SHERDOG MOVIE CLUB: Week 171 - I Walk Alone

[europe1]

NOTE to NON-MEMBERS: Interested in joining the SHERDOG MOVIE CLUB? Shoot me a PM for more info!

Here's a quick list of all movies watched by the SMC. Or if you prefer, here's a more detailed examination.

Our Director
Byron Haskin

​

After graduation from the University of California at Berkeley, Byron Haskin worked for a time as a newspaper cartoonist. He began his career in the film industry in 1920 as a commercial-industrial movie photographer, and then as a cameraman for Pathe and International Newsreel. Later he became an assistant director at Selznick Pictures. He was a cinematographer during the silent era, worked on special effects and helped to develop the technology that eventually brought sound to the film industry. He began directing in the late 1920s at Warner Brothers and journeyed to England in the early 1930s to make films there. Upon his return he was appointed head of the Warner Brothers Special Effects department. He returned to directing, and was responsible for Walt Disney's first live-action film, Tresure Island (1950). In the mid-'50s Haskin began a rewarding association with producer George Pal, for whom he shot what is probably his best-known film, the science-fiction classic War of the Worlds (1953). Haskin would collaborate with Pal on three other films, The Naked Jungle (1954), Conquest of Space (1955) and Psyko-Killer (1968). Fans will also remember Haskin for the cult-classic Robinson Crusoe On Mars (1964).

Our Star
Burt Lancaster!

Film Overview

Premise: A newly released prisoner is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.

Budget: $???

Box Office: $2.1 million.




Trivia
(Courtesy of IMDB)
​

* The film was based on a play "The Beggars Are Coming to Town" by Theodore Reeves which opened on Broadway on October 27, 1945 starring Paul Kelly and Luther Adler in the Lancaster/Douglas roles as former bootleggers. This was Byron Haskin's first directorial assignment since 1928, having worked as a cameraman in the interim. Haskin felt that the reason none of the cast objected was as newcomers they didn't know enough to object.

* First of seven films that Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster made together.

Members: @europe1 @MusterX @Cubo de Sangre @FrontNakedChoke @Tufts @chickenluver @Scott Parker 27 @Yotsuya @jei @LHWBelt @moreorless87 @HARRISON_3 @Bullitt68 @HenryFlower @Zer @Rimbaud82

 

[MusterX]

@europe1 I am going to be honest here. I haven't watched this 1947 extravaganza yet but I will...

 

[Scott Parker 27]

This was kind of an interesting movie from my perspective. I feel like I watched movies in reverse order of my grandparents generation, it's a weird way to put it but bear with me. I watched the movie tough guys with Lancaster and Douglas (can't believe he is still alive) with my grandpa in the late 80s. I was wondering who these old tough guys were, and why they were cast. I watch I walk alone and now I get it. Not much to say about I walk alone, I thought it was okay, lacking some plot points, but was fine. We're Douglas and Lancaster in a series of movies together, or was it just a couple of big hits?

Bonus points if someone can tell me who the trench coated man with a shotgun in the clip below is without googling it. Think westerns.

 

[europe1]

I basically liked this movie for the themes that Martin Scorcese outlined. You have the streetman clashing with the businessman. Crime is taken out of the alleys and made into a corporation. Burt's heavy-handed, straightforward ways don't work when confronted with Douglas byzantine system. Individualism replaced by institutionalisation, and all that. This was really neatly displayed when Lancaster goes to ransack Kirk's join and it turns out that all of his assets are so immaterial that you can't even loot them in the first place. I guess the message is that Lancaster's sentimental individualism at least offers him an avenue to reform through personal relationships, while Douglas descent into corporatism just makes him all the more inhumane the further down he goes.

That said, I didn't always like the dramatics. That score especially is just way too overbearing and melodramatic. This needed to be a leaner, meaner, more moody film -- the way the violins just blare ceaselessly whenever something happened really didn't jive with this theme of crooks vs businessmen.

Kirky Douglas was the nugget of this film. In my mind's eye, I always imagine his smirk as a caricature of itself, much wider and toothy. But he really deploys the smooth criminal well. I love that tiny inflexion change that happens to his voice when Dave confronts him. That last-minute trick he pulls with the "mind If I have a drink?" was a really lame piece of writing.

Burt Lancaster was basically as he usually was. Kinda formulaic and staccato in his acting yet always so damn likeable for some reason.

Has Liz Scott always sounded like such a grandma?

There were also some good Noir-lines in there. "I'm the one whose been to jail yet you're the guy who looks 10 years older!"

So yeah, pretty good movie!

 

[Zer]

I really liked this. tbh I was pretty sure I would as soon as I saw Kirk Douglas was in it. I pretty much love everything I've seen Kirk Douglas do, and I've seen the deleted Paths of Glory scene where he's taking a huge dump. As I mentioned in the voting thread I wasn't too familiar with Burt Lancaster but I'd seen him in Sweet Smell of Success and first impressions were good.

Starting off with Burt since he's the main man this week - I thought he was awesome. He has a very alpha screen presence, but he uses it so well to catch viewers off guard so his emotional outbursts have more weight. Initially I was impressed with how he could change his demeanor to fit situations - we see multiple sides of him early on - and I expected him and Noll to end up in a spectacular battle of minds, but it doesn't pan out that way at all and he's mostly out of his depth. It reflects well on Burt as an actor but also highlights how inconsistent the writing and character is in this film - saying that, the differences between Noll and Frankie and what they represent becomes a nice plot point it's just a rocky road up to it.

I loved Burt's physical acting too - the huge scene in Noll's office and how he sells the beating afterwards. Like Kirk, he says so much with his eyes. Great chemistry with everyone. One thing about Burt and Kirk is you know they were probably big ladies men irl and so their romances on screen really sparkle. The actresses dig them (One negative though is underutilized characters like Lex and Skinner - once Noll takes that huge heel turn and you see Lex pop up afterwards it's like oh fuck Noll and Lex are such a delicious combo of evils but it comes to nothing at all which is a huge shame - Frankie and Kay vs Noll and Lex would've been my approach if I was booking this shit. And Frankie vs Skinner would've definitely been on the card too).

Because he's the leading man and looks very leading man you expect Frankie to be somewhat bulletproof, so it's nice to see him get his ass kicked for most of the movie. It's very endearing, and I think the movie's on that wavelength because it's also funny how he keeps attracting people away from Noll just because they pity him (There were a few funny moments ITT - Burt going on this long spiel about how he was a changed man etc while police sirens are approaching in the background - and the references to previous scenes like how Dave's pen keeps coming up). It becomes a nice underdog story and with that it delivers a happy ending that doesn't really play well in 2019 but was probably the shit in 1947. But there was a lot about the ending that tanked tbh.

Kirk was awesome as Noll too. I love Kirk to death. Like I mentioned with Burt, Kirk uses his eyes so well and communicates so much outside of dialogue. The one scene near the end where he's walking, expecting a bullet in his back at any moment, he sells it so perfectly and I was never really against Noll at any point in this movie. I love early scenes where he just flat out tells Kay that he's marrying Lex without flinching at all. He has an undeniable charisma and magnetism. The writing on Noll is more stable and the character more consistent. There is dumb behaviour (Didn't buy the shooting in the dark scene at all or his bit pulling the gun on the cops) but it's nothing to do with Kirk.

I think the ending of the film is a really bad failure and there are a lot of plot contrivances (Like a clearly distressed Noll says he wrote the confession at gunpoint, 100% convinced Burt has a gun, and Burt just says 'ha, I was threatening to kill you, but it just was a pen all along!!' and all the police around them are like 'well, this confession's legit as fuck'. Then Burt says in front of cops that he had a gun but he tossed it back at Noll's place. Guess he's white so they cut him a break on that shit). Both Noll and Frankie come out looking dumb as shit and it's really irritating because there was so much promise in the final showdown and the chemistry between the two is great.

I've written a ton and I've gotta go out now. I agree with @europe1 about the score - definitely way too much. I love the sets, I loved the supporting characters (It's no bad thing when you have multiple side characters you feel should've gotten bigger roles). Overall a solid movie held back by some shitty writing (That said the writing just fucks up in terms of plot - it's pretty good in terms of dialogue and there were a lot of memorable lines ("You've said your five percent worth now get back to your station" - a lot of lines I don't exactly remember 100% tbf and imdb's quotes section for this is criminal)). For all it's faults, I also appreciate the focus of the movie - there are no distractions away from the main plot (Could also argue it could've used some though) and it doesn't drag things out unnecessarily (It gets a bit convoluted at the end but it powers through it), and so I was engaged 100% of the time and it didn't feel like 2+ hours at all.

 

[chickenluver]

Premise: A newly released prisoner is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.​

I never noticed how much Southern California looks like New York City

 

[MusterX]

This was a story of cross, double-cross, and triple-cross. I noted at the beginning of the film when Frankie sees the shadow of bars on the train station floor he notes how he'll never get away from that life and I thought of all the shadow bars in The Man Who Wasn't There with Billy Bob Thornton. I also thought of the film Eye's Wide Shut when Dave is being followed at night down a secluded street. Tom Cruise was also followed at night, the difference being that Dave in I walk Alone was murdered. With Tom Cruise it was the threat of murder. It just seems like these old films influenced directors for decades to come.

You have the streetman clashing with the businessman. Crime is taken out of the alleys and made into a corporation. Burt's heavy-handed, straightforward ways don't work when confronted with Douglas byzantine system.

Its always weird to contemplate how organized crime went from the street to the boardroom but another thing is how back then the government denied the existence of organized crime. The Mafia is one of the original conspiracy theories. Its the difference between Joe Pesci and Robert de Niro in Casino. Robert De Niro has moved operations to the casino but Joe Pesci is still just an old school strong arm.

The idea of Frankie getting some guys together to go threaten "Dink" even felt similar, that's what happens when an old school strong arm gets pissed at the guy who moved to more legit operations.

The scene where Frankie gets beat up is worth the price of admission. I actually laughed at the beatdown, it was awesome. The doorman/bouncer, Dan, gets Frankie in a rear naked and starts talking about crushing wind pipes and then after the fight he says he got caught by a right and rocked. I was actually stunned at the description considering it was 1947. I also feel like the power of dialogue in these old movies is often superior to more modern films.

 

[europe1]

We're Douglas and Lancaster in a series of movies together, or was it just a couple of big hits?

Seven, in fact.

Though none of them were exactly blockbusters.

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls074152600/

I watched the movie tough guys with Lancaster and Douglas

Yeah, I've seen that one too. Them being flabbergasted with all the gays and loose women of the 80's.

He has a very alpha screen presence, but he uses it so well to catch viewers off guard so his emotional outbursts have more weight. Initially I was impressed with how he could change his demeanor to fit situations

I agree that his outbursts were effective. But to me, it felt too disconnected from his overall persona. He didn't seem to carry that frustration with him at all times. That sort of trauma has a way of imprinting itself on peoples identities. Instead, it seems to merely activate whenever the situation calls for it. The rest of the time, he's just regular old Burt.

I loved Burt's physical acting too - the huge scene in Noll's office and how he sells the beating afterwards.

Yeah. Burt was one of those actors who came into acting from athletics (like Arnold or Jackie Chan). Like them, he might be lacking a bit in the classical thespian front, but he knows damn well how to convey something physically, having supreme muscle-control of his body.

Like I mentioned with Burt, Kirk uses his eyes so well and communicates so much outside of dialogue

Everyone says that actors do their best communication with their eyes. But I think Kirk is one of those guys that got the mouth-game going. His smirk -- either thin or wide -- always sets the scene.

(Didn't buy the shooting in the dark scene at all or his bit pulling the gun on the cops) but it's nothing to do with Kirk.

They really should have done some sort of set-up about the fact that Kirk is the guy who can plan long-term and understand byzantine complications, while Burt is the guy who clearly outsmarts him when it comes to thinking on the heels.

As it is, this whole "I'm smarter than you when guns are involved" just kinda feel like it comes out of nowhere.

I never noticed how much Southern California looks like New York City

I swear to God, I always manage to forget that premise-section for some reason. I have no idea why, but it always slips me by.

sees the shadow of bars on the train station floor he notes how he'll never get away from that life and I thought of all the shadow bars in The Man Who Wasn't There with Billy Bob Thornton

Solid SMC call-back

Its always weird to contemplate how organized crime went from the street to the boardroom but another thing is how back then the government denied the existence of organized crime. The Mafia is one of the original conspiracy theories.

That reminds me of a segment out of Godfather 2 during the trial scene, when Michael is reading his statement.

that no proof linking me to any criminal conspiracy, whether it is called Mafia or Cosa Nostra or whatever other name you wish to give, has ever been made public.

"Conspiracy" "called Mafia or Cosa Nostra," "whatever other name you wish to give".

He's talking about these things as if they are conspiracies with names that no-one quite fully recognizes. Today, nobody would point out that the Mafia is called the Mafia, its existence is just a given fact. They would just say, "I'm not in the Mafia". Back then, he could still talk about something like the Mafia as some sort of conspiracy theory that you'd use to slander people with.

The doorman/bouncer, Dan, gets Frankie in a rear naked and starts talking about crushing wind pipes

Noobs clearly don't know the difference between air-chokes and blood-chokes

 

[chickenluver]

I'm fairly certain I've said this before, probably as recently as the Angel Heart thread, but the noir aesthetic is my favorite in film. Since it's a style rather than a specific genre, noir films (particularly the classics) have a certain similitude that I really dig.

I found I Walk Alone to be, if not one of the best, a highly enjoyable example. Not quite as good as SMC throwback Out of the Past released the same year and also featuring Kirk Douglas in a similar role, but that's an all time favorite.

That dinner scene early on was remarkable. It really was an atmospheric roller coaster. The tone had been rather ominous throughout the film up until this point. This totally changed at first during dinner, taking on a more relaxed, calming tone. The tension comes back when the year of the wine reminds Lancaster of his imprisonment, and the nice atmosphere is ruined. Lizabeth Scott tries to ease the tension and actually seems to succeed by asking him to dance, only for it to backfire when she tries again to pry information from him, leading to a dramatic reveal (more for her than the audience tbf) and ending in a tender embrace.

There were a couple of reaction shots / non-verbal acting scenes that really struck me. First was Lizabeth Scott goes to Lancaster's hotel after finding out Douglas was having her pick him for info for nefarious purposes. She's trying to apologize, he's giving her a cold death stare, she turns from him and asks to use a handkerchief, and his face completely softens. The other nice reaction is when they got into an argument at her place after he had gotten beaten up. She tells him leave or stay if he wants, then the next morning when he enters the kitchen there's a long-held shot of her surprise and joy at finding him still there.

Question: was there actually anything illegal about Douglas' business operation?

I hated the character of Dave. First he spinelessly helps Douglas fuck Lancaster over, then when he finally grows a pair he goes and tells Douglas to his face that's he's going to betray him and gets himself killed like a fucking idiot. During the alley scene as soon as Dave said something about going to speak with Douglas I said to myself Dave's fucking dead.

I have to agree with my esteemed colleagues that the ending was rather hokey. I was wondering how exactly a confession written at gunpoint was supposed to be legally valid, but I rationed it as the Lancaster having an alibi and the confession pointing them towards the killer who would flip on Douglas. The whole aha it was a pen the whole time! thing was quite silly, and yeah, the may I have one last drink leading into a desperate last stand only to get shot to death was pretty bad. When I saw that happen I was just like eh, whatever, it doesn't really change anything, Lancaster still won, Douglas dead or jailed makes no difference. It would have been cool if Douglas really did just have himself a drink and then said alright fellows I'm ready, let's go, and they lead him off to jail.

Has Liz Scott always sounded like such a grandma?

I don't know, but I like it

 

[sleepwalk]

Bonus points if someone can tell me who the trench coated man with a shotgun in the clip below is without googling it. Think westerns.

Spoiler

He should've listened to his own advice: "When it's time to shoot, shoot; don't talk."

 

[Bullitt68]

I'm fairly certain I've said this before, probably as recently as the Angel Heart thread, but the noir aesthetic is my favorite in film. Since it's a style rather than a specific genre, noir films (particularly the classics) have a certain similitude that I really dig.

First, I love how you can so casually dismiss the idea of film noir being a genre and so unproblematically consider it a style - in my neck of the woods, film critics and scholars have been going back-and-forth on that topic ever since Nino Frank coined the term in 1946

Second, what are some of your favorite noir films?

 

[chickenluver]

First, I love how you can so casually dismiss the idea of film noir being a genre and so unproblematically consider it a style - in my neck of the woods, film critics and scholars have been going back-and-forth on that topic ever since Nino Frank coined the term in 1946

haha well I think of genres as Westerns, Science Fiction, Horror, Comedy, etc. of which there are multitudes of examples where two films in the same genre share few if any stylistic or aesthetic similarities. Most noir are essentially crime dramas, what makes them noir is the aesthetic.

Second, what are some of your favorite noir films?

Top five would probably be (chronological order):

The Maltese Falcon
Murder, My Sweet
Out of the Past
The Third Man
The Big Heat

On a lower tier:

Journey Into Fear
Double Indemnity
Laura
The Big Sleep
The Stranger
Blue Gardenia
Killer's Kiss
The Killing
While the City Sleeps

For modern noir The Long Goodbye and Angel Heart

 

[Zer]

Decided I'm gonna check out some more Lancaster - Douglas collabs and I watched Seven Days in May today. It's about a general (Lancaster) plotting to overthrow the President and his aide (Douglas) exposing the plot before it's too late. Sounded like dynamite but it wasn't a great demonstration of their chemistry simply because they didn't get much screentime together (The movie has so many moving parts). Plus they're both playing military men and they're buttoned down for most of it. It was an enjoyable film though. The few times they do have scenes together it's very tense because as has been said, they communicate so much with their body language and even as they start off as friends you know they're not on the same page.

 

[europe1]

Kirk was awesome as Noll too. I love Kirk to death.

I am unable to love Kirk to death, despite his normal excellence.

Why? The first movie I saw him in was 20.000 Leages under the Sea. His absolutely worst performance by the lenght of 20.000 lightyears (if that is the mesurement for awesomeness).

Every time I see his grinning mug, the first thing I think of is "Fuck that beefy, guitar-playing dorky pipsqueeke sailor-boy! Almost ruined the whole goddamn movie!"

I mean, look at this guy! Could you get a worse first impression for an actor?

 

[JayPettryMMA]

In terms of the great film noirs, this one doesn't stand up. The writing was iffy, the plot also iffy, but the leads were generally solid. It's one of those "marquis names carries an ok film" type of situation, although this was early on and before they had blown up. It was an early one for all three of the leading names, and you could tell by how young Lancaster looked. He was just a baby.

Did this story take place over the course of a day or two? The first day seemed to go on forever, and if that's the case it means that Liz fell in love with Burt (she said it, she loved him so) and it was much more exhausting of a pace than I thought. She quit, and then she kept playing music because she wanted the last paycheck.

I'm going to be honest, I ran out of energy writing here, so I'm going to wrap this up. You knew that Dave was gonna get got as soon as he stood up to Kirk Douglas. The double crosses weren't that surprising. It was all fairly by the numbers in terms of a noir story. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't terribly memorable. My favorite part was the scene when Burt found out that crime got corporate and that he was in the mob mentality of the past. I heard them talking about the different companies and flashed back to my Corporations courses, and got a kick out of it.

I dunno, in terms of other related films it wasn't much, but as far as a general film it was good. When in context, I'll give it a 6/10.