The Clay Pigeon

Director: Richard Fleischer Richard Fleischer

Overview

Shortly after the end of WWII, a seaman (Bill Williams) comes out of a coma in a hospital, only to discover that he is being court-martialed for treason and has been accused of murder. Good plot and tight direction makes this a high-level suspense vehicle as the seaman goes after the man who has set him up.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/09/2015
UPC:	0888574281731
Original Release:	1949
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W]
Language:	English
Time:	1:03:00
Sales rank:	40,250

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bill Williams	Actor
Barbara Hale	Actor
Richard Quine	Actor
Richard Loo	Actor
Frank Fenton	Lt. Cmdr. Prentice
Frank Wilcox	Hospital Doctor
Marya Marco	Helen Minoto
Robert Bray	Blake
Martha Hyer	Receptionist
Harold Landon	Blind Veteran
James Craven	John Wheeler
Grandon Rhodes	Clark
Harry Cheshire	Doctor
G. Pat Collins	Abbott
Kernan Cripps	Chief of Detectives Jones
Ann Doran	Nurse
Dan Foster	Bellboy
Joel Friedkin	Motorist
Kenner G. Kemp	Accountant
Eddie Lee	Cashier
Howard Negley	Police Sergeant at Roadblock
Ken Terrell	Davis, Driver Henchman

Technical Credits

Carl Foreman

Richard Fleischer	Director
Herman Schlom	Producer
Carl Foreman	Screenwriter
Phil Brigandi	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Clem Portman	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

A taut, lean film noir that uses one of the genre's favorite gimmicks -- amnesia -- The Clay Pigeon is a B-movie that achieves A-level status. Undeniably gripping, Pigeon manages to be an excellent movie despite the fact that so much of its screenplay is contrived. Yet writer Carl Foreman seems to understand that there's a way to artfully contrive a piece, and he does so here with dexterity and skill -- or perhaps just plain luck. Whatever the case, Pigeon is one of those films that never wastes a moment and that builds from strength to strength. Equal credit for its success must go to director Richard Fleischer, who displays an energy and intensity here that is truly admirable, and which would have been very welcome in some of his later bloated epics. Fleischer keeps things moving yet imbues each scene with a sense of unease, reflecting the rather nightmarish world that is enveloping the hero. He's ably abetted by the fine lensing of Robert de Grasse and by an imaginative use of his limited budget. Although Bill Williams lacks star charisma, that works for him here, helping us see the character as more of an identifiable "everyman" type, and there's clear chemistry between him and Barbara Hale.