Robert Stevenson (1) (1905–1986)

“Just do one thing for me. Belong to me.” — Joseph Cotten to Alida Valli

Something soft and wistful hangs over this neglected RKO gem starring Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli like a misty sea smoke. A warmth and maturity can be felt as we are slowly drawn in to this story of second chances. Rather than being a straightforward crime drama, it is instead a quiet drama with crime. Rather than the focal point being a crime, with romance as a background, it is a romance intruded upon by a past deed; an intrusion on a life being made in the present, by a life that was in the recent past. A subdued richness and restrained, underplayed performances by both Cotten and Valli add a sense of truth and realism.

Chris Hale (Joeseph Cotten) comes to the town of Ashton and finds a kind soul in Spring Byington. Byington gives a wonderful performance as a sweet lady whose son was killed in the war. Despite the fact that Cotten’s character sort of ingratiates himself into her life and that of the town, the viewer senses an underlying goodness in him. Valli gives a lovely performance full of softness as Elaine, the wealthiest girl in Ashton. She has been restricted to a wheel chair after a skiing accident. Director Robert Stevenson and Alida Valli create a tenderness the viewer can feel as her loneliness is gradually replaced by unexpected hope of life and love which is not restricted to the pages of the books she inhabits.

Chris is a gambler so good he’s run out of places to play, his only option to rob a gambling house with his partner on a weekend away from Ashton. You can sense the change in him as Elaine pushes him away because she feels she cannot offer him what he needs. But second thoughts can’t keep the owner of the casino he and his partner robbed from finding him. Once he tells Elaine, he must try to set things straight. It is uncertain until the final shot whether life will give them both a second chance to be loved, and have the life together neither could have apart.

TV icon Jack Parr has a small role as a work pal of Hale’s in this David O. Selznick film. Spring Byington is marvelous in support. Cotten and Valli actually made this film prior to their turn together in The Third Man, but Howard Hughes, who had taken the reins of RKO, didn’t release it until the aforementioned film’s popularity had everybody talking about it, and the three stars of it — including of course, Orson Welles.

Walk Softly, Stranger is a quiet film full of tenderness and maturity. Those expecting gritty crime or romantic fireworks will be sorely disappointed. But those who enjoy something with a richer and more realistic picture of life and love will find a soft spot in their hearts for this one. A fine film.… (more)