Fritz Lang, social worker.
This time it's rehabilitating ex-cons, in the almost forgotten, You & Me, from 1938. No reviews for three years. George Morris (Harry Carey) is the altruistic owner of a department store & he hires ex-cons. George Raft is an employee, a former tough guy but apparently rehabilitated.
He has just gone off of parole & is really free. Free to travel, go where he wants, see who he wants & fall in love. Everyone knows he's an ex-con & his old gang members are trying unsucessfully to suck him back into a life of crime. Helen (Sylvia Sidney) has no such luck. She is also an employee still on parole, but no one knows except Mr. Morris & her P.O. She's young, attractive & vulnurable. She's not allowed to hang around with low-lifes like Joe or fall in love, with anybody. But she does of course, with Joe. At first, no one notices. They are co-workers after all. Then Joe quits, prepared to leave & start a new life in California. But for her he stays. Now her deceptions begin. They hang out, get married & move in together, all violations of her parole. Joe discovers Helen's secret & leaves her, apparently falling in with a plan to rob the store. The members of this gang are pretty pathetic. They inspire derision rather than fear. Anyway, Helen shows strength of character & smarts heretofore unknown to prevent the crime & saves the gang from jail. Everyone concludes that Joe is nuts if he lets Helen go. A happy ending. Joe & Helen's crimes are never mentioned. A much better movie that I expected & I can give it **** easily.

A must-see for fans of Fritz Lang!
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.

UNUSUAL CASTING MAKES FOR A FAIR FILM.
Joe Dennis and Helen, two ex-cons on parole, work in the department store of Mr. Morris, who kindly hires former inmates to help them assimilate to civilian life...Only one of them isn't quite reformed...A downright peculiar little comedy-drama which is fun to watch for that very reason. The musical numbers for this film are unorthodox compared to many others in American films of the period: listen to SONG OF THE CASH REGISTER which is heard spoken/sung in a deep baritone male voice as the film opens. It's a hoot! Also catch THE KNOCKING SONG. Lloyd Nolan was originally to have played Barton MacLane's role, but other obligations intervened. Carole Lombard was the original choice for Sidney's role - the original working title of the film was simply WONDERFUL - no pun intended. The film is an eclectic one - and was mostly considered weird by the critics who thought Lang had either lost his touch or his mind. But the photography is interesting and elements of the film - however bazarre - seem fascinating in contrast for viewers of original, eclectic vintage films.

The Gang That Couldn't Think Straight
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.

Damon Runyon Meets "3 Penny Opera"
"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.