Reportedly, the American cut is 99 minutes long. I have never seen it, but I would imagine, because of its shortage, it failed to deliver the true essense of the film. I strongly suggest you to observe the uncut version. Lets hope that in near future, the complete version of the film with English subtitles will appear on the market. Like you say, it is odd, compellingly messy in good way, imaginative, and beautiful. Despite somebody is speaking for him in French, Robert Ryan is great in this one.

I would like to mention other superb example of this attractive badness. Its a French film call LA COURSE DU LIEVRE A TRAVERS LES CHAMPS(Also as known as AND HOPE TO DIE) which is directed by solid Rene Clement in 1972. The film is lesser known, and poorly received by many, especially in English speaking regions. However, some critics often thought as this film as a minor classic of the neo-gangster genre. In Japan, many people admire it and they would surely rank this movie as one of Robert Ryan’s best films. The film is somewhat surrealistic, and its abstractness failed to capture fancy of audience who would expect pure entertainment from gangster films. However, at any rate, LA COURSE DU LIEVRE A TRAVERS LES CHAMPS is a beautiful film. Brutality of the gang was compared with innocence of the youth, and explained through naive motivation such always could be found in children’s game. This effort makes the film quite poetic and interesting.

Ryan plays the leader of this gang which is filled with social misfits. They live on an isolated island just outside of Montreal. They have their own strange code of moral, moreover, they live like a family. Ryan’s Charley is the father figure, and he enjoys total authority over planning their jops such include kidnapping and murder. In this sense, this guy is certainly a bad man, yet Ryan infuses quiet grace and sensitive tenderness into his character. His Charley is a life time thief and a looser, yet he is capable of treating younger misfits with a tenderness just like his real children. Nevertheless, he is quite crafty and cunning indeed. Who else could play such a complex character but Robert Ryan?

It is a wonderful tribute for Robert Ryan, because he could curve almost every personal stamp on LA COURSE DU LIEVRE A TRAVERS LES CHAMPS. He is bad, smart, confident, ambitious, yet compassionate, romantic, and most importantly attractive.

Robert Ryan has a much reputation for playing bad guys. There are countless efforts.

Montgomery in CROSSFIRE
Smith Orlig in CAUGHT
Earl Pfeiffer in CLASH BY NIGHT
Ben Vandergroat in THE NAKED SPUR
Howard Wilton in BEWEAR MY LOVELY
Reno Smith in BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK
Sandy Dawson in HOUSE OF BAMBOO
Earle Slater in ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW
John Claggart in BILLY BUDD
Charley Ellis in AND HOPE TO DIE

However, his bad guys are not simple bad guys. At least they had their reasons to be bad. They were troubled, despaired, and hampered in some ways. They always became the mirrors of our own images. We can almost feel if we aren’t careful, we will be like them. Ryan’s characterizations were always real and authentic. He always added many elements to his bad guys so they were bad, ugly, and in a same time tragic or even little sympathetic.

Ryan was real artist to express depth of human nature, because of that, his fame never will diminish.

I sure would like to know what the temperamental Tallulah Bankhead thought of Ryan in the stage production of Clash by Night that won Ryan good reviews and a contract at RKO.

Thanks for making me re-think Clash By Night in such a vivid way as a result of your well written description.