Clash by Night (1952)

World-weary Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyck) returns to her hometown, defeated by the past ten years. Now just wanting to be safe, she agrees to marry nice guy fisherman Jerry (Paul Douglas). Mae hates Jerry’s boorish, arrogant friend Earl (Robert Ryan), so predictably, they have an affair.

Marilyn Monroe plays the girlfriend of Mae’s little brother. On loan from 20th Century Fox, this was her first sizable role. Back-handed compliments aside, her performance earned her better roles. Old friend J. Carrol Naish played Uncle Vince. A very different role for him.

Commonly labeled film-noir, Clash by Night certainly has a noir title. It also has a noir cast and director, and the tone is fairly pessimistic, but It seems to just miss. Even TCM’s Eddie Muller seems to waffle on the subject.

Clash by Night is a domestic drama populated by fully flushed out characters. The setting feels very ‘lived in’, probably because it was based on a successful play. Robert Ryan performed in the play as Joe Doyle. Maybe not noir, but excellent performances make it an entertaining watch. AMRU 3.5.