Clash By Night (1952)

Broken and bruised by the way life has treated her, a woman (Barbara Stanwyck) returns to her childhood home in Monterey, California. When a simple fisherman (Paul Douglas) proposes marriage to her, she accepts although she doesn't love him but the promise of security and peace appeals to her. Based on the play by Clifford Odets (GOLDEN BOY) and directed by Fritz Lang (SCARLET STREET). This feverish melodrama with noir-ish trimmings is better than it has a right to be. The material is a bit obvious and its characters crudely written but between Lang's concise direction and excellent performances all the way down the line, it emerges as a solid piece of movie histrionics. Although written several years prior to A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, the similarities between the two stories are too evident to ignore. Stanwyck brings a weary pathos to her prodigal daughter, Douglas has a sweetness that makes his uncomplicated hulk of a fisherman appealing while Robert Ryan as Douglas's crude and bitter pal brings a sexual charge that ignites the betrayal of a wife and friend. With Marilyn Monroe (very good), Keith Andes and J. Carrol Naish.