I WALK ALONE: a forgotten Gangster gem starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas
October 13th 2010 23:57
Perhaps there's a fair reason why I Walk Alone has been forgotten and ignored for so long, it's a film that is riddled with flaws, but there are a few key qualities in I Walk Alone which make this an important and recommendable film (and you gotta love that sensationally misleading poster!).
Directed in 1948 by Byron Haskin (War Of The worlds, Naked Jungle, Too Late For Tears) It's important to put I Walk Alone into context for it to have maximum impact, Gangster films had always pre-dated the war, but until World War II, gangsters were a product of the depression. Originally street kids (The Musketeers Of Pig Alley) or perhaps depicted as Bootleggers during the prohibition period (The Roaring Twenties), after world War II the gangster became a business man.
I Walk Alone is the story of Frankie Madison, played by Burt Lancaster (The Leopard, 1900, A Child Is Waiting), who has just been released after a 14 year stretch in prison. He's released and his eyes light up as everything around still looks so familiar, but he's warned about letting these appearances fool him. Frankie is released into a world he doesn't understand and he's bitter as all hell that his partner in crime, Noll Turner, played by Kirk Douglas (Ace In The Hole, Out Of the Past, The Bad & The Beautiful), never once came to visit him. Noel Turner is no longer the street punk Frankie remembers him as, he's a business man, a big one!
Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas square off in 'I Walk Alone'
What makes I Walk Alone a great film is it's depiction of, firstly, a man who's lost so much of his life and can no longer relate to how much the world has changed, and secondly it represents a massive change in not just American values but Western Culture's values, the change in the gangster film reflected a change in our own times after world War II. A film about big businesses and corporations. Kirk Douglas says to Burt Lancaster,
“FRANKIE, IN THE 20'S YOU WERE GREAT, IN THE 30'S YOU MIGHT HAVE MADE THE SWITCH, BUT IN THE 40'S, THE WORLD HAS GONE RIGHT PAST YOU”.
It's an incredible scene and the entire film seems to lead up to it and then use it to fuel it's hugely flawed second half. We want Frankie to get a break, but the fact remains, Kirk Douglas 's character is right, the world has gone right past Frankie – and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it, he's out of date and stuck in a world that makes no sense to him.
I Walk Alone plays out more like a drama than a 'Gangster' film, but what it achieves particuarly successfully is in revealing the obvious revelation that 'gangsters' or any man who rises to a level of power, going against moral scruples to achieve this or even breaking the law has to be someone immensely charming, seductive even. He's a man who knows how to make you an offer you can't refuse. He oozes confidence, has a golden tongue and makes woman weak at the knees. Only can a man like this make a grab for power, taking what's his and get away with it. When watching I Walk Alone, I was struck by how obvious it seemed, how seldom this was actually portrayed in other gangster films, which for the most part show men getting their way via physical violence or threats. In I Walk Alone, the gangster also sees his work as a form of seduction.
Kirk Douglas always had a knack for playing the loathsome but charismatic antagonist. He played the guy you loved to hate, and it's one of his best performances here. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing for Lancaster, who at times seems to do caricatures of himself, filled with clenched fists, hammed body language, a case of lock jaw, along with every pained expression there is in the book of acting cliches – but he certainly gets to wear some handsome looking suits if nothing else.
The lead love interest here is Kay Lawrence, played by Lizabeth Scott (and that's not a typo on her first name either). Scott isn't a fantastic actress but she seems likeable. Scott's high cheek bones, wide mouth and perhaps annoying voice which comes off as her having had one too many scotches, makes her seem like a bargain bin version of Lauren Bacall. Scott's biggest acting gigs were as love interests in Dead Reckoning, where she played along side Humphrey Bogart. Loving You, the Elvis Presley film and she had also played opposite Kirk Douglas previously in The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers. She wasn't great by any means, but she never spoilt anything either. Here in I Walk Alone she gives a warm, nurturing performance as Kay, who switches her affections from Douglas to Lancaster.
I Walk Alone has a number of flaws, it comes close to not working at times, suffering from thinly drawn female characters, unconvincing action scenes and poor and uneven lighting (this could also be from a film print that is in poor shape though). I still find this film to be a fascinating and solid one, with some thoroughly excellent moments. I love how Byron Haskin handles the film's set up, it's executed beautifully, accompanied by an exotic lounge based musical score, the camera is like another character in the room, a character that's a friend towards Frankie. The camera embraces Frankie immediately, revelling in his point of view, along with his freedom from prison. When the camera films Kirk Douglas, it keeps it's distance, as if he's a snake, filming him with an eye of distrust, all in a very interesting way, where it seems like it wants to get closer to him. You could even say that Kirk Douglas lures the camera towards him.
Byron Haskin, aside from War Of The Worlds, was never a well known film maker, he made commercial films, pirate films, melodramas, but he was very prolific. He actually directed mainly in television, but he had over 35 directing credits under his belt and along with this worked as a cinematographer in over 30 films and as a special effects artist in over 50 films. He kept himself busy. I Walk Alone is a film with many problems, but it's strengths are strong enough that I still have to recommend it. A solid work indeed.
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Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Have you seen Lancaster in The Swimmer?
I'd love to see that weird little movie again.
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Spring-Heeled Jack
Over.Exposure
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Jack - thanks for reading, yes, Martin Scorsese shed some light on I Walk Alone in a documentary he made for TV some years back on american cinema.
I gotta start checking out ABC more, I tend to neglect television alot of the time. Hardly ever watch it actually. Agreed, Kirk is definitely the better of the two.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I agree the film is flawed, but still well worth watching. (I actually own it myself)
Byron Haskin will forever be associated with The Naked Jungle, Treasure Island and War of The Worlds but his work in many genres was notable. Another noir Too Late for Tears is my favourite of his after the big guns but his B grade fantasy and science fiction also are guilty pleasures.
PS - You must see The Swimmer for its Falling Down intent. It's IMO Lancaster's best performance in a Rock Hudson Seconds way.
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
As for Kirk v Michael: I hardly think of the two as being related these days. Michael Douglas has done so well to carve out his own little corner. I'd still ultimately back Kirk FTW, however.
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
can't remember this one, but lI too do remember the swimmer. I love Burt, he is a huge sequoia of an actor, little too 'big' at times, but many amazing performances and one whom, today, deserves more tribute, to my mind.
cheers
fog