The Walking Stick (1970)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Eric Till

Writers:

Winston Graham (novel)
George Bluestone (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 August 1970 (Finland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Some men will ask anything.

Plot:

A young woman's highly ordered and structured life is turned upside-down when she meets a handsome stranger at a party...

Plot Keywords:

Polio | Based On Novel

Cast

David Hemmings	...	Leigh Hartley
Samantha Eggar	...	Deborah Dainton
Emlyn Williams	...	Jack Foil
Phyllis Calvert	...	Erica Dainton
Ferdy Mayne	...	Douglas Dainton
Francesca Annis	...	Arabella Dainton
Bridget Turner	...	Sarah Dainton
Dudley Sutton	...	Ted Sandymount
John Woodvine	...	Bertie Irons
David Savile	...	David Talbot
Derek Cox	...	Guard #1
Harvey Sambrook	...	Guard #2
Gwen Cherrell	...	Mrs. Hartley
Walter Horsbrugh	...	Mr. Maitland (as Walter Horsburgh)
Basil Henson	...	Insp. Malcolm

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:GP

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Jerry Gershwin-Elliott Kastner

Trivia:

The first film to feature Stanley Myers' "Cavatina" theme (later re-used to more famous advantage in 'The Deer Hunter').

Quotes:

Deborah: Of course you can. What's love!? love is sex, hate, ambitious, selfishness, you name it.

Movie Connections:

References Smultronstället (1957)

Icon turns seedy.

David Hemmings was THE Icon of Swinging 1960's London following his performance in 'Blow Up'. Here he plays Leigh, a slightly sinister seedy artist in 1969/ 70's London, who picks up Deborah (a very beautiful Samantha Eggar) at a fashionable party in Hampstead.

Leigh is a sordid betrayer and crook who may be only using Deborah to gain access to the auction house she works in. When she realises this, Deborah proves to be capable of dealing with the problem and her walking stick, far from eliciting sympathy for her minor disability, proves to be a prop for her strengths.

It is a good example of British Cinema. A strong storyline, originally by author Winston Graham, is moved along by well lit, deep technical images of a London that has in the case of the West India Dock sequences disappeared. And unlike modern films it is not afraid of silence. The music is sparse and appropriate (check out the guitar solo. Isn't it familiar?).

This is a film to buy and watch when the alternative on a wet Bank Holiday is endless 'Carry-On' or Sitcom spin-off films being shown back-to-back on TV.