	Peggy
J. Carrol Naish	...	Uncle Vince
Silvio Minciotti	...	Papa D'Amato
Keith Andes	...	Joe Doyle

Storyline

The bitter and cynical Mae Doyle returns to the fishing village where she was raised after deceptive loves and life in New York. She meets her brother, the fisherman Joe Doyle, and he lodges her in his home. Mae is courted by Jerry D'Amato, a good and naive man that owns the boat where Joe works, and he introduces his brutal friend Earl Pfeiffer, who works as theater's projectionist and is cheated by his wife. She does not like Earl and his jokes, but Jerry considers him his friend and they frequently see each other. Mae decides to accept the proposal of Jerry and they get married and one year later they have a baby girl. When the wife of Earl leaves him, he becomes depressed and Mae, who is bored with her loveless marriage, has an affair with him.

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Plot Keywords:

loveless marriage | anger | rumor | gossip | pier | 

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Taglines:

Beautifully Outspoken!

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

6 June 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vor dem neuen Tag

Filming Locations:

Monterey, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures,Wald/Krasna Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Mae and Jerry are in the movies, Mae tells him "this is where we came in" and they walk out. It was common before the 1960s for viewers to walk in during a picture, watch it till the end and then wait for the picture to play again and leave when it gets to the part they came into the theater.

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Goofs

When Earl the projectionist is rewinding the recently run roll of film (around 10 minute mark), he uses a manual crank re-winder from reel to reel. One of the reels is wrong because he is putting the outer film side on the inside of the new reel.

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Quotes

Mae Doyle D'Amato: What do you want, Joe, my life's history? Here it is in four words: big ideas, small results.

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Crazy Credits

and introducing Keith Andes

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Connections

Featured in The Love Goddesses (1965)

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Soundtracks

Ricca Ricca
(uncredited)
Traditional Arranged by Roy Webb

User Reviews

Bruising Drama

This Fritz Lang film has been largely ignored though in it's way it is as psychologically astute as many of his better known works such as "Scarlett Street". In transposing a Clifford Odets play from New York to a Californian fishing community some of the more florid dialogue seems unnaturally heightened but the performances of the three principals (Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan and particularly Paul Douglas) are stunning and the emotional core of the film is so strong that an audience can feel bruised by what's on screen. The blue collar milieu is perfectly evoked, the black-and-white cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca is first-rate and even the score seems understated, adding to, rather than detracting from the dramatic effect. Essential viewing.