Walk on the Wild Side

This 1962 drama -- set in sultry bad New Orleans in the 1930s -- was the springboard for Lou Reed's classic 1972 song of the same name, but with a different cast entirely. The movie is based on a 1956 novel -- also of the same name -- by Detroit-born Nelson Algren (3/28/1909-5/9/1981) and was directed by black-listed filmmaker Edward Dmytryk (9/4/1908-7/1/1999).

It’s another example of everything being connected to everything, once one follows the threads.

Here we have in gorgeous black and white the story of Texan Dove Linkhorn (Laurence Harvey) in search of his great lost love object, Hallie Gerard the prostitute (Capucine); sort of like Marcel Proust’s Swann in Love, a misguided protagonist trying to “save” his girlfriend while becoming decentered via his amour fou. Indeed, he's such a dapper dude in a situation way over his head that complications inevitably follow.

Much of the action in Walk on the Wild Side swirls around the Doll House bordello, including the machinations of sexy Kitty Twist (Jane Fonda at 24), helpful Teresina Vidaverri (Anne Baxter), Miss Precious (Joanna Cook Moore), and mean lesbian boss Jo Courtney (played by the powerful Barbara Stanwyck and mean only because she does not fall for Dove’s charms and does have feelings for some of her "bordello girls.”) Lots of camp, jazzy stuff, and flamboyant details, including a prowling cat in the opening sequence set to an appropriately “wild side” soundtrack.

Capucine (b. Toulon, France, 1/6/1931-d. 3/17/1990) was a cool cerebral 5’7” model, if not the most stellar actor in the world. Some may recall her playful antics in What’s New Pussycat? (1965). In any case, she must have been something in real life. Even though she and Laurence Harvey didn’t care much for each other’s appeal, she married and divorced Pierre Trabaud, romanced a married William Holden, and inspired the gay, always stylish actor-writer Dirk Bogarde to contemplate marrying her, if only as an urbane cover. Sadly, Capucine suffered from bipolar disorder and, in 1990 at the age of 59, took a suicidal swan dive from her eight-story apartment in Lausanne, Switzerland.

If you enjoy camp, New Orleans, women in trouble, and high drama, Walk on the Wild Side might be just the ticket for a fun viewing. Tagline: "Love is best when kept a secret." Otherwise, jealousy becomes all the rage.


Today's rune: Initiation.