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Walk Softly, Stranger

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Walk Softly, Stranger

A petty crook moves to an Ohio town and courts a factory owner's disabled daughter.

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Release : 1950
Rating : 6.5
Studio : RKO Radio Pictures,  Dore Schary Productions,  Vanguard Films, 
Crew : Director of Photography,  Grip, 
Cast : Joseph Cotten Alida Valli Spring Byington Paul Stewart Jack Paar
Genre : Drama Crime Romance

Cast List

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Reviews

LouHomey
2018/08/30

From my favorite movies..

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Comwayon
2018/08/30

A Disappointing Continuation

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StyleSk8r
2018/08/30

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

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Derrick Gibbons
2018/08/30

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

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seymourblack-1
2017/08/08

There's a profound sadness that runs through "Walk Softly, Stranger" as it features a con man who is trying to escape his past, whilst also targeting two women who are both vulnerable in different ways. The result is a drama in which the atmosphere is mostly downbeat and never gets lifted much by its action sequences, its romantic interludes or its relatively few moments of humour. It's probably for this reason that the movie flopped so badly at the time of its initial release and has only gained a limited amount of appreciation in the years since.Armed with a new identity, gambler, thief and con man Chris Hale (Joseph Cotten) chooses the small town of Ashton, Ohio as the place where he feels he can make a new life for himself. After driving up to a suburban house and checking the information in his notes, he introduces himself to Mrs Brentman (Spring Byington) who he knows is a widow and the owner of the property. He asks to see inside the house which he claims he used to live in as a boy and the trusting Mrs Brentman readily shows him what she feels certain, must have been his room years earlier. He plays along with this and agrees to the old lady's suggestion that he should become her lodger. As Chris is unemployed, Mrs Brentman puts in a good word for him with her friend Mr Morgan (John McIntire) who's a foreman at the Corelli Shoe Factory which is the town's biggest employer.That night at the Ashton Country Club, Chris encounters the rich and beautiful Elaine Corelli (Alida Valli), who's sitting on her own away from the partying club members and tells her how, years earlier as a newspaper delivery boy, he'd had a crush on her but hadn't felt able to approach her because of her social status. He also shows some knowledge of her life in the years that followed which Elaine recognises must have been gleaned from reports of her activities in the society columns. It's only after they've been talking for a little while that Chris sees that she's in a wheelchair and she tells him that she'd become paralysed as a result of a skiing accident.Next day, when Chris reports for work at the shoe factory, he's immediately asked to report to the owner, A.J. (Frank Puglia) who's ready to offer him a higher status job in sales or advertising because his daughter had asked him to but also because he was so grateful that someone had brought some interest into her life for the first time in ages. Chris respectfully declines the offer but continues to call on Elaine who enjoys his visits.When the weekend comes around, Chris tells Mrs Brentman that he's going to see a friend in another city and flies off to reunite with his old criminal associate Whitey Lake (Paul Stewart) and together they steal a large sum of money from the owner of a gambling joint and afterwards share the cash between them. Chris then heads back to Ashton, intent on leaving his criminal life behind and pursuing his relationship with Elaine. Things suddenly get complicated, however, when Whitey arrives at Chris' new home after having spent all his share of the money and going on the run from the gambling joint owner and his heavies who are on his trail and out for revenge.Joseph Cotten, as Hale, is tremendously unassuming and it's this quality that makes his character seem so plausible to the residents of Ashton. He's also skillful in the way that he ingratiates himself to others. Examples of this are seen in the way that he deals with a young woman who is furious about the way that he stood her up on a date and also how he deliberately loses a game of poker against Mr Morgan. Probably his most skillful move is seen when he doesn't take one of the higher paid jobs offered by A.J. This enables him to keep his profile low, demonstrate clearly that he's not acquisitive and also, by telling the caring father that he'd explain his reasons for doing so to Elaine, reassures A.J. that his daughter will know the he'd done all he could to fulfil her wish.Cotten's performance makes the different sides of Hale's character understandable and Alida Valli is terrific as the depressed heiress who knows more than she lets on. Similarly, the members of the supporting cast are all consistently good.

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dbdumonteil
2012/02/21

I like Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli ,but you cannot always win ,that is to say you cannot expect another "third man" every time ;their parts are unworthy of their talent ;the screenplay is desultory -for instance ,Cotten is to work in Valli's father's factory ,but he is so busy gambling and cheating you do not see him work at all-;Valli spends the whole movie in her wheelchair.The best scenes are to be found in Cotten's landlady's house ,particularly when another man shows up.Cotten was ideally cast for he is par excellence the ambiguous man,not quite the good guy but not the villain either ;even when he's a criminal ("shadow of a doubt") we feel for him;the movie avoids the traditional "happy end" or at least postponed it for years.

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dougdoepke
2009/05/23

The trouble with this Stranger is that it walks too softly. I agree with others: the movie is too low-key for its own good. Unfortunately, the narrative straddles a number of movie genres— romance, crime, regeneration, noir— without blending them into a compelling whole. At the same time, the parts are stretched out at such a leisurely pace, it's sometimes hard to stay involved. Then too, Cotten is a master of subtlety and can play a nuanced psycho as in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) to perfection. Here, however, he doesn't supply the kind of tough- guy edge of a petty criminal and stick-up man at those moments when they should surface. As a result, we never see the side of his personality that's in conflict with his charming, sociable side. Cotten's performance is perfect for the romantic side, but not for the tough- guy criminal side. Thus, the reform that comes at the end lacks the contrast and dramatic impact it needs. All in all, I think the film works best as a romantic tale of moral regeneration. The screenplay could have deepened this approach by making Hale (Cotten) a con-man gigolo instead of a violent criminal, that is, a man who is reformed by coming home to his first and one true love, Elaine (Valli). For one, that would have eliminated the ridiculous sequence where, as reviewer cutterccbaxter notes, Hale takes three slugs in the back while in a rolling car, yet emerges in the next scene with his arm in a sling! My guess is that the film was rushed into production to cash in on the success of the Valli-Cotten teaming in The Third Man. The result, however, is a Luke-warm mix at best.

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hcoursen
2006/05/15

This one features a typically restrained performance by Cotton, a strong depiction of his weasly partner and moral antithesis by Paul Stewart and, as always, good supporting work by the ebullient Spring Byington. The star, however, is Valli, who moves from a vulnerable cripple to a radiant smile as some kids sing a Christmas carol to her through the window of Cotton's wonderful Packard convertible. The film may end unconvincingly, as some auditors argue, but at least it ends in a minor key. The effective opening 3/4 may have earned that ending. But see it for Valli, who (as someone suggested) should have gotten an Oscar for this one.

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