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Clash by Night

Play trailer Poster for Clash by Night 1952 1h 45m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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63% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
After being away for 10 years, Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyck) returns to her California hometown following an affair with a married politician, which came to an end when he died and his relatives sued for her inheritance. Mae begins dating Jerry (Paul Douglas), an amiable fisherman, while his bitter best friend, Earl (Robert Ryan), a cynic married to a burlesque dancer, finds himself attracted to her. Mae and Jerry marry, but soon she gets bored and starts an affair with just-divorced Earl.
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Clash by Night

Critics Reviews

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Variety Staff Variety 03/26/2009
Clifford Odets' Clash by Night, presented on Broadway over a decade earlier, reaches the screen in a rather aimless drama of lust and passion. Go to Full Review Dave Kehr Chicago Reader 02/09/2007
The Clifford Odets screenplay seems to have roused the realist in director Fritz Lang: the backwater atmosphere is as authentic as it is oppressive. Go to Full Review Tony Rayns Time Out 06/24/2006
A very Langian picture of the dangerous undercurrents in emotional relationships, excellently acted by the three principals. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 06/17/2023
2.5/4
Fairly engrossing until its weak-kneed and unconvincing conclusion. Go to Full Review Nell Dodson Russell Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder 12/16/2021
Clash by Night is the kind of dramatic corn that housewives sick of washing diapers and wiping noses will love because it will send them home to the old man with the feeling that if Stanwyck can put up with such a dope, so can they. Go to Full Review Tony Sloman Radio Times 10/15/2014
3/5
What is surprising is that this inexpensive RKO melodrama is from once revered migr director Fritz Lang, who fails to disguise the inherent dullness of the original material or to mask the obvious studio backdrops and poor matching front projection. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Dawn E Jul 11 This is my third time watching it on channel 13 " Noir to die for " on Thursday nights. Huge fan of Marilyn Monroe and Barbara Stanwyck. I enjoyed this film and the way it gets under your skin. It's realism and grittiness. The way it hammers home that not everything is roses and our passions can become stagnant like dead fish floating on the water. Really worth a watch. This is my third time watching it... so I guess that's a testament right there. See more Bill B 10/09/2024 Dull. I was drawn into watching this because of Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe and Fritz Lang. Turned it off before it ended; the characters alternated between obnoxious and boring. I had no interest to see their ultimate fate. See more Matthew R 09/18/2023 Barbara Stanwyck KILLS it, per usual! Marilyn Monroe is quite a standout in her supporting role! See more Steve D 06/24/2023 One of our greatest actresses meets one of our worst. Gives me whiplash but it is interesting. See more david f 09/13/2022 This movie threatened to become dark a few times when a drifter sister comes back to her small fishing-industry hometown, marries her brother's boss, a simple fisherman who's burdened with having to support his doddering father and alcoholic uncle, then gets flirty with her new husband's offensively strange film projectionist friend. Marilyn Monroe is beginning to shine here in a small role of the girlfriend of the brother who stayed in the small town while her sister went off for a while. At times the film is romantically torrid, at other times, quite conservative. The latter happens right at the Hollywood Happy Ending. See more 02/05/2022 The artistic Fritz Lang (directed Metropolis and M) directs the 1952 film Clash by Night starring Academy Award nominee Barbara Stanwyck. Sounds like a good movie but sadly I was left disappointed. Clash by Night was not that good because of the lazy writing in my opinion and honestly the movie would of been probably better if Fritz Lang took control of the screenplay. Is it one of the worst movies ever made? Definitely not. Is it one of the most disappointing films ever made (where one gave it high expectations before even seeing it)? Definitely is. I'm truly disappointed. See more Read all reviews
Clash by Night

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Cast & Crew

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Fritz Lang

Director

Barbara Stanwyck

Mae Doyle D'Amato

Paul Douglas

Jerry D'Amato

Robert Ryan

Earl Pfeiffer

Marilyn Monroe

Peggy

J. Carrol Naish

Uncle Vince

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Clash by Night

Clash by Night (1952) Clash by Night (1952) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis After being away for 10 years, Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyck) returns to her California hometown following an affair with a married politician, which came to an end when he died and his relatives sued for her inheritance. Mae begins dating Jerry (Paul Douglas), an amiable fisherman, while his bitter best friend, Earl (Robert Ryan), a cynic married to a burlesque dancer, finds himself attracted to her. Mae and Jerry marry, but soon she gets bored and starts an affair with just-divorced Earl.
Director
Fritz Lang
Producer
Harriet Parsons
Screenwriter
Alfred Hayes
Production Co
RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 45m
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