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

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 10

6:00 PM

TCM

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

Not Really A Noir, But A Decent Drama With A Different Setting

Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan and Marilyn Monore: wow, not a bad leading foursome of actors! I bought this because it was labeled a film noir, and I am always willing to give them a chance. Plus, with this cast, it sounded good. It turned out to be only fair because it was more of a soap opera than a noir. I guess the presence of some amoral people and a lot of wise-cracking lines made it be considered "noir."

The "amoral" people were played by Stanwyck and Ryan, of course.....who else? They are effective in those roles, too, but they should be since those two fine actors played those roles on numerous occasions. Douglas plays the simpleton good guy who gets shafted by his wife Stanwyck who has an affair with Ryan.

Monroe and her boyfriend (played by Keith Andes) have a smaller role but are just as fascinating a couple, of not ore so than the leads. The final third of this movie didn't match up the first two-thirds or this would be rated at least a 9 simply because of the great dialog in that first hour. There were so many good lines I couldn't count them all. I just wish it had stayed that way all the way thorough.

The fishing docks of San Francisco certainly was a different site, too, for a noir. To me, this should be simply classified as a "drama."