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Human Desire

Human Desire

Crime · Drama · Romance · 1954

A Korean War vet returns to his job as a railroad engineer and becomes involved in a sordid affair with a co-worker's wife following a murder on a train.

Movie details

Human Desire

“A rarity on the screen … a RAW slice of life!”

1954 Crime · Drama · Romance 1h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

A Korean War vet returns to his job as a railroad engineer and becomes involved in a sordid affair with a co-worker's wife following a murder on a train.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Human Desire?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Fritz Lang

Written by

Alfred Hayes

Glenn Ford

Glenn Ford

Jeff Warren

Gloria Grahame

Gloria Grahame

Vicki Buckley

Broderick Crawford

Broderick Crawford

Carl Buckley

Edgar Buchanan

Edgar Buchanan

Alec Simmons

Kathleen Case

Kathleen Case

Ellen Simmons

Peggy Maley

Peggy Maley

Jean

Diane DeLaire

Diane DeLaire

Vera Simmons

Court is in session

Put Human Desire on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.