Walk on the Wild Side
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Movie Reviews of Walk on the Wild Side
Movie Review: Atmospheric and engrossing, but eventually comes up short
Summary: 2 Stars
First of all, just to clear the boards, this really can't be considered an adaptation of Nelson Algren's novel. Although it flirts with some taboo subjects, things never get beyond mere flirtation. And, given Kennedy-era year it was made, it's impossible to expect a faithful depiction of the text from that time and place.
Laurence Harvey's lovesick Dove Linkhorn arrives in New Orleans searching for the gal that stole his heart. Complications arrive in that the "gal" is a) now a popular and highly-paid prostitute in a brothel called The Doll House and b) she's played by Capucine, who is absolutely captivitating in her beauty and refinement but, as such, also mindbogglingly miscast. It's difficult to imagine her Hallie and Harvey's Linkhorn ever sharing a passing conversation, much less a small-town romance.
For his part, Harvey -- whose strange intensity usually gives me the willies and/or leaves me cold -- manages to make for an interesting Texas drifter even though he constantly seems to be playing a character far younger than his age. He projects an oddly likeable nobility through, especially during a confrontation with a storefront preacher.
Barbara Stanwyk gets props for playing an out-of-the-closet lesbian -- which is the movie's prime claim to fame -- but her portrayal is a bit of a Model-T. Nowadays, her attempts to control and possess Hallie seems to have more to do with grouchiness than the desire that dare not speak its name.
A very young Jane Fonda stands out in the juicy role of Kitty, a hitch hiker Dove falls in with. Even as she morphs from Depression-era scamp to full-bosomed harlot to call-girl-in-training, she still seems the realest thing onscreen.
After giving a nod to the great black-and-white cinematography, and the style and compositions of the shots, I have to point out that "Walk" has some of the worst editing I've ever seen in a major motion picture that's otherwise confident and assured. Takes go on forever, past the point of monotony; there are lots of strange and unnecessary cuts and cut-aways, and it all feels about an hour longer than it should be.
When the big denouement comes -- involving two men who struggle with a gun that shoots the wrong person, and summarized by a quickie epilogue (delivered by way of a windblown newspaper headline) -- there's a suspicion that the film has walked *up to* the wild side, but hasn't fully crossed that crucial border.
Movie Review: Wretched and Delicious
Summary: 2 Stars
Tawdry trash, of the finest sort, rife with revolting characters and dreadful performances. Adapted from the same novel by noted Texas writer Nelson Algren, who, like Jim Thompson, wrote about the human underbelly. The screenplay, however, with multiple rewrites, including drafts by Clifford Odets and Ben Hecht, goes terribly awry. That, coupled with the fact that the movie suffers from deplorable casting, makes WWS a turgid and lurid (these are not necessarily *bad* qualities in a movie) drama along the lines of some ill-advised Tennessee Williams indulgence. With Laurence Harvey (nominated by one anonymous viewer as #1 Lithuanian-American actor of all time!) as Dove Linkhorn, a drifter searching for his lost love, a sculptor/prostitute named Hallie, played by the 100% beautiful and 100% talent-free Capucine. Also stars Jane Fonda, as Kitty Twist, an amoral, mentally-deficient thief and prostitute, the magnificent Barbara Stanwyck as Jo Carter, the glamorous but tough and domineering (of course) lesbian brothelkeeper at the "Dollhouse" where Kitty and Hallie work, and, mysteriously, the usually capable Anne Baxter stars as a Mexican woman who offers her *chicharonnes* to complete strangers. Please - this is 1962! Rita Moreno and Chita Rivera must have been out of town that weekend.
It is the early-30's in New Orleans, and the plot becomes complicated when Hallie, who, in Capucine's incompetent hands displays that particularly unpleasant early-60s European cinematic ennui, is reunited with Dove, and tries to leave the Dollhouse. Madam Jo, a part that Stanwyck sinks her teeth into as only *she* can, siccs her goons, led by her legless husband who drags himself around on a rolling cart, on Dove and Hallie, and things turn ugly and Hallie dies of an accidental gunshot wound. Also typical of early-60s filmmaking is the complete disregard for period-appropriate hair, makeup and costuming. If the titles hadn't told us this was the early-30s, we would have had no clue. The title song, which has a sleazy sound that is perfectly suited to this film, garnered an Oscar nomination. Other attention focused on this movie was no doubt based upon its one-time shocking content. Now, it is a very amusing, outdated, convoluted morality tale, whose lesson is a mystery.
Movie Review: A travesty on every level
Summary: 1 Stars
What were they thinking??? This is one of the most poorly cast movies in the history of Hollywood. Laurence Harvey is supposed to be a Texan, but he doesn't look like a cowboy/farmer and can't do the accent. Jane Fonda is supposed to be a 16 year old Texan, but she doesn't look 16 and can't do the accent either. Anne Baxter is supposed to be a Mexican -- yeah, right. And we're supposed to believe that Barbara Stanwyck, with her New York accent, runs a New Orleans Cat House? Puh-leeez!!! There's not one genuine southern accent in the entire film. The story is totally uninvolving, the characters are unbelievable and, except for Baxter, unsympathetic. The direction is all over the place, and the art direction fails to evoke the 1930s. Don't waste your time or money on this misbegotten abortion.