Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
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57% of users liked it
(1,200 ratings)
This moody and controversial drama takes place in Depression-era New Orleans. Dove (Laurence Harvey) has traveled by bus from Texas to find his wayward lover Hallie (Capucine). He meets young Kitty Twist (Jane Fonda) as the two get off in the crescent city. Teresina (Anne Baxter) gives him a job at… More This moody and controversial drama takes place in Depression-era New Orleans. Dove (Laurence Harvey) has traveled by bus from Texas to find his wayward lover Hallie (Capucine). He meets young Kitty Twist (Jane Fonda) as the two get off in the crescent city. Teresina (Anne Baxter) gives him a job at her small cafe. In his free time, Dove searches for Hallie and finds her at work as a prostitute in the Doll's House. Dove implores Hallie to return to him but she refuses. When the lecherous lesbian madame Jo (Barbara Stanwyck) discovers Dove's intentions towards Hallie, she has him beaten to a bloody pulp by her hired goons. He is found by Kitty, now a happy hooker at the Doll House, and is taken back to the cafe where the compassionate Teresina heals his physical and emotional wounds. The film taken from the novel by Nelson Algren is much tamer than the original text. The title track, sung by Brook Benton, was nominated for an Academy Award. The "black-cat stalking" opening and closing sequences (by designer Saul Bass) is a perfect little "film-within-a-film." This footage, with its superb lighting, framing, panning, and editing, should be appreciated by anyone who wants to know more about the art of cinematography. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Directed By
- Edward Dmytryk
- Written By
- Nelson Algren, John Fante, Edmund Morris
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1962 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Sleazy atmosphere prevails with Fonda and Capucine as brothel babes.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This lurid, intense drams is pseudo Tennessee Williams, about a Texas drifer and desperate women in his life, but it shows Stanwyck as a lesbian (one of Hollywood's first) and signs of Jane Fonda's talent
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
best known for that marvelous opening credit sequence created by Saul Bass.
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Staci Layne Wilson, StaciWilson.com
Tame by today's standards, but the Saul Bass title sequnce can't be beat.
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Cast
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Laurence Harvey
as Dove Linkhorn
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Capucine
as Hallie
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Jane Fonda
as Kitty Twist
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Anne Baxter
as Teresina Vidaverri
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Barbara Stanwyck
as Jo Courtney
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Joanna Cook Moore
as Miss Precious
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Richard Rust
as Oliver
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Karl Swenson
as Schmidt
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Don 'Red' Barry
as Dockery
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Juanita Moore
as Mama
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John Anderson
as Preacher
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Todd Armstrong
as Lt. Omar Stroud
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Lillian Bronson
as Amy Gerard
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Adrienne Marden
as Eva Gerard
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Sherry O'Neil
as Reba
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Kathryn Card
as Landlady
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Murray Alper
as Simon
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Todd Anderson
as Lieutenant Omar Stroud
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Steve Benton
as Van Driver
- Nesdon Booth
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John Bryant
as Spence
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Cordy Clark
as Fat Woman
- Graham Denton
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Barbara Hines
as Prostitute
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Ted Jacques
as Sheriff
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Chester Jones
as Black Waiter
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Alexander Lockwood
as Doctor
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Ken Lynch
as Frank Bonito
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Edward Mallory
as Sidekick
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Paul Maxey
as Auctioneer
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Bill Walker
as Black Man
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Ray Walker
as Salesman
- Willard Waterman
