Jerry seems like a decent person, but he’s not quite what you’re looking for. Clash by Night is Fritz Lang’s direction, with a screenplay adaptation by Alfred Hayes from a play by Clifford Odets. The cast includes Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan and Marilyn Monroe. Roy Webb composed the music, and Nicholas Musuraca handled the cinematography. It's a story about awkward emotions, disappointments, and poor choices that unfold in a California fishing town. Essentially, it follows Stanwyck as Mae Doyle who goes back to her hometown of Menterey, Calif. She’s unhappy and marries Jerry D’Amato (Douglas), a kind but not particularly intelligent man, despite both of them knowing it's probably a mistake. With Mae feeling strangely drawn to Earl (Ryan), Jerry’s friend who dislikes women, and Joe (Andes), her brother, worrying that his sister Peggy (Monroe) will be negatively influenced by Mae’s unhappiness, the situation is full of character flaws. To me, it feels very theatrical and a bit too dramatic, which is disappointing considering how well-suited the play's themes seemed for Fritz Lang to work with. It isn’t terrible or a failure (like the original play), it just leans too much into melodrama to truly explore the story's central ideas. On the other hand, aside from Douglas' over-the-top acting, the performances are generally excellent. You might not connect with these characters, but you will be very invested in what happens to them all. The dialogue is a strong point, full of sharp remarks and memorable phrases, and while Musuraca isn’t at his best visually, there’s still enough atmospheric photography—especially when the story takes place at the docks—to create a mood. Sadly, the sets don't look real, and the ending feels unconvincing and underwhelming. It’s just above average work and not among the best in the filmographies of Lang, Ryan or Stanwyck, but it does show the potential Marilyn Monroe had. If she’d only been guided by people with vision. It’s worth watching for Monroe's lively performance alone. 6/10

Source on TMDB