mark.waltz Having spent 14 years in prison for crimes during prohibition, the melancholy Burt Lancaster has returned home to try to muscle in on what he rightfully believes is partially his, now controlled by old pal Kirk Douglas who has turned their previous illegal enterprise into a corporation. Douglas's bookkeeper (Wendell Corey), a younger brother figure to Lancaster, has greatly aged in Lancaster's time away, obviously consumed with guilt over the illegal activities he has had to do at Douglas's demands, and now must keep Lancaster at bay as well. Lancaster takes it into his own hands to try to force his way in, but as Douglas charmingly tells him, only the board of directors can approve such changes. This leads to Douglas having Lancaster badly beaten up and turns Douglas's songstress mistress (Lizabeth Scott) onto Lancaster's side, tired of Douglas's involvement with a pushy, wealthy widow (Kristen Miller). Sudden betrayal leads to Lancaster being accused of murder, and along with Scott, Lancaster must find a way of clearing his name and see justice finally served, in this case, a cold dish as justice through revenge is normally presented.Along with "The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers", "Desert Fury" and many others, this is a series of Hal B. Wallis produced film noirs where many of the same actors got together as sort of a repertoire company to show off the dark sides of the post war society. Whether returning from war duty, prison, out of town jobs or just drifting along, many of the protagonists here found themselves up against evils they couldn't control, yet were far from noble characters themselves. Lancaster's Frankie is moody, amoral and not above breaking the law. Yet he is aware that he had broke the law which sent him up the river, but is bitter because nobody from the old rackets stood beside him. Douglas, smiling and sly, is a great villain, while Corey is appropriately stone cold as a character barely living whom Lancaster notices seems older than him even though he's younger. Scott, who could go from cold and calculating to purring like a kitten, is a combination of a vixen and a very melancholy baby, but knowing when a bad deal is done, even by the man she thinks she loves. Originally considered for Scott's role, Kristen Miller is deliciously bitchy and cold as the nasty socialite keeping Douglas under her thumb. Unfortunately, her role is underdeveloped, and she pretty much disappears from the second half of the film.Having seen Lancaster (in a good guy role), Scott (in a very similar part) and Corey (in a supporting role with homosexual overtones) in the color film noir "Desert Fury", I wanted to see how this would compare, and found it to be even better. Douglas basically plays the type of part that John Hodiak had been cast in "Desert Fury", but there are enough twists and turns to make this unique. The film is elaborately designed and photographed, especially the elegant nightclub, and deliciously darkly lit for the intense finale where everything comes out into the open. Then there are some great outdoor shots of Lancaster and Scott on the run, going back into the city for the final confrontation, unconcerned about Lancaster being looked for by the police for murder as he knows they would be looking for him the opposite way. The musical score in the background nicely adds to the tension, although i would have loved to have heard the title song used more often rather than the upbeat jazzy way it is briefly heard. Still, this is one of the better late 40's film noir with an outstanding cast and everything else pulling it together in a tight little package.

Martha Wilcox It feels as though Burt Lancaster is the tougher man in this film as he gets to punch Kirk Douglas and win. They don't really fight it out like John Wayne and Randolph Scott in 'The Spoilers', and for that reason this film disappoints just like 'Gunfight at the OK Corral'. There is tension between Lancaster and Douglas but their scenes together are just talking heads. Lancaster wins the physical war with his fists, whereas wins the intellectual war of words by outsmarting Lancaster. It is unsatisfactory because they would continue to be talking heads in 'Gunfight at the OK Corral' and 'Seven Days in May'. This is why it is not a movie, but rather a collaboration between two talented actors who are not maximising their potential together.

Michael_Elliott I Walk Alone (1948) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Frankie Madison (Burt Lancaster) gets out of prison after fourteen years and heads to see his old partner Dink Turner (Kirk Douglas). The two men made an agreement when Frankie took the wrap that they'd split everything down the middle while he was in prison but once on the outside he realizes that Turner has double crossed him. Broke and without any hopes for the future, Frankie must get his revenge. There are some terrific performances to be found here but sadly the end results aren't nearly as good as one would hope for thanks in large part to a screenplay that is just way too predictable for its own good. The story itself really isn't anything original and it doesn't take long for you to realize that Lancaster isn't going to be getting what's coming to him and the film takes way too long for this obvious set-up to take place. Once the double cross actually happens things start to pick up but once again you're one step ahead of the characters as none of them ever really see what's going to happen and after a while you start to realize that they're all rather stupid. This is especially true during the ending, which I won't ruin. I will say there's something Douglas does, which is just so silly that you can't help believe the two characters he does it to would be that dumb. With that said, the film is still worth seeing thanks in large part to the terrific cast. There are many legendary actor-actor combos throughout film history but one of my favorites has always been Lancaster and Douglas. It's somewhat shocking to me that their films aren't better respected than they are but this was the first of seven films they made together and that terrific chemistry is on display here. It's rather amazing to see how well they play off one another in their film film but Lancaster was always terrific at playing the wronged tough guy and Douglas is just so snake like that you can't help but love to hate him. Lizabeth Scott is good in her role as the woman in love with Douglas but who quickly starts to fall for Lancaster. There's no question that the director wanted her to "act" like Lauren Bacall but it works well. Wendell Corey is also very good in his role. I WALK ALONE is part noir and part thriller and fans of those two genres will probably want to check it out. The terrific performances make it a film worth watching but it's a shame the screenplay didn't do a better job with the characters.

MARIO GAUCI Three of the stars from DESERT FURY (1947) – Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott and Wendell Corey – were reunited in another, marginally superior noir that is most notable today for marking the first of seven screen pairings between Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. Although it was still very early in their careers, they had already become typecast as, respectively, the jilted, ex-con hero and the suave, slimy villain and this film has them reprising those characterizations – albeit less effectively than their prototype seen earlier in THE KILLERS (1946) and OUT OF THE PAST (1947); the same goes for Scott and Corey who both share a divided loyalty towards the two male leads. I WALK ALONE can also be said to have kick-started the directorial career of former technician Byron Haskin which lasted for twenty versatile years; unfortunately, that fact is borne out by the surprising lack of pace (which makes the film seem longer than its 98-minute running-time) and a rather weak climactic confrontation. Even so, the film is most interesting in the way it depicts the change in crime syndication (from streetwise toughness in the bootlegging Depression days to business acumen in the capitalist post-WWII era) that occurred during the fourteen years Lancaster spent behind bars: this is highlighted in a sharply amusing sequence when accountant Corey wrecks Lancaster's dream of owning half of Douglas' business empire (as they had verbally agreed on all those years before) by disclosing in "double-talk" the complex legal relationship that exists between the various companies owned by Douglas!