Let Us Live (1939)

Director:

John Brahm

Writers:

Anthony Veiller (screenplay) &
Allen Rivkin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 July 1939 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

A True Story . . . A Vivid Romance !

Plot:

Two innocent men are wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The fiance of one of them convinces a police detective of their innocence...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Execution | Murder | Theater | Jury

Cast

Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Mary Roberts
Henry Fonda	...	'Brick' Tennant
Ralph Bellamy	...	Lieutenant Everett
Alan Baxter	...	Joe Linden
Stanley Ridges	...	District Attorney
Henry Kolker	...	Chief of Police
George Lynn	...	Joe Taylor (as Peter Lynn)
George Douglas	...	Ed Walsh
Phillip Trent	...	Frank Burke (as Philip Trent)
Martin Spellman	...	Jimmy Dugan

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #4929) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1939)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Several people are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members, but they did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. These were (with their character names, if any): Ernie Adams (Mechanic), Ian Maclaren (Priest), Eddie Laughton (Cab Driver), Richard Cramer, Cyril Ring, Brandon Tynan and Landers Stevens.

Movie Connections:

Spin off from You Only Live Once (1937)

Soundtrack:

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms

A nice little sleeper that really makes you think

This was a very good film even though I initially had relatively low expectations. Part of this is because just before this, I saw a passable Henry Fonda film (SLIM) and I think it made me remember that like any actor, Fonda could make mediocre films. But LET US LIVE! is anything but mediocre, since it has a very thought-provoking script that might just get you to re-evaluate what you think of the death penalty. While I am generally in favor of it when there is absolutely no doubt, this film strongly and competently makes the point that innocent men CAN be convicted wrongly and that the system might be rather indifferent to correcting this even when doubt as to the justification for the conviction arises. Again and again throughout the film, supposedly good men seem indifferent to the possibility that Fonda and his friend could be innocent--and they convince themselves that the system cannot make mistakes or that people must allow the system to work everything out in the end! In spite of this indifference, Maureen O'Sullivan and Ralph Bellamy work their darnedest to prove that the men were wronged.

As I said, the plot is very well-constructed and thought-provoking. While at times the performances might seem a tad overly melodramatic, considering what's at stake, it was forgivable. An excellent drama and one that makes you think. About the only negative was that O'Sullivan's Irish accent seemed a bit out of place, though her performance and Fonda's were just fine.