Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

I Walk Alone Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 20, 2018

Byron Haskin's "I Walk Alone" (1947) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the disc is an exclusive new audio commentary by film historian Troy Howarth. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Frankie and Noll

The battle for superiority between the male stars in Byron Haskin’s I Walk Alone is a bit underwhelming. There is too much arguing and not enough fist-fighting. At times it almost feels like they are intentionally trying not to break out of their space so that the other can shine as best as he can. The rest of the film, however, looks great.

Frankie Madison (Burt Lancaster) has spent fourteen years of his life in jail and now he is out to get what he deserves, which ought to be half of what his pal and former business partner Noll Turner (Kirk Douglas) has. During the Prohibition the two were in the bootlegging game and on the night when they got busted they made a deal that one of them will take the rap so that the other can run the business. Frankie got caught because he was driving their truck, while Noll ran away from it and was then lucky to lose the cops in the nearby forest.

Noll welcomes Frankie at the Regent's Club, which under his management has become the city’s hottest spot. They shake hands, exchange a few pleasantries, and then Frankie tells Noll that he is ready to collect what belongs to him. But instead of having half of the club transferred to him Frankie gets a check for a couple of grand from their ‘previous business’, which according to Noll has absolutely nothing to do with his current business affairs. Suddenly realizing that he has wasted a good portion of his life for a ‘partner’ that never intended to honor their deal Frankie vows to reclaim what is owed to him and then exits the office. Not long after that Frankie summons the surviving members of their old gang, but they too fail to live up to his expectations. Only the club’s elegant singer, Kay Lawrence (Lizabeth Scott), whom Noll has used to figure out Frankie’s intentions, sides with him, though only after she too realizes her boss has played her and is planning to marry one of his wealthiest patrons (a terrific Kristine Miller).

The film has the right look but not always the right tone. A few of the verbal clashes between Lancaster and Douglas have that polished stage quality that feels more appropriate for a post-war urban melodrama rather than a tough film noir. Lancaster’s lines in particular routinely come out quite a bit longer than they should be.

What is very interesting, and perhaps a bit ironic, is that Scott and Miller’s femme fatales actually emerge as stronger characters that carry more of that classic noir edge that is so crucial for the atmosphere that these genre films are known for. Miller actually does not have a lot of time before the camera and yet the two sequences in which she clashes with Lancaster and then cynically plays with Douglas’ feelings are amongst the highlights in this film.

The detailed description of the club’s ownership set-up is also very interesting. It probably isn’t a stretch to speculate that there were ambitious ‘businessmen’ like Douglas’ character that made a few phone calls to check if their interests were just as well protected.

I Walk Alone Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Byron Haskin's I Walk Alone arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a new 4K remaster that was reportedly struck from a 35mm safety dupe negative by Paramount Pictures Archive. Predictably, many of the visuals have a very nice organic appearance. However, there are plenty of significant density fluctuations that affect depth and clarity, so if you are viewing your discs on a larger screen or project you will notice that fluidity isn't as consistent as it should be. The good news is that the entire remaster is free of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments, so the fluctuations that are mentioned above are obviously retained from the existing elements. This being said, the entire disc could have been encoded a little better to optimize grain exposure. Also, some basic stability work could have been done as well. Minor flecks and some stains remains, but there are no large damage marks or other significant imperfections to report. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

I Walk Alone Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The dialog was very easy to follow. However, stability is not immaculate and there are indeed a few segments where it is easy to tell that optimization work would have made a difference. It is nothing major that will affect your viewing experience, but these are signs of aging that modern digital tools can deal with quite easily. Also, in the upper register some light buzz occasionally makes its presence felt.

I Walk Alone Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - in this new audio commentary, film historian Troy Howarth has plenty of good observations about the conception of I Walk Alone, the specific type of characterizations that Byron Haskin promoted in the film, the nature of the conflicts between the leads, the noirish qualities of the cinematography and why the film does not rank amongst the best of its kind, etc. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Kino Lorber.

• Trailer Reel - a collection of trailers for other Kino Lorber catalog releases.

I Walk Alone Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sometimes when you have two very powerful male leads they could cancel each other out, and I think that something along those lines occurs in Byron Haskin's I Walk Alone. Indeed, when Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas are together before the camera it almost feels like they are intentionally trying not to break out of their space so that the other can shine as best as he can. This 'awareness' can be a bit awkward in a genre film that is supposed to look gritty and raw. Still, I Walk Alone is most definitely worth picking up. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a recent 4K remaster that was prepared by Paramount Pictures Archive. RECOMMENDED.