You and Me

Until I bought this item, "You and Me" was one of the few Fritz Lang pictures I had never seen (apart from a couple of early German films now considered lost) and is scarce. This edition is intended for Spanish language audiences. This is a curious lightweight little film from Lang who had just made the vibrant gangster film, "You Only Live Once" which starred Sylvia Sidney as well. In "You and Me" a benevolent department store owner employs convicted felons to give them a second chance after jail. When employee George Raft leads a robbery of the store, Silvia has ideas of her own. "You and Me" is unusual in that it is less subtle than we expect from Lang. The moral of the film is baldly stated to the point of corniness - "crime does not pay". But the leads do well and the supporting cast of small time crooks are enjoyable. It would be nice for this film to be more widely available by a DVD company that will go to the trouble of incorporating a commentary and maybe featurettes as special extras.

George Raft and Sylvia Sidney shine! One of the weirdest Hollywood movies made in the 1930s...or any other decade for that matter. Strong performances all around. If you love Bertolt Brecht, you will love Fritz Lang's "epic theater" style.

Nice to have hard copy of hard to find film on streamers.

I would hardly call this a noir film, it`s more of a sugar-coated Damon Runyan type film driping with sentimentality. There is no real chemistry between Raft and Sydney with too much time spent on the beginning of their affair. The music leaves a lot to be desired especially the main song and the scene where Raft enters the gangster`s hide out. It was totally out of place and rediculous. Shame on Weil, he could have done better. As for Fritz Lang, this film didn`t measure up to any of his great films. No real suspense or action which is a trade mark of noir. A DUD as far as I`m concerned.

Not the best of George Raft performances; I recommend that you check out the DVD They drive by Night. This DVD stars Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart and Ann Sheridan. The acting is absolutely great especially Ida Lupino.

After the very intense and downbeat FURY and YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, Fritz Lang's third American film seems something of an anomaly for the director: a semi-comic hoodlum farce with musical moments, some of them courtesy of an (uncredited) Kurt Weill, and starring early tough-guy stalwart George Raft (in his only film with the director) and the leading lady of the two previous Hollywood Lang pictures, Sylvia Sidney. An odd combination of elements, with even some Capra-esquire screwball thrown in, and yet on the whole it works. Raft and Sidney are both ex-cons trying to go straight working in a big department store owned by kindhearted Mr. Morris (Harry Carey) who fall in love; but Raft doesn't know that Sidney's a parolee, while Sidney knows his secret. They have to keep their eventual marriage quiet from everyone, and humor ensues with Sidney's efforts to do so; eventually Raft is lured into a plot by some of his ex-con buddies to rob the store that has helped them out so much and Sidney has to come in to save the day.And odd film, as I say, with a proto-feminist, very strong female lead by the always wonderful Sylvia Sidney, great photography by Charles Lang, and a noirish downbeat feel pervading an often sunny and humorous plot line, the Langian inevitability of fate and of returning to one's worst impulses never more than a heartbeat away - though he manages, in this rare case, not to let it entirely overwhelm the film, and manages fine results. Unjustly neglected, seen on this decent out-of-print VHS, certainly crying out for a decent DVD release along with several other Lang works from this period, notably his masterful WESTERN UNION.

Made in 1938, Fritz Lang's You and Me was probably the first noir/crime film to combine comedy, lighthearted romance, and musical sketches into a morality play concerning the consequences of crime. Sylvia Sydney as the sprightly salesgirl Helen, carries the picture. In a familiar role that seemed to define her career, Sydney became an icon for working women of the thirties and forties who struggled for an identity within middle class America. As in You Only Live Once and Dead End, Helen is similiar to Sydney's former characters in that they brim with hope. Helen may represent the underclass, but her unrelenting spirit transcends social boundaries. With Sydney's help, Lang made a case for improving the treatment of ex-convicts who were often denied basic civil rights. Harry Cary is perfectly cast as the affable department store owner Mr. Morris. Morris has hired fifty ex-convicts and justifies his actions to his skeptical wife ( Cecil Cunningham). Morris's goodwill is tested when eight of the employees plan to heist over $30,000 worth of store merchandise. The gang rallies around Joe Dennis (George Raft) who abandons his rightous ways when he discovers that Helen lied to him about her past. Director Lang mixes comedy with a lesson about the misconcepptions of crime. Helen is the teacher and she captures the attention of the mugs with a quick lecture in artithmetic. The message is "crime doesn't pay" and in Lang's film You and Me, it means more ways than one. Warren Hymer as Gimmpy adds humor to the gang's criminal fraternization. Raft known for turning down some of the best film roles ever, gives an even performance as Joe, the ex-con.