Clash by Night

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

1952 1h 45m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 139

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An embittered woman seeks escape in marriage, only to fall for her husband’s best friend.

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

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Where to watch · US

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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) (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fritz Lang
Writers: Alfred Hayes
Languages: English, Italian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

74 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Amy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Barbara Stanwyck and Paul Douglas and Robert Ryan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Livin’ in my house! Lovin’ another man! Is that what you call bein’ honest? That’s just givin’ it a nice name!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0044502 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fritz Lang directs. Nicholas Musuraca behind the camera. Roy Webb scores. George Amy cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

174 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
3Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor George Amy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Barbara Stanwyck and Paul Douglas and Robert Ryan carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Livin’ in my house! Lovin’ another man! Is that what you call bein’ honest? That’s just givin’ it a nice name!".
8IMDB entry: tt0044502 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Original score: Roy Webb
Editing: George Amy
Makeup / hair: Larry Germain
Sound: Clem Portman
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Clash by Night (1952)

Also by

Fritz Lang

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-06-16
★ 6/10
Jerry's the salt of the earth, but he's not the right seasoning for you. Clash by Night is directed by Fritz Lang and adapted to screenplay by Alfred Hayes from the play written by Clifford Odets. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan and Marilyn Monroe. Music is by Roy Webb and cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca. Tis a tale of stilted raw passions, frustrations and wrong decisions that unfurl in a California seacoast fishing town. Essentialy it finds Stanwyck as Mae Doyle who returns to her home town fishing village of Menterey, Calif. She's bitter and unfullfilled and marries the amiable but not very bright Jerry D'Amato (Douglas) in spite of both their better judgements. With her being inexplicably drawn to Jery's woman hating friend, Earl (Ryan), and her brother Joe (Andes) fretting that his sister Peggy (Monroe) will be corrupted by Mae's bitterness, it's a hotbed of character fallibilities. To my mind It's all very stagy and a little too overwrought, and frustrating given that the themes within the play looked to be perfect for the great Fritz Lang. Not that it's either a stinker or a critical bomb (like the play itself), it isn't, it's just too soap opera to fully ignite the thematics at the core of the story. On the flip side, aside from Douglas' awful histrionic laden peformance, the acting is top notch. You may not care about these characters but you can't be anything but very involved and hang on to see what will happen to them all. Dialogue is a plus point, resplendent with barbs and choiceisms, while although the also great Musuraca is not in is chirascuro element, there's enough atmospheric photography - particularly when story plays out at the docks setting - to catch the eyes with mood compliance. Unfortunately the unconvicing sets are matched by the wholly unconvincing and disappointing finale. Just above average and lower tier fare on the CV's of Lang, Ryan and Stanwyck, it does however serve notice of what promise Monroe had. If only she could have been led the right way by genuine people. See this if only for Monroe's sprightly turn. 6/10

Production companies