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Clash by Night (1963 film)

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Clash by Night
Directed byMontgomery Tully
Screenplay byMontgomery Tully
Maurice J. Wilson
Based onClash by Night
1962 novel
by Rupert Croft-Cooke
Produced byMaurice J. Wilson
StarringTerence Longdon
Jennifer Jayne
Harry Fowler
Peter Sallis
CinematographyGeoffrey Faithfull
Edited byMaurice Rootes
Music byJohn Veale
Production
company
Eternal Films
Distributed byGrand National Pictures
Release date
  • 1963 (1963)
Running time
74 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

For the 1952 Fritz Lang film of the same name see Clash by Night.

Clash by Night (US title: Escape by Night) is a 1963 British second feature ('B')[1] crime thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Terence Longdon, Jennifer Jayne and Harry Fowler.[2] The screenplay was by Tully and Maurice J. Wilson based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Rupert Croft-Cooke.[citation needed]

Plot

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A bus transporting criminals from court to prison is held up by crooks who rescue one of their gang. The bus is driven to a deserted farm and the other occupants of the bus are locked in a barn. To give the gang leader plenty of time to escape, he tells everyone – two prison officers, the driver and five prisoners – that the barn has been doused in petrol, and that two gang members will stay behind outside to guard it, and will set fire to the straw-filled building if anyone tries to escape. The prisoners and officers start to interact, but soon find they may be in danger from yet another source.

Cast

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Critical reception

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Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Despite the coincidences on which so much of the story depends, this is a fairly entertaining thriller, briskly developed and with well-written dialogue."[3]

Variety wrote: "Although too weak to stand on its own, the oft-told tale of human crosstypes found in an assortment of escaped convicts comes off fairly well thanks to several good performances. Tight budget has meant tight production and it shows. ... Director Montgomery Tully, unable to provide much room for his cast to swing, has chosen to stress characterizations rather than action. ... Technical credits are only fair except barn-burning which is very ably presented and provides most of film's action."[4]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "The only interesting thing about this bargain-basement tale of escaped prisoners is the sight of Peter Sallis gleefully torching a barn that has already been doused in paraffin."[5]

References

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  1. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ^ "Clash by Night". British Film Institute. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Clash by Night". Monthly Film Bulletin. 32 (372): 24. 1 January 1965.
  4. ^ "Clash by Night". Variety. 238 (2): 6. 3 March 1965 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 183. ISBN 9780992936440.
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