And all the coloured girls go: doo, do-doo, do-doo, do-do-doo...
The problem with a lot of movies from the early '60s is that they clearly wanted to be seen as daring and dangerous, but they weren't allowed to go all the way yet, so we're left with stories that lean too heavily on vague implications, with lame and generally underbaked results. And that's the case with Walk on the Wild Side: despite all the risque subject matter, it mostly just comes off as bland.
It's also overly dramatic, but I didn't mind that aspect as much. I kinda liked the soap opera theatrics and the generally trashy vibe, especially in the opening half hour or so. It's only once Laurence Harvey and Capucine reconnect that the story starts to lose me. The pacing suddenly becomes far more sluggish, and we're never really given much of a reason to care about their relationship in the first place (which isn't helped by the fact that both actors lack charisma, especially compared to Jane Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck), so the drama's even further diluted.
Frankly, I think the entire movie should've been about Harvey and Fonda catching trains and bumming rides during the Depression. That would've been far more interesting, and almost certainly more wild.
Grade: B-
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