Clash By Night

Theater: Belasco
Opening Date: Dec. 27, 1941
Performances: 49

Playwright: Clifford Odets
Director: Lee Strasberg
Producer: Billy Rose

Partial Cast: Lee J. Cobb, Joseph Schildkraut, Robert Ryan, Katharine Locke, John F. Hamilton

Tallulah's Role: Mae Wilenski

In her follow up to The Little Foxes, Tallulah played a Staten Island housewife caught up in an affair with one of her husband's friends. Tallulah did not care for Billy Rose, the plays producer (see anecdote below) and tensions apparently affected the production. It only played for 49 performances.

Tallulah's Comments: "He (Rose) approached the Odets play as if he was putting on a rodeo. I smoldered through rehearsals, burst into flames when I reached Baltimore where the play was to open. The electric sign over the marquee spelled out: BILLY ROSE PRESENT - TALLULAH BANKHEAD. Modestly he had his name in letters no larger than mine. With characteristic taste he had neglected to mention the name of the play or its author. Aside from his grammatical lapse - "Billy Rose Present" - he had airily omitted Joseph Schildkraut and Lee Cobb...I called his manager and delivered an ultimatum in rich, ripe words. 'Unless that "Billy Rose Present" comes down immediately, there'll be no performances tomorrow night. If your foul employer insists on "Billy Rose Present", then you need only add "Tallulah Bankhead Absent" Who does he think they're coming to the theater to see? Fannie Brice's ex-husband?" "Billy Rose" came down and the curtain went up."

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