Martin Bradley They say the French version was better. I can't possibly comment since I haven't seen it but it was Renoir and it was Zola so they may be right but this American version, now called "Human Desire" is by Fritz Lang and I think it comes close to being a masterpiece. He got Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame together again a year after "The Big Heat" and if you thought that painted a rotten picture of America, just wait until you see this.Ford's still the good guy, but not that good. He thinks nothing of sleeping with the wife of a co-worker and when she asks him to kill her husband he says, OK I'll do it. Of course, she's a tramp but there's more to it. You see, her husband is a jealous neanderthal who beats her up and who's already killed one man she's gone to bed with. Remember, Zola wrote the original novel so there are layers to this movie you don't often get in film noir. What we see on the surface is just that, the surface and there is more to the scenario than meets the eye.It helps that the wife is Gloria Grahame and she's magnificent; it may be her best performance. Grahame can be vulnerable and hurting and very, very dangerous all at the same time and, as the old saying goes, she could make a dead man come. It also helps that Glenn Ford is her leading man; even when playing the good guy Ford could be less than noble and you can trace this all the way back to "Gilda". When he tells Grahame he'll kill her husband, you believe him and it helps that the husband is Broderick Crawford. One look at Crawford and you know he's bad news.Was it a fluke that Lang and Ford and Grahame came together again to make this just after "The Big Heat" or was it providence? Either way, they hit pay dirt. Renoir's film may indeed be the better movie but you write this one off at your peril.

AudioFileZ First billing on Human Desire goes to Glenn Ford, but he's somewhat eclipsed by Gloria Grahame. Grahame as Vicky Buckley is a cross between a femme fa tale and a bullied and oppressed wife. While not a classic beauty she exudes a kind of striking combination of a sultry sexuality and a "girl next door" with a babyish voice to further complicate the juxtaposition. She most definitely can play the role she's given here standing toe-to-toe with both Ford and Broderick Crawford as her husband Carl. Vicky is at once damaged, devious, and extremely manipulative and Grahame delivers it in spades. Human Desire is a combination of film noir and a romantic drama. Named quite correctly the movie shows how certain innate desires can trip up otherwise solid people. Without haste the marriage between Carl and Vicky becomes a loveless match of wills. Even though Carl suspects Vicky of having an affair with the older wealthy John Owens he forces Vicky to meet him and ask for his influence in getting back the job Carl lost. This sets up Carl's rage when he once more accuses Vicky of a tryst with Owens as she was simply gone too long.In a jealous calculated murder plot Carl gets the upper hand on his wife with a note in order to lure Owens into a trap. It's implied he knows he is going to kill Owens while holding the letter framing Vicky. Carl will, thus, prevent Vicky from leaving for fear of being implicated in the murder.. But, instead of controlling his wife Carl is losing her to returning veteran and railroad engineer Jeff Warren played by Glenn Ford. Warren becomes intertwined in the whole mess by a kiss with Vicky Buckley prior to knowing who and what she is. Before he can figure out he is getting played, Warren decides to testify in an inquiry that he couldn't identify the passenger (Vicky) he may have witnessed, possibly involved in the murder of John Owens. Now, Jeff Warren is in deep being blinded by his budding love (i.e. lust) for Vicky, much to her design. Things get messier before Warren gets his own personal reality check as he truly contemplates murdering Carl Buckley to both save Vicky and have her for his wife. This plays out quite well as the love triangle of Carl, Vicky, and Jeff Warren comes to a critical mass. There's a good twist at the end when at least Vicky, who loses Warren, thinks she's, at least, free of Carl.While no classic, this is a solid movie with good elements of film noir and romantic drama. Director Fritz Lang may have been slumming just a little, though Grahame's performance stands tall. Ford is realistic as the otherwise "nice-guy" who gets snowed. Broderick, typically wooden, brings that unsympathetic bully quality needed for the dark matter to spring forth from. These three get nice support from Warren's fatherly co-worker Alec, played by the crusty character actor Edgar Buchanan (uncle Joe from Petticoat Junction fame) and his overly sweet and beautiful daughter Ellen played by Kathleen Case (Jeff's potential other love interest).This isn't a classic movie due to several factors such as less than stellar dialog and, perhaps, general lack of imagination. But, it is a quite strong film due to the strength of Grahame as Vicky Buckley in playing out of that age old story of a love triangle with a murder in the middle As such is gets a definite recommendation.

seymourblack-1 Fritz Lang's "Human Desire" is based on Emile Zola's novel "La Bete Humaine" which had previously been made into a movie directed by Jean Renoir in 1938. For Lang's version, the time frame was changed to the 1950s, the action was relocated to the United States and some modifications were made to satisfy the requirements of studio bosses and the production code. What remains however, is still a very powerful and grim tale about a couple who are driven by their most base instincts into acts of deceit, blackmail, adultery and murder. These people are not only unencumbered by any type of moral code but also, by their actions, have a corrupting effect on a more passive character who is also a mutual acquaintance.Railroad official Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford) is fired from his job for insubordination and begs his wife Vicki (Gloria Grahame) to approach her mother's former employer, the influential John Owens (Grandon Rhodes), to get him to persuade Carl's ex-employer to change his mind and re-employ him. After Vicki completes her mission quickly and successfully, Carl becomes suspicious about the method she'd used to induce Owens to cooperate so readily and in a fit of jealousy and rage beats her and forces her to write a letter to Owens. The letter is an invitation for Owens to meet Vicki on a train at an arranged time on the following day.Owens and Vicki meet as arranged but Carl who'd accompanied Vicki uses his knife to kill Owens and removes Vicki's letter from his victim's pocket and steals his money to make it appear that the murder was connected with a robbery. Railroad engineer Jeff Warren (Glenn Ford) is standing in the train corridor when the couple want to leave Owens' compartment and so Carl tells Vicki to encourage Jeff away from the area which she duly does. Jeff and Vicki go into another compartment and talk but when he kisses her, she runs away.At the inquest into Owens' death, Jeff doesn't admit that he'd seen Vicki near the crime scene and when he sees her next, she tells him a fabricated version of what happened on the train and also about her husband's abusive behaviour towards her. She shows Jeff some of her bruises and shortly after they embark on an affair.Some time later, Vicki tells Jeff the truth about the murder, the incriminating content of her letter to Owens and the fact that Carl had kept the letter to ensure her future cooperation. However, when Carl gets fired from his job for the second time, Vicki says that she's terrified about his reaction if he discovers the truth about her affair and tries to persuade Jeff to murder her husband. What Jeff ultimately does has a critical effect on both their futures.Carl's volatile nature had been the original cause of him losing his job and his subsequent irrational outbursts of violence and jealousy then led him into wife beating, blackmail and murder and his drunkenness and apparent lack of remorse made his relationship with Vicki even more toxic. Broderick Crawford is impressively powerful and menacing as the brutish Carl whose actions are determined by the destructive force of his unbridled passions.Vicki is a victim of Carl's behaviour but is also manipulative, mendacious and totally unscrupulous. Gloria Grahame captures perfectly her character's devious nature and changing moods as well as her unashamed willingness to be involved in a plan to murder her husband.Jeff had returned from military service in Korea and in the movie's earliest scenes shows the natural type of contentment he enjoys as a passive man whose aspirations are modest. Glenn Ford then shows as the action continues, how Jeff's demeanour alters as he becomes morally compromised enough to withhold information from the murder inquest before getting involved in an affair with the untrustworthy Vicki and then taking part in a plot to kill her husband."Human Desire" is ultimately an engaging and sordid story about people who act without reason, logic or compassion and in the process, corrupt or inflict misery on, those with whom they come into contact.

wes-connors Train conductor Glenn Ford (as Jeff Warren) returns from Korean war service. Back on the home-front, Mr. Ford learns hulky co-worker Broderick Crawford (as Carl Buckley) has been promoted to railroad "yard master" and has acquired a beautiful wife, seductive Gloria Grahame (as Vicki). But, things aren't going as well as they seem for Mr. Crawford. Fired from his job, Crawford asks Ms. Grahame to use her charms to talk the boss into rehiring her husband. When he realizes Grahame used sexual favors to help him, Crawford beats her up. Then, Grahame decides to seduce Ford, and have him get rid of Crawford, who has become a killer… This unimaginative reworking of a standard melodrama is most recognizable as Emile Zola's "La Bête Humaine". The script and players lack psychological depth, although Grahame helps simply by being on screen. Even with curvier Kathleen Case (as Ellen Simmons) in the cast, Grahame commands your attention; her performance suggests things the film left out. Moreover, it's directed by Fritz Lang and photographed by Burnett Guffey, with occasional flair.****** Human Desire (8/5/54) Fritz Lang ~ Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford