It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Story or no story, what woman would give up her baby and flee with her condemned husband? This was one of the problems I had with a fairly good film. As always, the acting by Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney were very good.The picture again tries to prove that once you're a convict, you're labeled that way for life,even when you try to go straight. Such was the case with Fonda, who tried to go straight, but the rejection by others led only to more trouble for him.William Gargan was excellent as the victim-priest. It was the experiences of the Fonda character which wouldn't allow him to believe police officials that he had been exonerated of the crime he had been charged with. Sad commentary on our lives.

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.

This is from a time in which Fritz Lang still wanted (or thought he could) to go on making American films as he was doing them in Germany. We have a theme with social concerns, a useless attack on the morality of the system and prejudice. It's vapid, and it's superficial. Lang was good with manipulating images, with creating powerful scenery that could, by itself, pass a mood, usually an oppressive mood, maybe an advance of what nazism would become and symbolize to western civilization.But here he has to submit to his new environment. In this moment in cinema history the differences Lang might have found were probably in the kind of effective control he lost over the choices in his films. This is an American film, more than an auteur film, and watching this means understanding this fact. The outcome, in this case, is a total mess, i think. There are only a few things worth watching, but even those can be found much better integrated, and thus much more powerful, in other films: one of those things is when we feel Lang was able to create visually. Here we have two particularly interesting moments: one is when Fonda is in a cage waiting for his execution moment to come. The cage is designed for the light to go through and produce the light we see. This is enhanced by the upper position Lang gives to his camera, as he liked to do, in order to give us the sensation of some outer/superior force controlling what's beneath. The other moment is the fog with vultures walking undefined in the prison escape scene. As with the cage, it's a moment of tension and importance in the unimportant plot. I suppose Lang, not being able to cover the whole film with his vision at least tried to hold these moments. These clips are worthwhile, but i've seen them in better contexts.the other thing worth watching is Fonda. Before Marlon Brando, he is one of the few who understood what was necessary for an actor to do in order to make a film work. He is very contained, but he walks, talks, and expresses in a way which is made for the camera, for the film. It's a pleasure to watch him but again, there are better sources for us to understand his qualities My opinion: 1/5 http://www.7eyes.wordpress.com