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IMDbPro

Clash by Night

  • 19521952
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
6.4K
YOUR RATING
Clash by Night (1952)
Trailer for this film-noir directed by Fritz Lang
Play trailer2:25
1 Video
48 Photos
  • Drama
  • Film-Noir
  • Romance
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... Read allMae 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.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.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
6.4K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Fritz Lang
  • Writers
    • Alfred Hayes(screen play)
    • Clifford Odets(stage play)
  • Stars
    • Barbara Stanwyck
    • Robert Ryan
    • Paul Douglas
Top credits
  • Director
    • Fritz Lang
  • Writers
    • Alfred Hayes(screen play)
    • Clifford Odets(stage play)
  • Stars
    • Barbara Stanwyck
    • Robert Ryan
    • Paul Douglas
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 101User reviews
    • 36Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Clash By Night
    Trailer 2:25
    Clash By Night

    Photos48

    Marilyn Monroe in Clash by Night (1952)
    Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Ryan in Clash by Night (1952)
    Barbara Stanwyck and Paul Douglas in Clash by Night (1952)
    Marilyn Monroe, Keith Andes, and Robert Ryan in Clash by Night (1952)
    Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, and Robert Ryan in Clash by Night (1952)
    Barbara Stanwyck and Paul Douglas in Clash by Night (1952)
    Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Ryan in Clash by Night (1952)
    "Clash By Night" M. Monroe & Keith Andes 1952 RKO
    M.Monroe "Clash By Night" © 1952
    M.Monroe "Clash By Night" © 1952
    Publicity still for "Clash By Night" 1952 Photo by Frank Powolny
    Publicity photo for "Clash By Night" 1952 Photo by Frank Powolny

    Top cast

    Edit
    Barbara Stanwyck
    Barbara Stanwyck
    • Mae Doyleas Mae Doyle
    Robert Ryan
    Robert Ryan
    • Earl Pfeifferas Earl Pfeiffer
    Paul Douglas
    Paul Douglas
    • Jerry D'Amatoas Jerry D'Amato
    Marilyn Monroe
    Marilyn Monroe
    • Peggyas Peggy
    J. Carrol Naish
    J. Carrol Naish
    • Uncle Vinceas Uncle Vince
    Silvio Minciotti
    • Papa D'Amatoas Papa D'Amato
    Keith Andes
    Keith Andes
    • Joe Doyleas Joe Doyle
    William Bailey
    William Bailey
    • Waiteras Waiter
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Baum
    • Restaurant Patronas Restaurant Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Dan Bernaducci
    • Guestas Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Albert Cavens
    • Restaurant Patronas Restaurant Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Dick Cherney
    • Fishermanas Fisherman
    • (uncredited)
    Charles Cirillo
    • Restaurant Patronas Restaurant Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Dick Coe
    • Guestas Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Irene Crosby
    • Guestas Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Russell Custer
    • Fishermanas Fisherman
    • (uncredited)
    Tony Dante
    • Fishermanas Fisherman
    • (uncredited)
    Roy Darmour
    • Manas Man
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Fritz Lang
    • Writers
      • Alfred Hayes(screen play)
      • Clifford Odets(stage play)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie was shot while Barbara Stanwyck was in the process of divorcing Robert Taylor. The movie also features the rising young star Marilyn Monroe. Barbara gives a good performance in one of her most memorable films. Despite her emotional devastation due to the divorce, the crew noted Stanwyck's lack of a diva tantrum. Fritz Lang later said, "She's fantastic, unbelievable, and I liked her tremendously. When Marilyn missed her lines - which she did constantly - Barbara never said a word."
    • Goofs
      During the second half of the film, there are numerous references made to oppressive heat. The temperature in Monterey rarely reaches the upper 70s.. From Google: "In Monterey, the summers are short, comfortable, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are cold, wet, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 44°F to 68°F and is rarely below 37°F or above 77°F."
    • Quotes

      Peggy: Weren't you ever in love, Mae?

      Mae Doyle: Once.

      Peggy: Where?

      Mae Doyle: Saint Paul. He was big too, like Jerry. I'll say one thing. He knew how to handle women.

      Peggy: Is that what you want from a man?

      Mae Doyle: Confidence! I want a man to give me confidence. Somebody to fight off the blizzards and floods! Somebody to beat off the world when it tries to swallow you up! Me and my ideas.

    • Crazy credits
      and introducing Keith Andes
    • Connections
      Edited into Les Amoureux du cinéma (1987)
    • Soundtracks
      I Hear a Rhapsody
      Sung by Tony Martin

      Written by George Fragos (uncredited), Jack Baker (uncredited) and Dick Gasparre (uncredited)

    User reviews101

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Animal eroticism
    Far from vintage Fritz Lang, but still enjoyable in its high-strung melodramatic antics, accentuated in a needlessly symbolic way by the raging of the sea and the clouding over of the sky.

    Tough girl Barbara Stanwyck returns to her hometown after ten years of being the mistress of a married man. "Home is where you come, when you run out of places", she says, characteristically". She meets and marries simple, goodhearted fisherman Paul Douglas, but is bored by ordinary married life: "Every day you get a little older, lonelier, stupider", and soon succumbs to her attraction to cynical, boozy movie projectionist Robert Ryan.

    The power of 'Clash by Night' lies not in its trite plot or in its overblown imagery, but in the no-nonsense acting of Stanwyck and Ryan, tough as nails but raw at the core. They have an animal eroticism together between them that sparkles like fireworks, but they are also, alas, quite self-pitying.

    Many of the bit parts are surprisingly unsavory, but then we also get the young Marilyn Monroe as the naive young girl who hopes to marry Stanwyck's hunky brother, played by Keith Andes, more often than not strutting his naked torso.
    helpful•31
    6
    • mik-19
    • Oct 3, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 6, 1952 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Vor dem neuen Tag
    • Filming locations
      • Monterey, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Wald/Krasna Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 45 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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