I Walk Alone (1948) February 12, 2007
Posted by jackal in : Films, Film Noir , trackbackOver the course of their careers, off-screen pals Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster made several movies together, ending with the septuagenarian stars playing old-time gangsters adjusting to modern-day life in Tough Guys. Almost 40 years earlier, the pair starred together for the first time, also as gangsters, in little-seen film noir I Walk Alone.
Under the direction of Byron Haskin (The War of the Worlds, Too Late for Tears), Lancaster headlines as ex-con Frankie Madison, released from prison after serving 14 years for bootlegging during prohibition times. His ex-partner in crime, the ruthless ’Dink’ Turner (Douglas), has transformed their business into a respectable, top-flight supper club, and has no plans to honour the 50/50 gentleman’s agreement he made with Madison 14 years earlier. As Madison attempts, with increasing anger, to obtain his ‘fair share’ of Dink’s empire, he comes to realise just how much things have changed. Now a respected man of society, Dink’s money is locked up in corporations and trusts. Frankie (anticipating Lee Marvin’s Walker in Point Blank) is a single-minded criminal, for whom big business has no meaning - all he wants is the money he’s entitled to, and now. Also thrown into the mix are the sultry Lizabeth Scott as Dink’s on/off girlfriend who falls for Frankie, and Wendell Corey as the guilt-ridden accountant who betrayed Frankie’s friendship by getting him to sign away his claim to the money.
It’s unfortunate that I Walk Alone is so obscure; it’s really an excellent noir drama, with an interesting slant (old-time criminal finds himself lost in the post-war business world). It does degenerate into predictable theatrics in the last act, but otherwise there’s much to enjoy, not least the inaugral screen pairing of Douglas and Lancaster. Having such a magnetic duo bouncing off each other in the lead roles heightens the drama immensely.
I Walk Alone was screened in a brand new print at Noir City 5 in San Francisco only last week, and good DVDR copies are thankfully fairly easy to come by. Given that it’s a Paramount movie, though, who knows when we might see an official DVD release.
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