Walk on the Wild Side (1962)

The lives of a group of women in a New Orleans bordello.

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

Nelson Algren (novel), John Fante (screenplay)

Stars:

Laurence Harvey, Capucine, Jane Fonda

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laurence Harvey	...	Dove Linkhorn
Capucine	...	Hallie
Jane Fonda	...	Kitty Twist
Anne Baxter	...	Teresina Vidaverri
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Jo / Jo Courtney
Joanna Moore	...	Miss Precious
Richard Rust	...	Oliver
Karl Swenson	...	Schmidt
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Dockery (as Donald Barry)
Juanita Moore	...	Mama
John Anderson	...	Preacher
Ken Lynch	...	Frank Bonito
Todd Armstrong	...	Lt. Omar Stroud (as Todd Anderson)
Sherry O'Neil	...	Reba
John Bryant	...	Spence

Storyline

At the Doll House, a 1930's New Orleans bordello, Hallie is the main attraction both for clients and for Jo, the madame. Her comfortable if tedious life is disrupted by the arrival in town of Dove Linkhorn, her true love of three years before who is now searching for her. When Linkhorn learns the truth of her profession he triggers a chain of events involving a number of people, including the young Kitty with whom he travelled from Texas and who is now the Doll House newest recruit.

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | great depression | prostitution | based on novel | texas | 

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Taglines:

THIS IS AN ADULT PICTURE! Parents should exercise discretion in permitting the immature to see it.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1962 (UK)

Also Known As:

Auf glühendem Pflaster

Filming Locations:

Jackson Square, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Famous Artists Productions,Columbia Pictures Corporation,Famartists Productions S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first Hollywood film to openly feature lesbianism. By appearing in the movie, Barbara Stanwyck became the first American actress to portray a lesbian character in a feature film.

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Goofs

The jukebox in Teresina's diner is a Wurlitzer model 1015. The 1015 was a post-war model produced from 1946 through 1947 and would not have been seen in the Depression.

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Quotes

Dove Linkhorn: What are you doing here, Kit?
Kitty Twist: I run the candy concession.

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Crazy Credits

SPOILER: The opening and closing credits are shown tracking a black cat as it prowls an urban landscape. The closing credits feature a newspaper reporting the Doll House residents' arrest and conviction.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cosby Show: Rudy's Walk on the Wild Side (1990)

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Soundtracks

Walk on the Wild Side
Music by Elmer Bernstein
Lyrics by Mack David
Sung by Brook Benton

User Reviews

Sluts on the Wild Side

Barbara Stanwyck, Jane Fonda, Capucine, and Laurence Harvey take a "Walk on the Wild Side" in this 1962 film directed by Edward Dmytryk, based on the book by Nelson Algren. One reason the film is memorable is the title song by Elmer Bernstein.

The 1930s story begins with Dove Linkhorn (Harvey) meeting Kitty Twist (Jane Fonda) as they're both traveling out of Texas by the cheapest route possible. Though Kitty has the hots for Dove, he's headed for The Big Easy to find his girl Hallie (Capucine). It turns out that Hallie is working at the Doll House, a brothel run by lesbian Jo Courtney (Barbara Stanwyck) who is in love with Hallie and giving her the good life. Before Dove finds her, he winds up working at a café run by Teresina Vidaverri (Anne Baxter), who falls for him. When he finally connects with Hallie, he finds out that Kitty is now working at the Doll House too.

For some reason this film seemed like it was cut to ribbons. It's very disjointed. Fonda appears in the beginning and then drops out for what seems like an hour. Though she's certainly a beautiful woman today, seeing this film is a reminder of just how dazzling she was. Her acting is effective if a bit over the top, though she doesn't get a lot of help from the script. Stanwyck is excellent as a tough woman made vulnerable because of her love for Hallie.

In fact, Stanwyck and Fonda are the only two who are well cast in this movie. The rest of them seem as if someone pulled their names out of a hat. I mean, Laurence Harvey as a Texan? And because this film is produced by Charles Feldman, that means Capucine gets to come along and give one of her cold as ice, monotone-voiced, frozen-faced performances. We have no idea why Dove fell for her and why Jo loves her. But then, we didn't understand Franz Liszt falling for her in Song without End either. And, though the film is set in the '30s, again thanks to Mr. Feldman, Capucine wears the latest Pierre Cardin fashions.

I'm sure that in real life, Capucine (known as "Cap" to her friends) was a lovely and warm woman - Dirk Bogarde was crazy about her as a person, William Holden I believe was in love with her, and she was a good friend of Audrey Hepburn's - but she just never projected much on screen. Her casting here is woeful.

Anne Baxter does the best she can with her role.

The film is a real old-fashioned melodrama. In the end it doesn't really draw you in and it seems like a lot is missing. It's a miss, but a high budget one.