You Only Live Once (1937)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

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:

The public defender's secretary and an ex-convict get married and try to make a life together, but a series of disasters sends their lives spiraling out of control.

Plot Keywords:

Secretary | Prison | Heist | Electric Chair | Hostage

Cast

Sylvia Sidney	...	Joan Graham
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:

New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 (1960) | Finland:(Banned) (1937) | USA:Approved (PCA #2944) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Walter Wanger Productions

Trivia:

A cast list with character names in the Fritz Lang papers at USC includes the following actors, none of whom were in the viewed print: John Beck, Harry Bernard, Dorothea Wolbert (People in post office), Walter Soderling (Man in teller's cage), Frank Hammond (Lounger in store) and Russ Powell (Sheriff in store). It is not known if scenes with these actors were shot at all, or just deleted from the released print.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lost Signal (2007)

Soundtrack:

A Thousand Dreams of You

Compelling drama of human destiny

Director Fritz Lang helms this well mounted drama of a struggling couple. Henry Fonda is a petty crook attempting to reform when he is framed on a murder charge. He eventually breaks out of prison and tries to escape to Canada with his wife (Sylvia Sidney) only fate seems to be against them. A nice blend of drama and romance with Fonda and Sidney most impressive in the starring roles. The fine supporting cast includes William Gargan, Barton MacLane, Margaret Hamilton, and Ward Bond. Unfortunately this gem of 1937 is not available on video and is seldom shown on TV anymore.