Good start, but then it gets ruined

Am I Missing Something?

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The public defender's secretary (Sylvia Sidney) and an ex-convict (Henry Fonda) get married and try to make a life together, but a series of disasters sends their lives spiraling out of control.When Fritz Lang came to America, he seemed to specialize in film noir. This was one of his earliest films. Unfortunately, because of the censors, we will likely never get to see his proper vision... as much as fifteen minutes have been cut for violence. Today, these scenes would probably be considered tame or laughable.The film today may be in the public domain (this is unclear), as the available copies are not as crisp as they could be (though not nearly as bad as hey could be, either). The film recorded a loss of $48,045, which is rather startling in retrospect -- how could Lang or Fonda be attached to a box office bomb?

An ambitious yet deeply depressing picture directed by Fritz Lang shows the grievous consequences of one fatally misjudged trial case. It's a shocking representation of a life spiraling out of control due to a few horrible mistakes.A small-time crook named Eddie is out of prison and marries his long-time love. Unable to find work he is constantly miserable and thinks that he left his wife down. On one day, a bank robbery takes place and Eddie is the prime suspect. Sentenced to death, he realizes that there is no other way of escaping his fate than resolving to violence. In the most climatic moment of the film a parole grant arrives at the prison warden's office. However - given the circumstances and his attempt to run away - mentally unstable Eddie doesn't believe the story. He kills the prison chaplain and becomes the real killer-on-the-loose. Along with his beautiful and loving wife and their newborn baby, he decides to run away out of the country and find peace somewhere far away. You Only Live Once is a visually-striking depiction of one man's attempt at rescuing his own well-being from the disastrous effects of a faulty trail. Henry Fonda gives an incredibly convincing performance as the worn-out, antipathetic protagonist. Sylvia Sidney aspires to be a true Golden-Era star through her touching portrayal of an optimistic yet worried wife. With its sombre atmosphere and bitter feel of irrepressible hopelessness You Only Live Once marks Fritz Lang's rise to fame during his American period.

You Only Live Once (1937) *** (out of 4) Social drama has Henry Fonda playing Eddie Taylor, a three time loser who manages to get out of prison thanks to his girlfriend (Sylvia Sidney) who works for the public defender. Once out he plans on going straight but he can't catch a break and soon he's arrested and sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Soon he's able to break out and goes on the run with his girl but the police are always one step behind. As you continue to read this you're going to hear mostly negative things so you might wonder why on Earth I gave this thing three stars. That there is pretty simple because if you're a fan of this type of drama then you're probably going to enjoy this one. If you're a fan of director Lang then you're going to enjoy all his great touches that he puts on the film. This film was made way before the term noir came about but I think it would be fair to put it in that genre and the visual look here will certainly remind people of countless noir titles the director would go onto make. The way Lang uses all the shadows and fog made for a great, dark atmosphere. Another thing that makes this film worth watching are the performances by Fonda and Sidney. Both are extremely good in their roles with Fonda really sticking out great in this early performance. He manages to be quite menacing when he needs to but he's also very sympathetic in the early scenes. That terrific voice really captures the character's spirit of wanting to do right only to have one bad thing happen after another. Now, what really kills this film and keeps it from being better is the downright horrid and embarrassing screenplay. I'm in no way a professional writer but I think this screenplay here is without question one of the worst I've seen from a professional. The thing plays everything out in such a simple manor that you can't help but roll your eyes and be well aware of what's going to happen at every turn. The way Fonda gets out is too simple. The way he gets back into trouble is too simple. The twist once he's in prison is too simple. The breaking point of the Sidney character is too simple. I won't give away the ending but the twists that come in the final twenty-minutes are just way too simple and laughable. The screenplay doesn't do either character any justice either because by the end of the film you hate the Fonda character and you can't stand the Sidney character and both of these are emotions the film certainly didn't want you to have. YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE is worth watching if you're fans of the director or cast but be sure you're in a light mood because this horrid screenplay will have you wondering how on Earth it got pass anyone with a green light.

A bit over rated, this one, I think. It certainly takes a while to get going, is a bit sentimental and has plenty of plot holes. However, this is an early noir and being of lasting influence was certainly one of Mr Lang's traits.Some of the shots are as stunning as they are surprising and things are not overly explained, it's just that some stretches seem a little flat. Whilst I can see much of the early scenes are to make the later consequences more poignant but seventy years on these can appear ponderous.Take nothing away for the last twenty minutes or so, though, plus the superb and heavily ironic prison yard scene.