Walk on the Wild Side
Saul Bass’s opening credits — all slinking cat and prowling jazz — promise a film far more dangerous than what follows, but Edward Dmytryk’s Walk on the Wild Side still has its charms. It’s a sultry, Southern melodrama where the women run the show and the men mostly sweat, sulk, or stumble.
Jane Fonda lights up the screen, all sharp edges and restless energy, while Barbara Stanwyck exudes icy authority as the brothel madam who treats power like perfume — cool, intoxicating, and just a little poisonous. Laurence Harvey, as the wandering idealist Dove Linkhorn, brings earnestness but little spark; his wide-eyed decency can’t compete with the women’s cunning or complexity. The New Orleans setting lingers beautifully, later echoed in Jarmusch’s Down by Law, though the story itself never quite matches its own heat.
It’s a “woman’s picture” through and through, and when the smoke clears, it’s Fonda who offers the only glimmer of hope — a survivor’s spark in a world built to snuff it out.
Jane Fonda lights up the screen, all sharp edges and restless energy, while Barbara Stanwyck exudes icy authority as the brothel madam who treats power like perfume — cool, intoxicating, and just a little poisonous. Laurence Harvey, as the wandering idealist Dove Linkhorn, brings earnestness but little spark; his wide-eyed decency can’t compete with the women’s cunning or complexity. The New Orleans setting lingers beautifully, later echoed in Jarmusch’s Down by Law, though the story itself never quite matches its own heat.
It’s a “woman’s picture” through and through, and when the smoke clears, it’s Fonda who offers the only glimmer of hope — a survivor’s spark in a world built to snuff it out.
Mini Review: Saul Bass’s prowling cat promises danger, but Edward Dmytryk’s Walk on the Wild Side prowls at its own pace. Jane Fonda blazes, Barbara Stanwyck commands, and Laurence Harvey mostly looks bewildered. It’s a sultry, studio-built New Orleans where women rule and men wilt. Stylish, steamy, and slightly uneven — a Southern melodrama that purrs louder than it bites.