Fritz Lang once again raids Jean Renoir's filmography in a remake of La Bete Humaine (38). Unlike the comparable Scarlett St. to Renoir's La Chienne, Human Desire is a far inferior copy this time around.
Jeff Warren (Glenn Ford) returns from the Korean War to his old job as a rail road engineer and the desire to go fishing when he wants to. He gets involved with a co-worker's (Broderick Crawford) wife (Gloria Grahame) after providing an alibi for the pair involving a murder. When the husband blackmails the wife with evidence that will implicate her she tries to coax Jeff to off him.
Lang's direction is limp as he gets a dull performance out of Ford and a sloppy one from Crawford. Grahame easily steals the show as the duplicitous infidel trying to manipulate the men. She's cold and calculating but also a victim forced to commit a criminal act.
Comparison to the original would be piling on but it is worth noting Jean Gabin drove the train on occasion and more importantly a locomotive with more moving parts and character than Ford's streamlined diesel. Better to go with the original.
Jeff Warren (Glenn Ford) returns from the Korean War to his old job as a rail road engineer and the desire to go fishing when he wants to. He gets involved with a co-worker's (Broderick Crawford) wife (Gloria Grahame) after providing an alibi for the pair involving a murder. When the husband blackmails the wife with evidence that will implicate her she tries to coax Jeff to off him.
Lang's direction is limp as he gets a dull performance out of Ford and a sloppy one from Crawford. Grahame easily steals the show as the duplicitous infidel trying to manipulate the men. She's cold and calculating but also a victim forced to commit a criminal act.
Comparison to the original would be piling on but it is worth noting Jean Gabin drove the train on occasion and more importantly a locomotive with more moving parts and character than Ford's streamlined diesel. Better to go with the original.