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Let Us Live

  • 19391939
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 8m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
554
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Sullivan in Let Us Live (1939)
  • Crime
  • Drama
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, and together they try to find the real kil... Read allTwo innocent men are wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The fiance of one of them convinces a police detective of their innocence, and together they try to find the real killer before the men's execution date.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, and together they try to find the real killer before the men's execution date.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
554
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • John Brahm
  • Writers
    • Anthony Veiller(screen play)
    • Allen Rivkin(screen play)
    • Joseph F. Dinneen(based upon a story by)
  • Stars
    • Maureen O'Sullivan
    • Henry Fonda
    • Ralph Bellamy
Top credits
  • Director
    • John Brahm
  • Writers
    • Anthony Veiller(screen play)
    • Allen Rivkin(screen play)
    • Joseph F. Dinneen(based upon a story by)
  • Stars
    • Maureen O'Sullivan
    • Henry Fonda
    • Ralph Bellamy
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 15User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos10

    Stanley Ridges in Let Us Live (1939)
    Henry Fonda in Let Us Live (1939)
    Ralph Bellamy in Let Us Live (1939)
    Let Us Live (1939)
    Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Sullivan in Let Us Live (1939)
    Henry Fonda, Ralph Bellamy, and Maureen O'Sullivan in Let Us Live (1939)
    Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Sullivan in Let Us Live (1939)
    Henry Fonda, Ralph Bellamy, and Maureen O'Sullivan in Let Us Live (1939)
    Henry Fonda, Ralph Bellamy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Alan Baxter, Henry Kolker, and Lee Prather in Let Us Live (1939)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Maureen O'Sullivan
    Maureen O'Sullivan
    • Mary Robertsas Mary Roberts
    Henry Fonda
    Henry Fonda
    • 'Brick' Tennantas 'Brick' Tennant
    Ralph Bellamy
    Ralph Bellamy
    • Lieutenant Everettas Lieutenant Everett
    Alan Baxter
    Alan Baxter
    • Joe Lindenas Joe Linden
    Stanley Ridges
    Stanley Ridges
    • District Attorneyas District Attorney
    Henry Kolker
    Henry Kolker
    • Chief of Policeas Chief of Police
    George Lynn
    George Lynn
    • Joe Tayloras Joe Taylor
    • (as Peter Lynn)
    George Douglas
    • Ed Walshas Ed Walsh
    Phillip Trent
    Phillip Trent
    • Frank Burkeas Frank Burke
    • (as Philip Trent)
    Martin Spellman
    Martin Spellman
    • Jimmy Duganas Jimmy Dugan
    Norman Ainsley
    • New York Hotel Clerkas New York Hotel Clerk
    • (uncredited)
    Eric Alden
    Eric Alden
    • Copas Cop
    • (uncredited)
    Herbert Ashley
    • Samas Sam
    • (uncredited)
    Earl Askam
    • Prison Guardas Prison Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Harry A. Bailey
    • Drug Clerk Juroras Drug Clerk Juror
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Bernard
    Harry Bernard
    • Auto Show Watchmanas Auto Show Watchman
    • (uncredited)
    Joseph E. Bernard
    Joseph E. Bernard
    • Man in Courtroom Corridoras Man in Courtroom Corridor
    • (uncredited)
    James Blaine
    James Blaine
    • Detectiveas Detective
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • John Brahm
    • Writers
      • Anthony Veiller(screen play)
      • Allen Rivkin(screen play)
      • Joseph F. Dinneen(based upon a story by)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to The New York Times review, the title of Joseph F. Dinneen's story was "Murder in Massachusetts," but it was not mentioned in the credits because of a vague threat by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which did not wish any implication of inefficiency of its police, prosecutor or court system. The story was based on the fact that two taxicab drivers were identified by seven of eight witnesses as two of the three men who murdered a man during a 1934 theater robbery in Lynn, Massachusetts. Their trial was in progress for two weeks when the real killers were captured in New York City and confessed; the taxicab drivers were released and two of the three criminals were eventually executed.
    • Connections
      Featured in Henry Fonda: The Man and His Movies (1982)
    • Soundtracks
      Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms
      (1808) (uncredited)

      Music traditional

      Played on a phonograph in death row

    User reviews15

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    A strange little film right before the official start of films noir
    This is a dark tale about two likable people. Well, three, if we count Ralph Bellamy: He is tossed at us in medias res and is not convincing as a police lieutenant.

    The young lovers are Maureen O'Sullivan and Henry Fonda. He drives a cab. She works in a restaurant. He wants them to marry and is planning to buy a cab and maybe a few, to start a fleet.

    Two decades before he starred in the Hitchcock film of this name, though, he is the wrong man. Not for the adoring (and lovely) O' Sullivan. No, he is erroneously arrested for a robbery -- and falsely identified by a pack of jackals who'd been at the crime scene.

    One thing I noticed is the response O'Sullivan has when he takes her to look at some nice little homes. She's thrilled and grateful. It's amusing to contrast this to the scornful way the Audrey Totter character acts when Richard Basehart, her unwisely adoring husband in "Tension," takes her to see a little house in the suburbs he's picked out for them.

    Lucien Ballard was a marvelous cinematographer -- here and always. This movie has the feel of German Expressionism, which includes a Weill-like musical score. But I'm not sure how much of the Expressionism is intended and how much is a matter of budget: For example, there are several scenes in which snow falls. The snow has a highly unreal look. It really LOOKS like soap flakes. And in an early scene when O'Sullivan humors a drunk at the restaurant where she works, the other diners laugh in the oddest way: We're meant to feel they take it in a goodhearted manner. But it sounds for all the world like a laugh track or the audience at a vaudeville show.

    The change in Fonda is very impressive. I really empathized with his feeling at the start that everything is going his way; that the world is a wonderful place to be. If this were a musical comedy, a song to that effect would have followed. But Fonda didn't make musicals. It's pretty clear that he's going to be disabused of this notion; I've been there too. And he is indeed.
    helpful•20
    3
    • Handlinghandel
    • Oct 5, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 21, 1939 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Laßt uns leben
    • Filming locations
      • Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 8 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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