''You and Me'' is a 1938 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

directed by

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary '' Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. ...

and starring Sylvia Sidney and

George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...

. 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 Norman Krasna (November 7, 1909 – November 1, 1984) was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year ca ...

and Virginia Van Upp.

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

* Sylvia Sidney as Helen *

as Joe Dennis *

Barton MacLane Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...

as Mickey * Harry Carey as Mr. Morris *

Roscoe Karns Roscoe, also spelled Rosco or Roscow, may refer to: People * Roscoe (name) Places United States * Roscoe, California (disambiguation) * Roscoe Township (disambiguation) * Roscoe, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Roscoe, Illinois, a villag ...

as Cuffy * George E. Stone as Patsy *

Warren Hymer Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor. Early life He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to ...

as Gimpy *

Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as '' The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in ...

as Jim * Adrian Morris as Knucks * Roger Gray as Bath House *

Cecil Cunningham Edna Cecil Cunningham (August 2, 1888 – April 17, 1959) was an American film and stage actress, singer, and comedienne. Early years Cunningham started her working life as a switchboard operator in a commerce bank and did some sittings as a ...

as Mrs. Morris *

Vera Gordon Vera Pogorelsky Gordon (June 11, 1886 – May 8, 1948) was a Russian-born American stage and screen actress. Early life Vera Pogorelsky was born in Ekaterinoslav, Russia, on June 11, 1886, the daughter of Boris Pogorelsky and Teigan Nemirovsky ...

as Mrs. Levine * Egon Brecher as Mr. Levine *

Willard Robertson Willard Robertson (January 1, 1886 – April 5, 1948) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1924 and 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas, and died in Hollywood, California. Biography Robertson first ...

as Dayton * Guinn Williams as Text *

Bernadene Hayes Bernadene Hayes (March 15, 1912 – August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actress. Early years Hayes was born at 3855 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Hayes. She had three brothers an ...

as Nellie *

Joyce Compton Olivia Joyce Compton (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1997) was an American actress. Biography Compton was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Henry and Golden Compton. (Despite frequent reports to the contrary, her name was not ...

as Curly Blonde * Carol Paige as Torch Singer

Production

William LeBaron William LeBaron (February 16, 1883February 9, 1958) was an American film producer. LeBaron's film credits included '' Cimarron'', which won the Academy Award for Outstanding Production at the 4th Academy Awards ceremony for 1930/1931. LeBaron a ...

of Paramount asked

if he could come up with a vehicle for George Raft. Krasna agreed provided he was allowed to direct. Then

Carole Lombard Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 2 ...

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.*McGilligan, Patrick, "Norman Krasna: The Woolworth's Touch", ''Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age'', University of California Press, 1986, p219-220 In 1936, it was reported the film would be delayed because Raft did not want Krasna to direct. There was some talk

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

might replace Raft.

Arline Judge Margaret Arline Judge (February 21, 1912 – February 7, 1974) was an American actress singer who worked mostly in low-budget B movies, but gained some fame for habitually marrying. Early years Arline Judge was born in Bridgeport, Connecti ...

was going to star alongside Lombard. Raft was put on suspension and $24,000 of his salary was withheld. However the film did not go ahead. Then several months later

B.P. Schulberg B. P. Schulberg (born Percival Schulberg, January 19, 1892 – February 25, 1957) was an American pioneer film producer and film studio executive. Biography Born Percival Schulberg in Bridgeport, Connecticut, he took the name Benjamin from the ...

, who was producing films for Paramount, decided to re-activate the project. He replaced Lombard with Sylvia Sidney and the male lead went to John Trent. Richard Wallace was meant to direct. 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

who had just made '' Fury'' and '' You Only Live Once'' with Sidney. Lang used a musical score from

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

, 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. Lang says he was influenced by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

, 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".

Production credits

- director * Virginia Van Upp - screenplay *

- story *

Charles Lang Charles Bryant Lang Jr., A.S.C. (March 27, 1902, Bluff, Utah – April 3, 1998, Santa Monica, CaliforniaHans Dreier - art direction *

Ernst Fegté Ernst Fegté (28 September 1900 – 15 December 1976) was a German art director. He was active in the American cinema from the 1920s to the 1970s, he was the art director or production designer on more than 75 feature films. He worked at Par ...

- art direction *

Paul Weatherwax Paul John Weatherwax (July 8, 1900 – September 13, 1960"California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (26 November 2014), Paul J Weatherwax, 13 Sep 1960; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.) was an American film edito ...

- editor * Harry Lindgren - sound recording * Walter Oberst - sound recording * A. E. Freudeman - interior decorations *

Boris Morros Boris Morros (; January 1, 1891 - January 8, 1963) was an American Communist Party member, Soviet agent, and FBI double agent. He also worked at Paramount Pictures, where he produced films as well as supervising their music department. Life and ...

- musical direction *

- music *

Sam Coslow Sam Coslow (December 27, 1902 – April 2, 1982) was an American songwriter, singer, film producer, publisher and market analyst. Coslow was born in New York City. He began writing songs as a teenager. He contributed songs to Broadway revues, ...

- lyrics * Phil Boutelje - musical adviser

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.Everett Aaker, ''The Films of George Raft'', McFarland & Company, 2013 p 77 "It was – I think deservedly – my first real flop", said Lang.

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." Lang later called it a "lousy picture". ''Filmink'' said "it flopped and Raft may as well have done it with Krasna."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:You And Me (1938 Film) 1938 films Film noir American black-and-white films Films directed by Fritz Lang Films set in department stores Paramount Pictures films 1938 crime films American crime films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films