Product Details

• Actors: Sylvia Sidney, George Raft, Robert Cummings, Barton MacLane, Roscoe Karns
• Directors: Fritz Lang
• Writers: Jack Moffitt, Norman Krasna, Virginia Van Upp
• Producers: Fritz Lang
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: April 28, 1998
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783217536
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,505 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must-see for fans of Fritz Lang!, March 1, 2003

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: You & Me [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A truly offbeat proto-noir crime comedy directed by German film pioneer Fritz Lang at the start of his Hollywood tenure. George Raft and Silvia Sidney co-star as star-crossed lovers who meet while working in a large New York department store whose president believes in hiring ex-cons as a way to help them socially rehabilitate themselves. Raft is an ex-felon whose probation has just ended, and he feels that now, at last, he can find love and marriage. What he doesn't know, though, is that his bride, Sidney, is *also* an ex-criminal, and when she discovers his distain for "female jailbirds," she goes to great lengths to hide the truth from him. As a result, Raft hardens again, and finds himself drawn again towards the criminal lifestyle. The film mixes elements of dark drama and screwball comedy, even mixing in an avant garde sensibility in a few odd musical sketches. There interludes are provided by composer Kurt Weill, also in Hollywood exile, and stand out, not unpleasantly, in a most bizarre fashion from the rest of the film. Also noteworthy is the kooky, deliberately anticlimactic ending, in which Silvia Sidney teaches the crooks, literally *teaches* them, the lesson that that "crime does not pay." In dramatic terms, the film is uneven, but as an experimental work, it's quite fascinating. Definitely worth checking out.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Gang That Couldn't Think Straight, June 23, 2000

By 

Vincent Tesi "Vinny" (Brick, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: You & Me [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Made in 1938, Fritz Lang's You and Me was probably the first noir/crime film to combine comedy, lighthearted romance, and musical sketches into a morality play concerning the consequences of crime. Sylvia Sydney as the sprightly salesgirl Helen, carries the picture. In a familiar role that seemed to define her career, Sydney became an icon for working women of the thirties and forties who struggled for an identity within middle class America. As in You Only Live Once and Dead End, Helen is similiar to Sydney's former characters in that they brim with hope. Helen may represent the underclass, but her unrelenting spirit transcends social boundaries. With Sydney's help, Lang made a case for improving the treatment of ex-convicts who were often denied basic civil rights. Harry Cary is perfectly cast as the affable department store owner Mr. Morris. Morris has hired fifty ex-convicts and justifies his actions to his skeptical wife ( Cecil Cunningham). Morris's goodwill is tested when eight of the employees plan to heist over $30,000 worth of store merchandise. The gang rallies around Joe Dennis (George Raft) who abandons his rightous ways when he discovers that Helen lied to him about her past. Director Lang mixes comedy with a lesson about the misconcepptions of crime. Helen is the teacher and she captures the attention of the mugs with a quick lecture in artithmetic. The message is "crime doesn't pay" and in Lang's film You and Me, it means more ways than one. Warren Hymer as Gimmpy adds humor to the gang's criminal fraternization. Raft known for turning down some of the best film roles ever, gives an even performance as Joe, the ex-con.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Damon Runyon Meets "3 Penny Opera", May 27, 2000

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Scott T. Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: You & Me [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"You and Me" (1938) is a genuine sleeper and a cult favorite among fans of director Fritz Lang. An offbeat, quirky mix of Damon Runyon and Kurt Weill (who wrote the music), this romantic comedy features George Raft and Sylvia Sidney in good form as an unlikely couple with a criminal past. Lang's expressionist style is evident during the Weill-inspired segments - a Hollywood interpretation of "The 3 Penny Opera." Though not for all tastes, "You and Me" is much better than its critical reputation would have you believe.