I Walk Alone

Infobox Film | name = I Walk Alone


caption =
director = Byron Haskin
producer = Hal B. Wallis
writer = Theodore Reeves play "Beggars Are Coming to Town"
Charles Schnee (screenplay)
starring =Burt Lancaster
Lizabeth Scott
Kirk Douglas
Wendell Corey
music = Victor Young
cinematography = Leo Tover
editing =
distributor = Paramount Pictures
released = March 25, 1950 (U.S. release)
runtime = 97 min
language = English
budget =
imdb_id = 0039482

"I Walk Alone" is a 1948 film noir starring Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, and Kirk Douglas. The film was the directorial debut of Byron Haskin. This was also the first of several films that Lancaster and Douglas made together over the decades, including "Gunfight at the OK Corral" (1957), "The Devil's Disciple" (1959), "Seven Days in May" (1964), and "Tough Guys" (1986), all of which fixed the notion of the pair as something of a team in the public's imagination; Douglas was always second-billed under Lancaster in these movies but, with the exception of "I Walk Alone", their roles were usually more or less the same size.

Plot

Frankie Madison (Burt Lancaster) and 'Dink' Turner (Kirk Douglas) are two rum-running partners during Prohibition. Madison is caught and jailed for 14 years. When he is finally set free, he seeks out Turner for his share of their profits. Turner has used the money to buy a swanky nightclub and has no intention of giving Madison anything. He tries to pacify his former partner by making his girlfriend (Lizabeth Scott) available, but this strategy backfires when they fall in love.

Cast

Critical reaction

Bosley Crowther, writing for the "New York Times", gave the film a negative review, also pointing out that the film may have violated the Motion Picture Production Code:

It is notable that the slant of sympathy is very strong toward the mug who did the "stretch," as though he were some kind of martyr. Nice thing! Producer Hal Wallis should read the Code. [cite web |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=96098 |title='I Walk Alone,' a Gangster Film, Starring Burt Lancaster, Opens at Paramount |author=Bosley Crowther |publisher="New York Times" |date=January 22 1948]

The film today is regarded as a classic, usually due to the film's cast. [cite web |url=http://www.sover.net/~ozus/iwalkalone.htm |title=I Walk Alone |author=Dennis Schwartz |publisher=Ozus' World Movie Reviews (sover.net) |date=December 22 2004]

References