You and Me

Fritz Lang's 1938 film is an experiment notable for mixing its forms. Mr Morris owns a large department store and gives work to former convicts out on parole, meaning to help them build a decent life. Among his staff are Helen and Joe; they love each other and marry, but she has hidden that she has a record herself and that the terms of her parole forbid marriage. When the truth comes out Joe returns to his old circle and a plan is made to rob the store. The film uses a method drawn from Brecht: songs, direct address to the audience and a lesson scene in which the arithmetic of why crime does not pay is worked out on a blackboard. The music is by Kurt Weill. These experimental choices confused audiences at the time and the film was not a commercial success. Who it's for: viewers who like Lang's American period and unusual experiments in genre. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a straight crime film; this one keeps changing shape.