DVD Corner

I Wouldn’t Be In Your Shoes Blu-ray Review

“I Wouldn’t Be In Your Shoes” is made better by a strong ending.

Based on the novel by Cornel Woolrich and adapted by Steve Fisher, “I Wouldn’t Be In Your Shoes” begins in prison where we find a dancer (Tom) on death row facing the electric chair. He recalls how he ended up where he is via a flashback which is what makes up a majority of the movie. Tom is a stressed dancer struggling to get work. He lives with his wife Anne who works at a dance academy. After incidents involving shoes and found money, Tom finds himself being accused of murder by the police. We (the audience) know he’s innocent but everything seems stacked up against him. Anne works with a cop she names Santa Claus to try and clear her husband’s name AND find the real killer.

Directed by William Night, 1948’s 71 minute obscure film noir “I Wouldn’t Be In Your Shoes” starts off as a pretty basic whodunit/man wrongfully accused of murder crime drama. The first half also suffers from some corny drama (lots of coincidences here) and inconsistent acting by leads Don Castle and Elsye Knox that don’t exactly inspire much confidence.

As the film progresses, however, some out of the ordinary elements begin to pop up that really caught my eye. For one, the sort of love triangle between Tom, Anne and Santa Claus (AKA the police officer Clint played by the film’s best performer Regis Toomey) was unusual. Normally, that sort of dynamic would signal a femme fatale character, but Anne is not. She’s a kind hearted woman desperate to help her husband by any means. Secondly, this all eventually leads to a very surprising ending that honestly reshapes the entire story. It even justifies the rocky start. I won’t get into plot details to avoid spoilers, but I will say the movie becomes an engaging noir about lust and a corruption of the soul.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.37:1 1080p. How does it look? The B&W print looks crisp and clean.

Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? Aside from some noticeable hisses and dreadful voiceover sound quality, this is a generally decent track.

Extras include a Warner cartoon titled “Holiday For Shoestrings” a Warner short film called “The Symphony Murder Mystery.”

July 15, 2021 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Film Noir, I Wouldn't Be In Your Shoes Blu-ray Review, Warner Archive