Product Description

A married backwoods Tennessee sheriff falls in love with a teenager whose father is a moonshiner. The sheriff becomes involved in the illicit operations, making sure his men and federal agents stay clear of the stills. When a deputy stumbles upon the still and is killed, this makes the sheriff an accomplice to the crime.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51471 in DVD
• Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
• Released on: 2006-03-07
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 97 minutes

Amazon.com
Definitely not to be confused with 2005's much-honored Walk the Line, director John Frankenheimer's 1970 film I Walk the Line uses the music of Johnny Cash to tell a very different story. Gregory Peck is Henry Tawes, the sheriff of a depressed and depressing rural backwater whose life goes pretty much straight into the outhouse once he lays eyes on Alma McCain (Tuesday Weld), daughter of a local moonshiner. Bored with his job and his home life alike, Tawes may not suffer fools, but he's only too willing to become one once Alma, an irresistible and much younger Tennessee tart (Peck was in his mid-fifties at the time; Weld was nearly three decades behind him), starts pulling his strings at the behest of her pa (Ralph Meeker), who's using his daughter to help, uh, persuade the sheriff to overlook his criminal activities. It's obvious from the git-go that none of this will turn out well for our hero, and while Frankenheimer (who directed the original Manchurian Candidate) and screenwriter Alvin Sargent (a future Oscar winner for Ordinary People and Julia) do a decent job of keeping the tension mounting, the film never quite catches fire. Part of that is due to the measured, laconic performance delivered by Peck, who has a certain dignity that keeps him from really inhabiting his role; much more convincing is Charles Durning as his deputy, a donut-eating, law-bending Southern slug. On the other hand, it's always nice to hear Cash delivering the classic title song, even if his several other tunes featured in I Walk the Line fall somewhat short of that standard. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

Fine drama with a fine score
I remember seeing I WALK THE LINE a year or two ago in a John Frankenheimer retrospective at New York's Film Forum. I saw it frankly because the movie seemed like the runt of the litter -- underappreciated, only screening for one day -- and because I needed an excuse to listen to a bunch of Johnny Cash songs I already knew too well.

Well, my hunch was right. This movie is a quiet pleasure, full of illicit love, melodrama, and great music. Apart from a patch near the end that looks so bizarre compared to the rest of the flick that it had to have been reshot later in a studio, the natural photography is great and sets a lyrical mood.

One can see why this movie has been neglected, because it's simple and not showy, but it's a well-told tale, and hopefully DVD will bring it to a new audience.

I walk the line with grorory peck .An excellent drama,not to be confused with with johnny cash-i walk the line.
This is an excellent drama and love story.I have been waiting for this release on dvd for a long time.As it has been stated by my fellow reviewers,You could end up getting the wrong version of i walk the line.I just had to reorder the other walk the line.I ordered both titles,but i got two of the johnny cash's i walk the line.i should be getting the correct version soon.Well i give both movies 5 stars and i highly recommend this movie with gregory peck!!!!! I thank you Stewart L.

Great movie! Unusual, character-driven narrative. Brilliant acting.
I don't know what Amazon has against this film. This was another spur of the moment buy, and again I wasn't disappointed. The acting is excellent--everyone is terrific in their role, especially Weld and Peck, who each play off the other's hidden agenda quite well. They're both manipulative and decitful, but she's the more "honest" in only trying to help her family. On the other hand, Peck's character is just downright creepy, with some deep-seated control freak issues that just compresses him more and more. You can see him treat her as a person less as the movie progresses, and by the end, you're hoping she gets away with her family.
A well-constructed psychological drama, with great buildup of tension as the noose seems to close in on all sides. Don't really know what all the talk was for on that 'bedroom scene'. It was really quite chaste by today's standards.