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You and Me (1938 film)

January 06, 2023

You and Me is a 1938 American crime film noir directed by Fritz Lang and starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft. They play a pair of criminals on parole and working in a department store full of similar cases; Harry Carey's character routinely hires ex-convicts to staff his store. The film was written by Norman Krasna and Virginia Van Upp.

You and Me
Directed byFritz Lang
Screenplay byVirginia Van Upp
Based onNorman Krasna
(Based on a story by)
Produced byFritz Lang
StarringSylvia Sidney
George Raft
CinematographyCharles Lang
Edited byPaul Weatherwax
Music byKurt Weill
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
Paramount Pictures
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • May 29, 1938 (1938-05-29) (Los Angeles-Premiere)
  • June 1, 1938 (1938-06-01) (New York City)
  • June 10, 1938 (1938-06-10) (United States)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Mr. Morris, owner of a large department store, hires offenders released on parole to give them a chance to rehabilitate. The other staff do not know.

Among them is Joe Dennis, who is resigning and leaving for California in order to end his growing friendship with fellow-employee Helen Roberts, as he feels unworthy of her. With his violent past, he does not feel he could marry such a sweet and innocent girl. They spend a last evening together and, as he boards the Greyhound bus, she says that if he did ask to marry her the answer would be yes.

They rush to an instant marriage bureau and then back to her room. The landlady emerges to throw Joe out, but relents when Helen shows her ring. Helen says they must keep the wedding secret, because Mr Morris does not approve of employees marrying each other. In fact he does not mind, but Helen is not allowed to marry while on parole.

When Joe finds a ribboned bundle of what he assumes are love letters in Helen's room, but which are parole cards, he becomes jealous of her past, and meets up for a drink with some criminals from his own. They plan to rob Morris' store at night, and recruit him to join the operation. But one of the gang is sorry for Helen, should Joe end up back in prison, and, trying to disguise his voice on the telephone, encourages her to keep him away that night; but panicking, he fails to cover the telephone properly; she recognizes the voice, deduces why, and warns Morris.

When the robbers break into the store, they are surrounded by armed guards. Morris says he will let them go once they have listened to what Helen has to say. With considerable expertise, she outlines on a blackboard the full costs of the operation they had planned and the meager returns each individual would receive if it had succeeded. Joe is not amused by Helen's role in the affair or by her sophisticated knowledge of heist planning. As he does not offer any reconciliation, she packs her things and disappears.

Joe and his colleagues search all over town, with no leads. From Helen's parole officer, Joe learns that Helen is pregnant and that her marriage was void as it breached her parole conditions. After looking everywhere for her, one of the gang realizes that she'd probably be in a hospital, and finds her. The film ends with their second, but this time valid, marriage.

Cast

Production

William LeBaron of Paramount asked Norman Krasna if he could come up with a vehicle for George Raft. Krasna agreed provided he was allowed to direct. Then Carole Lombard read the script and wanted to be involved; Krasna says Paramount did not want first-time director Krasna to be entrusted with a Lombard-Raft film and tried to force Krasna off the project.[1] In 1936, it was reported the film would be delayed because Raft did not want Krasna to direct.[2] There was some talk John Howard might replace Raft.[3] Arline Judge was going to star alongside Lombard.[4] Raft was put on suspension and $24,000 of his salary was withheld.[5] However the film did not go ahead.

Then several months later B.P. Schulberg, who was producing films for Paramount, decided to re-activate the project. He replaced Lombard with Sylvia Sidney[6] and the male lead went to John Trent. Richard Wallace was meant to direct.[7]

Eventually Raft – who had made a film with Sidney, The Pick Up (1933) – did the film. By May 1937, Schulberg was no longer producer and the director was Fritz Lang who had just made Fury and You Only Live Once with Sidney.[8]

Lang used a musical score from Kurt Weill, who "had nothing to do just then." They worked together and Weill composed introductory music for certain scenes. According to Lang, Weill left him "in the lurch" and left the project before the music was finished, and the score was completed by Boris Morros, head of Paramount's music department.[9]

Lang says he was influenced by Bertolt Brecht, who had developed a style of theatre called Lehrstucke, theatre that teaches. "I wanted to make a didactic picture teaching the audience that crime doesn't pay", said Lang. "Which is a lie, because crime pays very well. The message was spelled out at the end by Sylvia Sidney on a blackboard to a classroom of crooks." Lang later said the scene where prisoners were nostalgic for prison was "stupid".[10]

Production credits

Songs

  • "Song of the Cash Register"
  • "Knocking Song"
  • "The Right Guy for Me"
  • "Romance of a Lifetime"
  • "The Song of the Lie"
  • "We're the Kind of People Who Sing Lullabies"

Reception

Box office

The film was a box office flop.[11] "It was – I think deservedly – my first real flop", said Lang.[10]

Critical

Jonathan Rosenbaum described You and Me as "among Lang's most unjustly neglected Hollywood pictures – not an unqualified success by any means but interesting, imaginative, and genuinely strange."[12]

Lang later called it a "lousy picture".[13]

Filmink said "it flopped and Raft may as well have done it with Krasna."[14]

References

  1. ^ *McGilligan, Patrick, "Norman Krasna: The Woolworth's Touch", Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age, University of California Press, 1986, p219-220
  2. ^ "NEWS OF THE SCREEN". New York Times. Sep 3, 1936. ProQuest 101680687.
  3. ^ "NEWS OF THE SCREEN". New York Times. Sep 4, 1936. ProQuest 101793136.
  4. ^ Schallert, E. (Sep 9, 1936). "GLADYS GEORGE AWARDED LEAD IN "A MAN AND A WOMAN"". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 164713934.
  5. ^ "News from hollywood". New York Times. Nov 20, 1936. ProQuest 101687622.
  6. ^ Graham, S. (Jan 7, 1937). "SCHULBERG CASTS SYLVIA SIDNEY IN KRASNA FEATURE". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 164680669.
  7. ^ "NEWS OF THE SCREEN". New York Times. Jan 9, 1937. ProQuest 102070888.
  8. ^ Schallert, E. (May 14, 1937). "ORIGINAL FUNSTERS SOUGHT FORI "PIGSKIN PARADE" SEQUELS". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 164728490.
  9. ^ Lang, Fritz (2003). Fritz Lang: Interviews. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-57806-577-6.
  10. ^ a b Lang, Fritz (2003). Fritz Lang: Interviews. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 105. ISBN 9781578065776.
  11. ^ Everett Aaker, The Films of George Raft, McFarland & Company, 2013 p 77
  12. ^ "You and Me". Jonathan Rosenbaum. February 1999.
  13. ^ Lang (2003). Fritz Lang: Interviews. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 140. ISBN 9781578065776.
  14. ^ Vagg, Stephen (February 9, 2020). "Why Stars Stop Being Stars: George Raft". Filmink.

External links

January 06, 2023
1938, film, 1938, american, crime, film, noir, directed, fritz, lang, starring, sylvia, sidney, george, raft, they, play, pair, criminals, parole, working, department, store, full, similar, cases, harry, carey, character, routinely, hires, convicts, staff, sto. You and Me is a 1938 American crime film noir directed by Fritz Lang and starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft They play a pair of criminals on parole and working in a department store full of similar cases Harry Carey s character routinely hires ex convicts to staff his store The film was written by Norman Krasna and Virginia Van Upp You and MeDirected byFritz LangScreenplay byVirginia Van UppBased onNorman Krasna Based on a story by Produced byFritz LangStarringSylvia SidneyGeorge RaftCinematographyCharles LangEdited byPaul WeatherwaxMusic byKurt WeillColor processBlack and whiteProductioncompanyParamount PicturesDistributed byParamount PicturesRelease datesMay 29 1938 1938 05 29 Los Angeles Premiere June 1 1938 1938 06 01 New York City June 10 1938 1938 06 10 United States Running time94 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Production credits 5 Songs 6 Reception 6 1 Box office 6 2 Critical 7 References 8 External linksPlot EditMr Morris owner of a large department store hires offenders released on parole to give them a chance to rehabilitate The other staff do not know Among them is Joe Dennis who is resigning and leaving for California in order to end his growing friendship with fellow employee Helen Roberts as he feels unworthy of her With his violent past he does not feel he could marry such a sweet and innocent girl They spend a last evening together and as he boards the Greyhound bus she says that if he did ask to marry her the answer would be yes They rush to an instant marriage bureau and then back to her room The landlady emerges to throw Joe out but relents when Helen shows her ring Helen says they must keep the wedding secret because Mr Morris does not approve of employees marrying each other In fact he does not mind but Helen is not allowed to marry while on parole When Joe finds a ribboned bundle of what he assumes are love letters in Helen s room but which are parole cards he becomes jealous of her past and meets up for a drink with some criminals from his own They plan to rob Morris store at night and recruit him to join the operation But one of the gang is sorry for Helen should Joe end up back in prison and trying to disguise his voice on the telephone encourages her to keep him away that night but panicking he fails to cover the telephone properly she recognizes the voice deduces why and warns Morris When the robbers break into the store they are surrounded by armed guards Morris says he will let them go once they have listened to what Helen has to say With considerable expertise she outlines on a blackboard the full costs of the operation they had planned and the meager returns each individual would receive if it had succeeded Joe is not amused by Helen s role in the affair or by her sophisticated knowledge of heist planning As he does not offer any reconciliation she packs her things and disappears Joe and his colleagues search all over town with no leads From Helen s parole officer Joe learns that Helen is pregnant and that her marriage was void as it breached her parole conditions After looking everywhere for her one of the gang realizes that she d probably be in a hospital and finds her The film ends with their second but this time valid marriage Cast EditSylvia Sidney as Helen George Raft as Joe Dennis Barton MacLane as Mickey Harry Carey as Mr Morris Roscoe Karns as Cuffy George E Stone as Patsy Warren Hymer as Gimpy Robert Cummings as Jim Adrian Morris as Knucks Roger Gray as Bath House Cecil Cunningham as Mrs Morris Vera Gordon as Mrs Levine Egon Brecher as Mr Levine Willard Robertson as Dayton Guinn Williams as Text Bernadene Hayes as Nellie Joyce Compton as Curly Blonde Carol Paige as Torch SingerProduction EditWilliam LeBaron of Paramount asked Norman Krasna if he could come up with a vehicle for George Raft Krasna agreed provided he was allowed to direct Then Carole Lombard read the script and wanted to be involved Krasna says Paramount did not want first time director Krasna to be entrusted with a Lombard Raft film and tried to force Krasna off the project 1 In 1936 it was reported the film would be delayed because Raft did not want Krasna to direct 2 There was some talk John Howard might replace Raft 3 Arline Judge was going to star alongside Lombard 4 Raft was put on suspension and 24 000 of his salary was withheld 5 However the film did not go ahead Then several months later B P Schulberg who was producing films for Paramount decided to re activate the project He replaced Lombard with Sylvia Sidney 6 and the male lead went to John Trent Richard Wallace was meant to direct 7 Eventually Raft who had made a film with Sidney The Pick Up 1933 did the film By May 1937 Schulberg was no longer producer and the director was Fritz Lang who had just made Fury and You Only Live Once with Sidney 8 Lang used a musical score from Kurt Weill who had nothing to do just then They worked together and Weill composed introductory music for certain scenes According to Lang Weill left him in the lurch and left the project before the music was finished and the score was completed by Boris Morros head of Paramount s music department 9 Lang says he was influenced by Bertolt Brecht who had developed a style of theatre called Lehrstucke theatre that teaches I wanted to make a didactic picture teaching the audience that crime doesn t pay said Lang Which is a lie because crime pays very well The message was spelled out at the end by Sylvia Sidney on a blackboard to a classroom of crooks Lang later said the scene where prisoners were nostalgic for prison was stupid 10 Production credits EditFritz Lang director Virginia Van Upp screenplay Norman Krasna story Charles Lang photography Hans Dreier art direction Ernst Fegte art direction Paul Weatherwax editor Harry Lindgren sound recording Walter Oberst sound recording A E Freudeman interior decorations Boris Morros musical direction Kurt Weill music Sam Coslow lyrics Phil Boutelje musical adviserSongs Edit Song of the Cash Register Knocking Song The Right Guy for Me Romance of a Lifetime The Song of the Lie We re the Kind of People Who Sing Lullabies Reception EditBox office Edit The film was a box office flop 11 It was I think deservedly my first real flop said Lang 10 Critical Edit Jonathan Rosenbaum described You and Me as among Lang s most unjustly neglected Hollywood pictures not an unqualified success by any means but interesting imaginative and genuinely strange 12 Lang later called it a lousy picture 13 Filmink said it flopped and Raft may as well have done it with Krasna 14 References Edit McGilligan Patrick Norman Krasna The Woolworth s Touch Backstory Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood s Golden Age University of California Press 1986 p219 220 NEWS OF THE SCREEN New York Times Sep 3 1936 ProQuest 101680687 NEWS OF THE SCREEN New York Times Sep 4 1936 ProQuest 101793136 Schallert E Sep 9 1936 GLADYS GEORGE AWARDED LEAD IN A MAN AND A WOMAN Los Angeles Times ProQuest 164713934 News from hollywood New York Times Nov 20 1936 ProQuest 101687622 Graham S Jan 7 1937 SCHULBERG CASTS SYLVIA SIDNEY IN KRASNA FEATURE Los Angeles Times ProQuest 164680669 NEWS OF THE SCREEN New York Times Jan 9 1937 ProQuest 102070888 Schallert E May 14 1937 ORIGINAL FUNSTERS SOUGHT FORI PIGSKIN PARADE SEQUELS Los Angeles Times ProQuest 164728490 Lang Fritz 2003 Fritz Lang Interviews Univ Press of Mississippi ISBN 978 1 57806 577 6 a b Lang Fritz 2003 Fritz Lang Interviews Univ Press of Mississippi p 105 ISBN 9781578065776 Everett Aaker The Films of George Raft McFarland amp Company 2013 p 77 You and Me Jonathan Rosenbaum February 1999 Lang 2003 Fritz Lang Interviews Univ Press of Mississippi p 140 ISBN 9781578065776 Vagg Stephen February 9 2020 Why Stars Stop Being Stars George Raft Filmink External links EditYou and Me at IMDb You and Me at the American Film Institute Catalog You and Me at the TCM Movie Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title You and Me 1938 film amp oldid 1106333116, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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