I Walk Alone

Frankie Madison (Burt Lancaster) gets out of prison after 14 years. He wants his half share from his former crime partner Noll "Dink" Turner (Kirk Douglas) who now owns a roaring nightclub. Dink sends his singer girlfriend Kay Lawrence (Lizabeth Scott) to talk to him.

Whenever Lancaster and Douglas get together, the movie explodes in threatening energy. Both actors exude a violent menace. The movie has a nice noir style starting with the shadow of Frankie. The sense of brooding criminality is pervasive. I'm uncertain about Frankie being taken down by a corporate flow chart but it is something different. This is simply a good start of a great acting duo.

I Walk Alone is directed by Byron Haskin and adapted to screenplay by Charles Schnee, Robert Smith and John Bright from the play written by Theodore Reeves. It stars Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Lizabeth Scott and Wendell Corey. Music is by Victor Young and cinematography by Leo Tover.

Frankie Madison (Lancaster) returns to New York after 14 years in prison. Noll Turner (Douglas), Frankie's former partner in bootlegging, is now a wealthy nightclub manager, and Frankie is expecting him to honor a verbal '50:50' agreement they made when he was caught and Noll got away...

This is perfect noir foil for the three main stars, Lancaster is all macho mismanagement and edgy, Douglas is suave, cunning and intense, while Scott smoulders and portrays her conflicted character with believable confusion and an earnest yearning for worth.

The story intrigues mainly through Frankie being a man out of his time, after serving 14 years in prison, he comes out to find the underworld he once knew has changed considerably. Yet he wants what is his and will put himself through the mangler in the old day way to get what he thinks he rightly deserves. Kay Lawrence (Scott) isn't a femme fatale, she just borders the type by default until the truth will out and the story arc folds inwards (love the way Tover lights her scenes).

Douglas revels in being a villain, and the Noll Turner character gives him the chance to smarm, charm and trample on anyone who could affect his monetary gains. And so it is left to Corey as Dave to round out the key affecting perfs. He's the man closest to Frankie, but as a milquetoast type of lawyer, he has, while Frankie was in prison, helped legally cover the financial angles for Noll Turner. All characters are entering noirville and it makes for a satisfying experience for fans of such. 7/10

The screenplay and the directing may seem a bit hackneyed to some,but Lancaster's problems,trapped in the mystery of economics and club management are rather intriguing.

The essential lies elsewhere:watching the Lancaster/Douglas team is enough to satisfy the cine buff;they are so good than even when they work with inferior material,they are still better than most of the rest. Douglas is icily suave,treating his old pal to a meal of canard à l'orange with vintage Champagne.But if looks could kill,his certainly would.Lancaster is a mistreated,thrown into jail (14 years!),cheated good guy ,but who will play fair game till the end.Between these two men ,there's of course a woman:unlike today's female parts,this one is not sacrificed .Lizabeth Scott's performance is first-class and on a par with the two male parts.Too bad her career should have ended so prematurely.She easily equals Laureen Bacall,she's even more human.

It's strange how Douglas 's first parts were often villains (this movie,the loves of Martha Ivers) which culminated with Billy Wilder's highly superior "the big carnival".This movie proves that three good leads can give a banal plot substance.

Burt Lancaster has been in prison since the days of Al Capone, and when released he sets out to claim his share of ill-gotten gains from his former partner, Kirk Douglas. Kirk is pleasant at first, lulling Burt with wine, gourmet food, and the company of his mistress Lizbeth Scott, but he has no intention of sharing anything. What starts out as a buddy relationship becomes a battle of wits and wills as the two fight for control of Kirk's nightclub, lots of money, and Lizbeth.

This is no "Double Indemnity", but the two main characters are written and acted well enough to hold our interest. Douglas steals the film as the cleverer thug, the one who was smart enough to get away and go legit. His performance is lively and has touches of humor, particularly in the scene where he proves that the pen is mightier than the sword, or at least that legalese is mightier than the gun. Lancaster has a more violent, less sympathetic character, but has fun playing a brute who's forced to actually think for the first time in his life.

Not a great film, but an enjoyable one. Interesting for the way it shows the changes in the criminal world over the course of a decade, from the brutality of the thirties to the emerging sophistication of the fifties.

Two thugs make good and then fight over a nightclub and Lizabeth Scott. I watched this for Lizabeth. She is even more stunning than usual but given little to do but grace glamorous evening gowns and lip synch. Its worth a watch but don't go in with high expectations because if the leads.