Mostly a domestic melodrama, Clash By Night has only a few noir elements. First is the element of fate. Despite their cutting remarks about each other and May's palpable resistance to Earl, they are inevitably drawn to each other. May knows that an affair with Earl will destroy the security and safety with Jerry that she so strongly desires, yet she gives in to Earl. Second is the critique of middle-class life which can also be found in The Woman and the Window and Pitfall. Clashdiffers from these films by having the female protagonist (not the male) rebel against motherhood and marriage.