You Only Live Once

1937
Approved
1h 26m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney in You Only Live Once (1937)

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.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.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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

7.8K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos48

+ 42

Top cast74

Edit

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
(as Guinn Williams)

John Wray

Warden

Walter De Palma

Monk

Earl Askam

Corridor Guard
(uncredited)

Hooper Atchley

Teletype Operator
(uncredited)

Allen Black

Baby Taylor
(uncredited)

Stanley Blystone

Rafferty - Guard
(uncredited)

Ward Bond

Casey - Guard
(uncredited)

Wade Boteler

Pat - Policeman with Package
(uncredited)

Director
- Fritz Lang
Writers
- Gene Towne
- C. Graham Baker
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

7.8

6.8

7.1

7.4

7.7

7.6

The Woman in the Window

7.2

7.0

7.5

6.4

7.9

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

7.2

Woman in the Moon

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
While his previous film Fury (1936) -- his first American film -- had gone down well with critics, the Hollywood brass were unsure what to make of Fritz Lang and his politicized films. To the rescue came his Fury star Sylvia Sidney, who loved working with him and urged her producer Walter Wanger to consider him for the directing job on this film. Ironically, Lang gained a reputation on this film for being difficult to work with, resulting in his not working for another 18 months.

Goofs
At about the 30 minute mark, Eddie is looking out the window of the flophouse with a cigarette between the fingers of his right hand. A man enters, telling him that there's a phone call for him. Eddie flicks the cigarette out the window, but the next shot shows him running down the stairs with it still between the fingers of his right hand where it remains for the entire phone conversation until he drops it to the floor.

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

Connections
Edited into Dillinger (1945)

Soundtracks
A Thousand Dreams of You
(1936) (uncredited)
Music by Louis Alter

User reviews65

Review

Featured review

7/10

depressing melodrama

Fritz Lang did a great job with this well-acted, uniquely photographed drama from the '30s. It's not anything to see if you're looking for a lift, though. Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney, so young it's unbelievable, play a husband and wife escaping the law. Sidney is a secretary who falls in love with a convict and marries him as soon as he gets out of prison. He's a three-time felon and has a tough time getting back into society. Ultimately, he's convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to death row. He escapes with Sidney and they become sort of a Bonnie and Clyde on the run for the Canadian border.

There are some plot problems, for instance, how Fonda got the gun in order to escape. Also, the boss at the trucking firm where he works is over the top in his dislike for Fonda and refuses to give him another chance.

The acting is very intense from both Sidney and Fonda. Looking at the young Fonda, one can really see where Jane got her looks. This isn't a big film, nor is it a happy one, but it's worth seeing.