You Only Live Once (1937)

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Gene Towne (screenplay) &
C. Graham Baker (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 January 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

He robbed... kidnapped... he murdered... Because of the love of one woman!

Plot:

Joan is the secretary to the public defender in a large city. She is in love with a career criminal named Eddie...

Plot Keywords:

Suicide Attempt | Paradise | Falsely Accused | Prison | Social Issues

Cast

Sylvia Sidney	...	Joan Graham Taylor
Henry Fonda	...	Eddie Taylor
Barton MacLane	...	Stephen Whitney
Jean Dixon	...	Bonnie Graham
William Gargan	...	Father Dolan
Jerome Cowan	...	Dr. Hill
Charles 'Chic' Sale	...	Ethan (as Chic Sale)
Margaret Hamilton	...	Hester
Warren Hymer	...	Buggsy
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Rogers (misspelled Roger in closing credits) (as Guinn Williams)
John Wray	...	Warden Wheeler
Walter De Palma	...	Monk Mendall

Also Known As:

Three Time Loser (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1937) | USA:Approved (PCA #2944) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Walter Wanger Productions

Trivia:

First film of Jack Carson.

Quotes:

Joan Graham: Anywhere's our home. On the road. Out there on a cold star. Anywhere's our home.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Going Hollywood: The '30s (1984)

Soundtrack:

A Thousand Dreams of You

depressing melodrama

Fritz Lang did a great job with this well-acted, uniquely photographed drama from the '30s. It's not anything to see if you're looking for a lift, though. Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney, so young it's unbelievable, play a husband and wife escaping the law. Sidney is a secretary who falls in love with a convict and marries him as soon as he gets out of prison. He's a three-time felon and has a tough time getting back into society. Ultimately, he's convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to death row. He escapes with Sidney and they become sort of a Bonnie and Clyde on the run for the Canadian border.

There are some plot problems, for instance, how Fonda got the gun in order to escape. Also, the boss at the trucking firm where he works is over the top in his dislike for Fonda and refuses to give him another chance.

The acting is very intense from both Sidney and Fonda. Looking at the young Fonda, one can really see where Jane got her looks. This isn't a big film, nor is it a happy one, but it's worth seeing.