I Walk the Line (film)
Encyclopedia
I Walk the Line is a 1970 film
directed by John Frankenheimer
and starring Gregory Peck
and Tuesday Weld
. The film is the story of Sheriff Henry Tawes (Peck) who develops a relationship with town girl Alma McCain (Weld).
The screenplay is an adaptation of An Exile by Madison Jones
. The I Walk the Line soundtrack
is by Johnny Cash
; it features his 1956 hit song of the same name
.
during Kennedy's presidential campaign
; Frankenheimer was a close friend of Kennedy: right before his assassination, Kennedy stayed at Frankenheimer's home in Malibu then gave him a ride to the Ambassador Hotel, the site of the assassination.
According to Frankenheimer , "if you want to date a moment when things started to turn [for the worse], it was after that night. I went through sheer hell. I went to Europe, and I just lost interest. I got burned out. I was really left very disillusioned and went through a period of deep depression. It took a long time to get it back." After the assassination, Frankenheimer spent five years in France, "taking cooking classes and directing sporadically." One of those films was I Walk the Line, originally titled September Country.
Frankenheimer wanted Gene Hackman
to play the sheriff, but Columbia Pictures
insisted that Peck be cast in the lead since he was under contract to them
. Frankenheimer cast J.C. Evans, his wife's grandfather, who was eighty-two years old, to play the sheriff's father; the director called Evans "quite wonderful" but eventually had Will Geer
dub his part
.
According to TV Guide
, "[t]he one reason to watch is the astonishing, unsung Weld, the modern Louise Brooks
, who can suggest amorality, skewed innocence and ageless sensuality—she played nymphets through her thirties with infinite ease—that makes Bardot
pale."
In an interview published in October 2009, Madison Jones
, the author upon whose novel the film's screenplay was based, said Peck "didn’t really fit the role.... He didn’t really fit any role unless he is playing himself"; across to Jones, "Peck himself said there was a good movie lying on the cutting room floor."
," even became a number one country hit
in 1971.
1970 in film
The year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
directed by John Frankenheimer
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films...
and starring Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
and Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
. The film is the story of Sheriff Henry Tawes (Peck) who develops a relationship with town girl Alma McCain (Weld).
The screenplay is an adaptation of An Exile by Madison Jones
Madison Jones
Madison Percy Jones is a novelist, born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1925. He has published almost a dozen novels, and is considered "one of the major figures of contemporary southern letters".-Biography:...
. The I Walk the Line soundtrack
I Walk the Line (soundtrack album)
I Walk the Line is a soundtrack album to a 1970 film of the same name starring Gregory Peck. Released that same year on Columbia Records, it is, in essence, a country album by Johnny Cash, as the entire soundtrack is composed solely of Cash songs, including the famous title song...
is by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
; it features his 1956 hit song of the same name
I Walk the Line
"I Walk the Line" is a song written by Johnny Cash and recorded in 1956. It was performed with the help of Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins, two mechanics that his brother introduced him to following his discharge from the Air Force. Cash and his wife, Vivian, were living in Memphis, Tennessee,...
.
Cast
- Gregory PeckGregory PeckEldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
as Sheriff Tawes - Tuesday WeldTuesday WeldTuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
as Alma McCain - Estelle ParsonsEstelle ParsonsEstelle Margaret Parsons is an American theatre, film and television actress and occasional theatrical director.After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program Today and made her stage debut in 1961...
as Ellen, the sheriff's wife - Ralph MeekerRalph MeekerRalph Meeker was an American stage and film actor best-known for starring in the 1953 Broadway production of Picnic, and in the 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.-Career:...
as Carl McCain, Alma's father - Lonny ChapmanLonny ChapmanLonny Chapman was an American television actor best known for his numerous guest star appearances on detective dramas, including Quincy, M.E., The A-Team, Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, and NYPD Blue...
as Bascomb - Charles DurningCharles DurningCharles Durning is an American actor. With appearances in over 100 films, Durning's memorable roles include police officers in the Oscar-winning The Sting and crime drama Dog Day Afternoon , along with the comedies Tootsie, To Be Or Not To Be and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the last two...
as Hunnicutt
Pre-production
Frankenheimer spent 1968 traveling with Robert F. KennedyRobert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
during Kennedy's presidential campaign
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1968
The 1968 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1968 U.S. presidential election...
; Frankenheimer was a close friend of Kennedy: right before his assassination, Kennedy stayed at Frankenheimer's home in Malibu then gave him a ride to the Ambassador Hotel, the site of the assassination.
According to Frankenheimer , "if you want to date a moment when things started to turn [for the worse], it was after that night. I went through sheer hell. I went to Europe, and I just lost interest. I got burned out. I was really left very disillusioned and went through a period of deep depression. It took a long time to get it back." After the assassination, Frankenheimer spent five years in France, "taking cooking classes and directing sporadically." One of those films was I Walk the Line, originally titled September Country.
Frankenheimer wanted Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
to play the sheriff, but Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
insisted that Peck be cast in the lead since he was under contract to them
Studio system
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1960s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under...
. Frankenheimer cast J.C. Evans, his wife's grandfather, who was eighty-two years old, to play the sheriff's father; the director called Evans "quite wonderful" but eventually had Will Geer
Will Geer
Will Geer was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons....
dub his part
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
.
Reception
In a December 1970 review, Time magazine summarized the film's main characters:- "Tuesday Weld is an understandably desirable love object, a genuine LolitaLolitaLolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian...
, but she can make little sense of her rather muddy character" - "Ralph Meeker, as the ruthless moonshineMoonshineMoonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
r, is all sinister smiles and barely repressed violence" - "[Gregory) Peck succeeds in conveying the sheriff's vulnerability but never his passion"
According to TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, "[t]he one reason to watch is the astonishing, unsung Weld, the modern Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
, who can suggest amorality, skewed innocence and ageless sensuality—she played nymphets through her thirties with infinite ease—that makes Bardot
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
pale."
In an interview published in October 2009, Madison Jones
Madison Jones
Madison Percy Jones is a novelist, born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1925. He has published almost a dozen novels, and is considered "one of the major figures of contemporary southern letters".-Biography:...
, the author upon whose novel the film's screenplay was based, said Peck "didn’t really fit the role.... He didn’t really fit any role unless he is playing himself"; across to Jones, "Peck himself said there was a good movie lying on the cutting room floor."
Soundtrack album
Cash re-recorded the title song for the film, and ended up with enough material for a soundtrack album. One of the songs from the film, "Flesh and BloodFlesh and Blood (Johnny Cash song)
"Flesh and Blood" is a 1970 single written and recorded by Johnny Cash and was featured in the film, I Walk the Line starring Gregory Peck . "Flesh and Blood" went to number one on the U.S. country singles chart for one week, spending a total of thirteen weeks on the chart.-Chart performance:...
," even became a number one country hit
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
in 1971.