Human Desire. Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame star in this powerful 1954 drama of love, lust, and greed. Ford plays a Korean war veteran who returns to his job on the railroad but gets involved with the boss’s wife, played by sultry Grahame. Broderick Crawford plays the boss. Directed by Fritz Lang and filmed in stark black and white by Burnett Guffey, the pace of the film never lets up.
Maybe I just like trains but the opening credits featuring a speeding locomotive get you immediately into the film. Gloria Grahame gives one of her best performances. As in most of her film noir appearances she is more a victim than a femme fatale despite the lurid movie poster.
Grahame made her first big splash in 1946 playing Violet Biggs, Donna Reed's rival for Jimmy Stewart's affection, in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. She went on to star in classic film noirs like The Big Heat, also with Glenn Ford, and In a Lonely Place with Humphrey Bogart. She won an Oscar for her performance in The Bad and the Beautiful, and even played Ado Annie in the film version of Oklahoma.
 |
| Gloria Grahame and Glenn Ford |
I could not find a good video review of this film, but the complete film, with the stunning opening, is available on Youtube.The film is based on a novel by nineteenth century French author Emile Zola. 91 minutes, CC. Click on this link for the opening credit sequence.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment