DIRECTOR: Edward Dmytryk
BOTTOM LINE: Laurence Harvey and Jane Fonda meet on a road in Texas during the Great Depression and decide to hitchhike together to New Orleans. Harvey is searching for his lost love, Hallie (Capucine), and when they arrive in The Big Easy, he finds her working at the Doll House, an upscale French Quarter bordello where Jo (Barbara Stanwyck) is the madam. A lesbian relationship is suggested between Jo and Hallie. However, Hallie, who is unhappy with her lot in life, still works for Jo as a prostitute but does not want to give up her comforts and risk married life when Harvey proposes.
Stanwyck, looking butch, and Capucine, looking femme, have a few good scenes together. However, Harvey is wan, and Fonda does not have enough to do. The movie is no fun. The film also stars Anne Baxter as the owner of a diner where Harvey gets a job, Joanna Moore (mother of Tatum O’Neill) and Juanita Moore (no relation).
Adapted by John Fante from the 1956 novel A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren. Music by Elmer Bernstein.
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