THE CLAY PIGEON (1949) is a nifty little suspense thriller just released on DVD in the Warner Archive Film Noir Collection.
I first saw this film three years ago and enjoyed returning to it tonight. It's a lightning-fast tale which manages to pack a lot of plot and characterization into a scant 63 minutes.
Jan 31, 2014 - Bill Williams and Barbara Hale, The Clay Pigeon (1949). The Clay Pigeon is a film directed by Richard Fleischer with Bill Williams, Barbara Hale, Richard Quine, Richard Loo. Original title: The Clay Pigeon. Synopsis: Jim Fletcher, waking up from a coma, finds he is to be given a court martial for treason and charged with informing on fellow inmates in a Japanese prison camp during WWII. Title details and video sharing options. Now playing Clay Pigeon, The (1949) (Movie Clip) A Shock Of Some Sort Two goons have just run fugitive amnesiac sailor Jim (Bill Williams) and Martha (Barbara Hale), his hostage, and the widow of the fellow POW who s death he s suspected of causing, off the road, and ensuing events incline her to reconsider his story, in The Clay Pigeon, 1949.
The Clay Pigeon 1949 Download Movie
Bill Williams plays Jim Fletcher, who comes out of a coma at the Long Beach Naval Hospital only to learn that he's going to be court-martialed for an act of treason committed while he was imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp.Jim's prison memories have been completely wiped out; terrified at being accused of something horrible he doesn't remember, he escapes from the hospital. Jim hopes his old war buddy, Mark, can help him out and meets Mark's wife Martha (Barbara Hale). Jim has another ugly shock coming when he learns Mark is dead and he's responsible.
Jim and the initially unwilling Martha go on the road looking for answers, which might be found with another old war buddy, Ted (Richard Quine). It's quite a challenge, with both the navy and strange men with guns following Jim around Los Angeles. And Jim has an even bigger shock coming when he's sitting in a Chinese restaurant and suddenly spots the Japanese guard who beat him!
The theme of a couple on the run is something I seem to have been watching a lot of in the last few weeks, including PACIFIC BLACKOUT (1941) and another Warner Archive release, TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE (1945). It's fun to watch the real life Mr. and Mrs. Williams on screen together; married in 1946, they have a comfortable, appealing rapport costarring in this film. They previously appeared together in WEST OF THE PECOS (1945) and A LIKELY STORY (1947).The movie has another familiar film noir theme, a veteran with a big problem. Veterans seem to have had an especially rough time in film noir land! I could doubtless make a very long list of film noir veterans who find life back in the States perhaps more dangerous than what they experienced in the war.
THE CLAY PIGEON has some great atmosphere, with settings including a coastal trailer park and L.A.'s Chinatown, filmed in black and white by Robert de Grasse.
There's an especially nice scene where Jim hides in the apartment of a war widow. She's played by Mary Marco, who (billed as Maria San Marco) played Keye Luke's bride Jeannie in SLEEP, MY LOVE (1948). It's an interesting thematic touch that while Jim has been tormented by a Japanese man, both during the war and after, his life is saved by a Japanese-American woman.
The cast of THE CLAY PIGEON also includes Martha Hyer as a receptionist who gives Jim a key piece of information and Ann Doran as a bitter nurse.
THE CLAY PIGEON has excellent behind the scenes talent, written by Carl Foreman and directed Richard Fleischer. Fleischer seems to be warming up for his noir classic THE NARROW MARGIN (1952), which was set almost entirely on a train headed for Los Angeles; the climax of THE CLAY PIGEON also takes place on a train, this time headed out of L.A.Clay Pigeon Wiki
The Warner Archive DVD is a fine print of this RKO film. There are no extras.