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.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.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.
- Inquest Spectator
- (uncredited)
- Brakeman
- (uncredited)
- Inquest Spectator
- (uncredited)
- Mr. Owen's secretary
- (uncredited)
- Davidson
- (uncredited)
- Yard Dispatcher
- (uncredited)
- John Thurston
- (uncredited)
- Chief of Police
- (uncredited)
- Society Matron
- (uncredited)
- Matt Henley
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFritz Lang did not like the title and thought it redundant. "What other kind of desire is there?" is his reported comment.
- Goofs(at around 1hr 29 mins) While the film is set in California, the train passes over the Lower Trenton Bridge. The bridge with its distinctive "Trenton makes, the world takes" sign crosses the Delaware River between Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey.
- Quotes
Jean: [Dressing for a date] Zip me up will you, Carl?
Carl Buckley: [Impatiently] You dames, you spend more time gettin' dressed...
Jean: Have to! It's much better to have good looks than brains because most of the men I know can see much better than they can think.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Thèmes et variations du cinéma (1967)
As she was seen near the murder compartment, Vicki flirts with Ford to keep her out of the investigation and eventually they become involved. That's when Vicki starts hinting around that she needs the letter found and her husband dead - not necessarily in that order.
Not being familiar with the source material, I can't comment on this film as well as some others here. The postwar era was not Lang's strongest; he seems to have fallen out of favor and not getting the budgets or the scripts he once did. That being said, this is a very absorbing noir with Gloria Grahame being completely hateful and Ford being Mr. Nice Guy who is in this woman's clutches. Crawford's character is an odd one; he's presented as a good guy and then suddenly he goes off and becomes a total madman.
What makes this film is the sexual tension between Ford and Grahame. Ford was a wonderful movie star but with a limited range. What he had going for him beside good looks was major sex appeal, and while Grahame burns, he smolders. They make a hot team.
Perhaps the story and characters could have been fleshed out more; as it is, it's entertaining with good directing, acting, and some interesting shots. Great for noir fans.
- blanche-2
- Jan 27, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Human Beast
- Filming locations
- Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, USA(shot of train crossing river outside tunnel)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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