It seems that I am in the minority in thinking this isn't that great a film. Despite being directed by Fritz Lang and having some excellent actors, the plot seemed totally ridiculous and preachy. In many ways it reminded me of a poorer version of the film THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, except that realism and believability were completely ignored. The bottom line is that this seems to be a very poorly written film that's full of holes that only scores as high as it does because of the actors and director! Without these, I probably would have scored the movie a 2 or 3!
Despite the good actors, there were still some problems with their performances. The biggest disappointment was Barton MacLane. In most of his films from the 1930s and 40s, he plays a "heavy"--often a gangster or villain in cowboy pictures. While his role here is a welcome change from this stereotyped role he usually played, he plays the most boring and wussy defense attorney I have ever seen. Seeing this tough character actor reduced to someone with the magnetism of a piece of lint was very frustrating, as his character was never really developed and could have been played by almost anyone. Also, while Henry Fonda was okay as the two-time loser accused of murder, his character was so unlikable in the last part of the movie that the impact of his being falsely accused of the crime was greatly diminished. In other words, if he hadn't resorted to KILLING PEOPLE to avoid the death penalty, we might have cared what happened to him! If only he could have escaped without murdering the priest, then I wouldn't have lost interest. Or, if it had somehow been an accident, then maybe I would have cared. But, as it was, he'd knowingly committed many crimes in the past and kills a man to escape, so WHAT exactly is the point of the film? If it's that the death penalty is bad or that people should give ex-cons a chance to succeed, then it is completely obscured by the time the movie is finished. Plus, although at first I liked Sylvia Sidney's character for believing in her man, after she knew he was a murderer and STILL followed him, she just seemed totally stupid. As a result, she seemed more like a plot device than a real person.
With a re-write, this could have been a great film. As it is, it's very skipable and a film that Lang and the cast probably didn't want to remember.
Despite the good actors, there were still some problems with their performances. The biggest disappointment was Barton MacLane. In most of his films from the 1930s and 40s, he plays a "heavy"--often a gangster or villain in cowboy pictures. While his role here is a welcome change from this stereotyped role he usually played, he plays the most boring and wussy defense attorney I have ever seen. Seeing this tough character actor reduced to someone with the magnetism of a piece of lint was very frustrating, as his character was never really developed and could have been played by almost anyone. Also, while Henry Fonda was okay as the two-time loser accused of murder, his character was so unlikable in the last part of the movie that the impact of his being falsely accused of the crime was greatly diminished. In other words, if he hadn't resorted to KILLING PEOPLE to avoid the death penalty, we might have cared what happened to him! If only he could have escaped without murdering the priest, then I wouldn't have lost interest. Or, if it had somehow been an accident, then maybe I would have cared. But, as it was, he'd knowingly committed many crimes in the past and kills a man to escape, so WHAT exactly is the point of the film? If it's that the death penalty is bad or that people should give ex-cons a chance to succeed, then it is completely obscured by the time the movie is finished. Plus, although at first I liked Sylvia Sidney's character for believing in her man, after she knew he was a murderer and STILL followed him, she just seemed totally stupid. As a result, she seemed more like a plot device than a real person.
With a re-write, this could have been a great film. As it is, it's very skipable and a film that Lang and the cast probably didn't want to remember.