You Only Live Once (1937 film)
You Only Live Once is a 1937 American crime drama film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda. Considered an early film noir, the film was the second directed by Lang in the United States. At least 15 minutes were trimmed from the original 100-minute version of the film due to its then unprecedented violence. Despite the removal of such scenes, the film is widely considered an early film noir classic. The film is also known for being one of the first box-office bombs. Plot Eddie Taylor is an ex-convict who feels he is reformed and deserves a break, but he has doubts that he will get one. Initially, his doubts seem unfounded as his life goes well; he is married to Joan (the woman who waited for him and who has always believed in him), her boss (Stephen the public defender) has helped him gets a steady job, and he has the wherewithal to buy a house with Joan. But this new life starts to fall apart, when he is summarily fired after his boss finds out about Eddie's past. Eddie's old gang tempt him with an offer to join them in bank robberies, but