Human Desire

Play trailer

Human Desire

1954,

1h 30m,

Crime/

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

60%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

When he's fired from his job at the railroad, Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford) asks his wife, Vicki (Gloria Grahame), to pay a visit to his boss, Owens (Grandon Rhodes), to try to earn his sympathies. It works, but Carl then assumes that Vicki and Owens are involved romantically, so he murders his boss in a jealous rage. Sick of her husband's violent ways, Vicki seduces Jeff (Glenn Ford), another worker at the railroad, hoping that she can convince him to murder her husband.

Derek Smith

Slant Magazine

Jul 19, 2023

Fritz Lang’s underrated noir elegantly toys with noir tropes and subverts our expectations.

Go to Full Review

Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Oct 15, 2014

Though the action pivots on blackmail and murder, the heart of the movie is a regular guy's struggle with the inner violence of sexual frenzy and the outer violence of war.

Go to Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Mar 26, 2009

Fritz Lang, director, goes overboard in his effort to create mood. Long focusing on locomotive speeding and twisting on the rails is neither entertaining nor essential to the plot.

Go to Full Review

Joshua Polanski

Midwest Film Journal

Jul 4, 2024

Lang twists and toys with everything his audience knows about film noir. And he does this largely through the performances of his actors.

Go to Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jul 15, 2023

2.5/4

The inconsistencies in Vicki seem less to do with being rooted in the noir tradition of keeping the leading lady in the shadows (is she good girl or femme fatale?) and more to do with sloppy writing.

Go to Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Oct 3, 2021

3/4

...a fairly standard film-noir thriller that's elevated by its surprising narrative and proliferation of compelling performances...

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Kylo R

Aug 28, 2017

A bit too over the top, but there were good things.

Read all reviews

Fritz Lang

Director

Glenn Ford

Jeff Warren

Gloria Grahame

Vicki Buckley

Broderick Crawford

Carl Buckley

Edgar Buchanan

Alec Simmons

Kathleen Case

Ellen Simmons

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

87%

73%

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

Watchlist

Point Blank

93%

84%

Point Blank

Watchlist

Imagine: John Lennon

91%

91%

Imagine: John Lennon

Watchlist

California Split

87%

83%

California Split

Watchlist

The Last Wave

78%

79%

The Last Wave

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

When he's fired from his job at the railroad, Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford) asks his wife, Vicki (Gloria Grahame), to pay a visit to his boss, Owens (Grandon Rhodes), to try to earn his sympathies. It works, but Carl then assumes that Vicki and Owens are involved romantically, so he murders his boss in a jealous rage. Sick of her husband's violent ways, Vicki seduces Jeff (Glenn Ford), another worker at the railroad, hoping that she can convince him to murder her husband.

Director: Fritz Lang
Producer: Lewis J. Rachmil
Screenwriter: Alfred Hayes, Emile Zola
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 5, 1954, Original
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings