I Walk Alone

Well, Hal Wallis sure could pick 'em. These are three of his finest stars.

Frankie Madison (Burt Lancaster) has just been released from prison after 14 years as "I Walk Alone" from 1947 begins. The film also stars Lizabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas, Wendell Corey, Mike Mazurki, and Kristine Miller.

Frankie is under the somewhat mistaken impression that he owns half the club that his old partner Noll (Douglas) now runs. When Frankie first shows up, Noll attempts to feel him out. He's friendly and sets Frankie up for a dinner with his girlfriend Kay (Lizabeth Scott).

Noll realizes that Frankie is prepared to use force to take what he thinks is his, so the situation becomes violent.

This is a tough noir with Noll playing dirty all the way. Douglas is great as a real slimeball. Kay tries to encourage Frankie to move forward, but Frankie soon finds himself with a murder rap over his head. He decides to fight Null with everything he's got.

Lancaster and Douglas are major hunks in this and both do a good job. Scott is beautiful and, after all, noir was her genre. She was perfect for it.

This movie was filmed on a studio city set and looks great. Really adds to the noir feel.

The end of the film is exciting.

This film noir does not quite cut the mustard despite its cast. Former cinematographer Byron Haskin tried his hand at directing with decidedly mixed results. The 'wordiness' of this one betrays the fact that it is based upon a stage play. As a plus we have Lisabeth Scott, surely one of the most alluring actresses of the time and Wendell Corey making the most of a crummy part. Kristine Miller has a small but telling role of a haughty but naughty socialite and Marc Lawrence as a hood is always good value. The really interesting feature is of course seeing Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as they were then compared to what they became. Both these actors were extremely ambitious, hard-working and determined to improve their skills by working with better scripts and for better directors. Luckily for us they both succeeded admirably in their endeavours. This is the first of seven films they made together. This one is not nearly as effective as it should be but every film noir cannot be a classic.

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.

I just saw this film two nights ago at the San Francisco Film Noir Festival. This was a beautiful movie filled with subtle shades of noir. The underrated Lizbeth Scott has the best performance in this rarely seen drama. There's great snappy dialog. Kirk Douglas is the perfect villain of this clever movie. It is so easy to see his son Michael's face on him. Burt was fun to watch as usual in giving his best to this intriguing screenplay. What was interesting to see unfold (in this almost 60 year old film) was how challenging the crime corporations are in pinpointing the vastness of what exactly they own. How they get around the skimming of the profits. As well as stating that they only "get" a minimal amount of the percentages ~ by the books. There was a lot of thought that went into this film and the three stars gave it their best. Pure quality.

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.