Clash by Night
Director: Fritz Lang
Year Released: 1952
Rating: 1.5
Clifford Odets' screenplay bears very close resemblance to a certain Tennessee Williams play - A Streetcar Named Desire - as one-time runaround Barbara Stanwyck decides it's time to settle down with a doltish man and bear children. Robert Ryan - the picture's only saving grace - represents the "wild side" of life (he doesn't want to work!) and lures Barbara away. Never bought it for a second - anyone could see the marriage would be troubled - and the story is stretched out far longer than it should. Not only is it simple-minded and obvious to the highest degree, it's also customarily topped with an all-too-easy ending. Stella?
