Fritz Lang DOUBLE FEATURE
You Only Live Once (1937) ++ I foolishly thought this would be a bit on the fluff side, and it was NOWHERE NEAR!! YAYYY
It stars Henry Fonda as a doom-ridden convict, having just finished his third stint in prison. Labeled a Three-Time-Loser, his subsequent conviction will land him a Life Sentence or even a Death Sentence. His only promising aspect is the love of a genuinely d@mn good woman, portrayed with exceptional talent by Sylvia Sydney, whom I've only ever known from Mars Attack! as the grandmother whose music kills the Martians and as Juno in Beetlejuice the Afterlife Case Worker. A fantastic bonus to this surprisingly excellent and very dark film.
Lang is very much in his element with this tale of star-crossed lovers where Fonda's Eddie Taylor not only does not get a break, but it seems that any break presented is dashed cruelly for him. There is a powerful instance halfway through the film that, for most, would have been the climax to a movie, but with Lang, it is cruel jest by Fate that propels this couple into a far deeper spiral. I was utterly engrossed and wonderfully shocked to see it was only the film's midpoint. It was f@ckin amazing!
The composition here is Lang at his shadow-drenched best. There are countless images I would love to find and exhibit. Those compositions add layer upon layer to this hellbent roller-coaster storyline depicting society's callousness and the will of the truly desperate.
Several great talents, including Jean Dixon, Margaret Hamilton, and William Gargan as Father Dolan, propel this gripping drama to its tragic and beautifully filmed ending.
Fritz Lang was one of the first Directors in my late teens and early twenties that I sought out and became a fanboy. This film only revives and electrifies that early endearment.
F@CKIN WOW
While the City Sleeps (1956) In comparison, having watched it directly after the first, had more fluff than I initially expected. lol
But then that would most likely reflect the exceedingly dark nature and heavily shadowed venue of You Only Live Once. Here, Lang's shadows are the characters themselves in the brightly lit offices, bars, and apartments featured throughout.
With a format of ensemble casts featuring Rhonda Flemings, Dana Andrews, Vincent Price, character actor Thomas Mitchell, Ida Lupino, Howard Duff, George Sanders, and my first time seeing John Barrymore's son, aka Drew Barrymore's dad, John Drew Barrymore as a depraved serial killer.
This movie is a sex-drenched spectacle of inner-office politics using the pursuit of a recent killer as a competition between the heads of a newspaper syndicate concocted by the spoiled son (Price) of the recently dead owner of Kyne Enterprises. He pits Hamilton and Sander's characters to win the new Executive Director position or be fired. A third forced contestant is busy fooling around with Price's wife (Lupino). Mildred Kyne, the sister (Rhonda Fleming), happily plays predatorial games with everyone. Including Dana Andrews, an ex-detective, now TV reporter, and drunken rogue.
With so many balls in the air, Lang juggles them with ease. He gives everyone a chance to shine as the stakes get raised, and the murders escalate. Once more, Lang adds a few social commentaries into how things get done and how things get prioritized, and why.
Not a top echelon endeavor, but it is a d@mn excellent and entertaining film all the same.
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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes
What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes
~Mr Minio