''The Clay Pigeon'' is a 1949 American film noir directed by Richard Fleischer and written by

Carl Foreman Carl Foreman, CBE (July 23, 1914 – June 26, 1984) was an American screenwriter and film producer who wrote the award-winning films ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' and ''High Noon'', among others. He was one of the screenwriters who were black ...

, based on a true story. The drama features Bill Williams and

Barbara Hale Barbara Hale (April 18, 1922 – January 26, 2017) was an American actress who portrayed legal secretary Della Street in the dramatic television series '' Perry Mason'' (1957–1966), earning her a 1959 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting A ...

, a real-life husband and wife.

Plot

Jim Fletcher (Williams), a former inmate in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, awakes from a coma at a naval hospital, and is then informed that he has been accused of murder. As Fletcher is uncertain of his guilt, he escapes from the hospital to search for his best friend, another ex-POW.

Cast

* Bill Williams as Jim Fletcher *

as Martha Gregory *

Richard Quine Richard Quine (November 12, 1920June 10, 1989) was an American director, actor, and singer. He began acting as a child in radio, vaudeville, and stage productions before being signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in his early twenties. When his acting ...

as Ted Niles *

Richard Loo Richard Loo (October 1, 1903 – November 20, 1983) was an American film actor who was one of the most familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1982. Early lif ...

as Ken Tokoyama aka The Weasel * Frank Fenton as Lt. Cmdr. Prentice * Frank Wilcox as Navy Hospital Doctor * Marya Marco as Helen Minoto *

Robert Bray Robert E. Bray (October 23, 1917 – March 7, 1983) was an American film and television actor known for playing the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the CBS series ''Lassie'', He also starred in ''Stagecoach West'' and as Mike Hammer in the mo ...

as Gunsel Blake *

Martha Hyer Martha Hyer (August 10, 1924 – May 31, 2014) was an American actress who played Gwen French in ''Some Came Running'' (1958), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her autobiography, ''Finding My Way ...

as Miss Harwick, Wheeler's Receptionist * Harold Landon as Blind Veteran * James Craven as John Wheeler

Depiction of Japanese Americans

Although the movie shows Jim's Japanese captors as extremely sadistic and inhumane, it also casts the much-maligned

Japanese Americans are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

in a positive light. As Mrs. Mioto, (a Japanese American) helps Jim escape his pursuers, he sees a photograph of her deceased husband, Sergeant John Mioto, member of the 442nd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. It is accompanied by the certificate for his

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

, awarded for "Extraordinary Heroism". Film noir specialist

Eddie Muller Eddie Muller (born October 15, 1958) is an American writer based in San Francisco. He is known for writing books about movies, particularly film noir, and is the host of Noir Alley on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Early life and education Muller ...

speculates this is the first time the highly decorated 442nd Division, composed mostly of Japanese Americans, was acknowledged in a movie, and states that this was not simply the studio's formulaic trope of balancing something negative with a positive, but rather screenwriter Carl Foreman's personal progressive outlook.

Reception

Critical response

'' Time Out'' film reviews wrote of the film, "Directed by Fleischer with tight, spare energy, although the implausible script and bland leading performances (with Hale as the dead friend's wife, initially hostile but soon losing her heart) make it much inferior to ''

The Narrow Margin ''The Narrow Margin'' is a 1952 American film noir starring Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor. Directed by Richard Fleischer, the RKO picture was written by Earl Felton, based on an unpublished story written by Martin Goldsmith and Jack Le ...

''.''''Time Out''
. Film reviews, 2008. Last accessed: February 16, 2008.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clay Pigeon, The 1949 films 1940s psychological thriller films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Film noir Films directed by Richard Fleischer RKO Pictures films American psychological thriller films Films scored by Paul Sawtell 1940s American films