Product Details

• Actors: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, Edgar Buchanan, Kathleen Case
• Directors: Fritz Lang
• Producers: Lewis J. Rachmil
• Format: NTSC, Black & White
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Goodtimes Home Video
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000KRK7WE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,754 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Tagline: A man-hungry wife plots to murder her husband.... Based on a novel by Emile Zola.... The suspicions of former railroader Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford) are confirmed when he beats his seductive, young wife Vicki (Gloria Grahame) into admitting that the time she passed with a railroad official was not entirely about his recent dismissal. Carl forces Vicki to set up a meeting on a train, and knifes his rival. Railroad engineer Jeff Warren (Glenn Ford) sees Vicki emerge from the murder compartment but, because of mutual attractions, refrains from testifying. Vicki uses her blandishments on Jeff in an effort to have him kill Carl; when Jeff refuses, she flees. Carl follows and strangles the girl. Freed of his infatuation for Vicki, Jeff is able to resume his romance with the pretty daughter of his co-worker (Edgar Buchanan).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Adultery, Jealousy, Murdur, & the Perils of Train Travel !, August 16, 2009

By 

Timothy F. Holland "Noir Fan" (Boston Burb) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Human Desire (The Human Beast) (VHS Tape)

ATTENTION film purists: Please don't tell me this is not as good as Jean Renoir's 1938 La Bete Humaine starring Jean Gabin and Simone Simon. Let's agree to accept that as a given.

However, looking at Fritz Lang's Human Desire from 1954 on its own merits, I think the film is well directed, perfectly cast, well paced and entertaining. It stands up even in the jaded 21st century.

Glenn Ford and Broderick Crawford deliver the goods with strong although admittedly one dimensional performances. However, Gloria Grahame [Hollywood's queen of the tramps]steals the show with a carefully nuanced depiction of the bad girl trapped in a bad marriage with an abusive and menacing guy. She needs to be strong yet vulnerable; repellingly slutty yet attractively sensitive; despicable yet sympathetic. She is walking a dramtic tightrope for 90 minutes and she pulls it off!

I enjoyed the ride and the film improves with repeated viewings. I recommend it as a must see for film noir aficionados.

Noir Fan

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Human Desire, September 9, 2011

By 

Tom in Nashville - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Human Desire (The Human Beast) (VHS Tape)

This movie is of great interest to fans of 1950s railroad operations. The big star is an Alco FA-1 diesel locomotive. There is a fair amount of rail action throughout the film...and the underlying sinister plots of blackmail and murder play out well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Human Desire (1954) ... Ford/Grahame/Crawford/Buchanan ... Fritz lang (Director) (1996)", October 30, 2011

By 

J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Human Desire (The Human Beast) (VHS Tape)

Columbia Pictures presents "HUMAN DESIRE" (1954) ~ (91 min/B&W) ~~ Starring: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, Edgar Buchanan & Kathleen Case

Directed by Fritz Lang

Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford) needs the intervention of his beautiful wife Vicki (Gloria Grahame) to keep his job, so Vicki meets with Carl's boss Owens (Grandon Rhodes), and Carl's job is secure. Insanely jealous, Carl finds Vicki with Owens on board a train and kills Owens. Jeff Warren (Glenn Ford) just back from Korea and now a train engineer protects Vicki and they begin an affair - all the more complicating the situation and leading to disastrous developments

Lang & Ford had previously combined for The Big Heat (1953) ~ Check out my review on Amazon ~ The Big Heat

* Special footnote: ~~ Gloria Grahame's part was originally intended for Rita Hayworth ~~ Fritz Lang had desperately wanted Peter Lorre to play Jeff Warren, but Lang had treated Lorre so abusively during the making of M that the actor refused.

** The cast, direction and film is very good, but the Goodtimes video picture and sound is low quality...but still watchable!

BIOS:
1. Fritz Lang [Director]
Date of Birth: 5 December 1890 - Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]
Date of Death: 2 August 1976 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California

2. Glenn Ford (aka: Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford)
Date of Birth: 1 May 1916 - Sainte-Christine, Quebec, Canada
Date of Death: 30 August 2006 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California

3. Gloria Grahame [aka: Gloria Hallward]
Date of Birth: 28 November 1923 - Los Angeles, California
Date of Death: 5 October 1981 - New York City, New York

4. Broderick Crawford
Date of Birth: 9 December 1911 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date of Death: 26 April 1986 - Rancho Mirage, California

5. Edgar Buchanan
Date of Birth: 20 March 1903 - Humansville, Missouri
Date of Death: 4 April 1979 - Palm Desert, California

6. Kathleen Case [aka: Catherine Walker]
Date of Birth: 31 July 1933 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date of Death: 22 July 1979 - North Hollywood, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 3 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 91 min on VHS ~ Columbia Pictures ~ (December 18, 1996)