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Clash By Night (1952)

Director: Fritz Lang

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2 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Clifford Odets' original play was a hoary item of Broadway neo-realism in the Arthur Miller vein: a 'mature' study of a cynical woman's adultery with an equally cynical man. Lang and his producer Jerry Wald transposed the setting from Staten Island to a small fishing village, and had the brilliant idea of grounding the characters in a documentary on the community industry, giving them a substance never intrinsic in the script. What follows is a very Langian picture of the dangerous undercurrents in emotional relationships, excellently acted by the three principals, interestingly counterpointed by Marilyn Monroe (in her first major role) and Keith Andes as uninhibited young lovers.

Author: TR

Time Out Film Guide


User reviews of this film

  • ram said...
    Posted on Apr 18 2009 11:13 If a remake of this film would be done this day, I'm sure the sex scenes in it would be elaborated like those of The Postman Always Rings Twice. But back in the 50s the sexually-charged scenes were powerful enough to leave something to the imagination of the viewers. Marilyn Monroe was just a kid then but she certainly packs a wallop as a scene-stealer--truly an emerging sex symbol of the era. The three principal actors were simply very convincing.
    Report as inappropriate
  • ram said...
    Posted on Apr 18 2009 11:02 If a remake of this film would be done this day, I'm sure the sex scenes in it would be elaborated like those of The Postman Always Rings Twice. But back in the 50s the emotion-filled scenes were powerful enough to leave something to the imagination of the viewers. Marilyn Monroe was just a kid then but she certainly packs a wallop as a scene-stealer--truly an emerging sex symbol of the era. The three principal actors were simply very convincing.
    Report as inappropriate

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