Clash by Night

Summary

1959 BBC Television production of Clash by Night by Clifford Odets.

Theatre play

Clash by Night by Clifford Odets (1906-1963) [more information]

Play synopsis

Clash by Night is a romantic triangle drama set on Staten Island, New York, in the summer of 1941. The title derives from Matthew Arnold’s poem Dover Beach (1867).

Production history

Premiered on Broadway in 1941.

Date of transmission

Tuesday 7 July 1959

Time

9.15-10.45pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

John Jacobs

Playwright

Clifford Odets (1906-1963)

Designer

Reece Pemberton

Cast

John Barrard	A Projectionist
Suzanne Finlay	Peggy Coffey
Paddy Joyce	A Waiter
Arnold Marlé	Jerry’s Father
Neil McCarthy	Joe Doyle
Patricia Neal	Mae Wilenski
Nehemiah Persoff	Jerry Wilenski
Sean Sullivan	Vincent Kress
Sam Wanamaker	Earl Pfeiffer

Additional details

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

America, as theme or setting; American drama

Print sources

Title

An African Epic (Newspaper review)

Author/creator

Maurice Richardson (Reviewer)

Reference

The Observer, 12 July 1959, p. 10

Title

Plot’s Awkward Gear Changes (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Times, 8 July 1959, p. 8

Title

Radio Times, 3 July 1959 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing on p. 11; article on p. 5