Human Desire (1954)

A Korean War vet returns to his job as a railroad engineer and becomes involved in an affair with a co-worker's wife following a murder on a train where they meet.

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Alfred Hayes (screenplay), Émile Zola (novel) (as Emile Zola)

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Glenn Ford	...	Jeff Warren
Gloria Grahame	...	Vicki Buckley
Broderick Crawford	...	Carl Buckley
Edgar Buchanan	...	Alec Simmons
Kathleen Case	...	Ellen Simmons
Peggy Maley	...	Jean
Diane DeLaire	...	Vera Simmons
Grandon Rhodes	...	John Owens

Storyline

Jeff Warren, a Korean War vet just returning to his railroad engineer's job, boards at the home of co-worker Alec Simmons and is charmed by Alec's beautiful daughter. Vicki Buckley is the sultry wife of brutish railroad supervisor Carl Buckley, an alcoholic wife beater with a hair trigger temper and penchant for explosive violence. After Buckley is fired for insubordination, he begs Vicki to intercede on his behalf with John Owens, a rich and powerful businessman who Vicki's mother used to keep house for, and whose influence can get him reinstated. When Buckley suspects she has used sexual favors to persuade Owens, he beats Vicki and develops a plan to meet Owen on the train and stabs him to death in a jealous rage in a his compartment. Jeff, who is deadheading after a trip, is on the train and meets Vicki without knowing who she is when Buckley needs her to get him out of the way so he can get back to their compartment without being seen as he is covered in blood. Jeff is a potential...

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Plot Keywords:

infidelity | murder pact | marital infidelity | dysfunctional marriage | strangled to death | 

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Taglines:

She was born to be bad...to be kissed...to make trouble!

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 November 1954 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

The Human Beast

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "Central National" Railroad was portrayed by equipment and properties of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The locomotive and yard scenes were filmed on the Rock Island Railroad in El Reno, Oklahoma. RI Alco FA-1 #153 had the lettering covered on the side and a red panel added over the low nose herald. The "Yard Office" is actually the building housing the offices for the car repair facility in El Reno. The view after that is in the car repair shed north of the diesel shop in El Reno. The north side of the diesel shop is in the background. No. 717 that almost runs them over is RI Alco S-2 that was assigned to El Reno at least through the mid-60s.

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Goofs

On the last trip shown, the locomotive pulling the train into the station is one manufactured by Electro Motive but the locomotive that Jeff Warren climbs down from that would have been pulling the train is one manufactured by ALCO.

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Quotes

Jeff Warren: How do you tell the right girl for you from the wrong one?
Vera Simmons: By the way you love her.

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Connections

Referenced in Thèmes et variations du cinéma: adapter Émile Zola (1964)

User Reviews

Fine Noir

War veteran Jeff Warren (Glenn Ford) returns home and takes up his old position as a train engineer. One night Warren makes a pass at a friendly woman on a train, but she leaves him in a hurry, next day warren learns that a passenger wass murdered on the train he was travelling on. He is called as a witness at the inquiry. He tells the judge he saw nothing on the train and hides the fact from the judge that he unwittingly made advances on fellow passenger Vicki Buckley, the wife of his co worker Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford). Warren and Vicki soon hit it off, but soon Warren believes Vicky may have had something to do with the killing. Nice thriller with some great railroad footage, but you might be hard pressed to recognize it as a Lang film. Grahame is especially good in a particularly slutty role