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A film noir that was all but lost but recently resurfaced, I Wouldn't Be In Your Shoes brings yet another of Cornell Woolrich's paranoiac nightmares to the screen. Don Castle, a hoofer on his uppers, shares a cramped room in a New York boarding house with his wife and sometime partner Elyse Knox. While he frets in his bathrobe, a fifth of gin on the bed-table, she entertains gentlemen at a buck-a-dance academy. One night, he hurls his good tap shoes (actually, his only pair of shoes) out the window at some randy cats. When he goes to retrieve them, they aren't there, but mysteriously reappear outside his door next morning.

Next thing, he's hauled in for the murder of a reclusive old miser in the neighborhood. The impression of one of his shoes clinches the conviction (and it doesn't help that he just happened to find a wallet stuffed with the old-style bills the victim hoarded). He's waiting for his execution as the movie opens, and most of the story gets told through flashbacks.

The third major character is a cop, Regis Toomey, who had met Knox at the tango palace and taken a shine to her. Desperate to clear her husband, she feigns reciprocation of Toomey's interest so he'll help her out. Toomey's another example of the obsessive, stalking cop, created by Laird Cregar in I Wake Up Screaming (1942) and reprised by Richard Boone in its remake Vicki (1953). He breaks a new development in the case by finding the tenant of another room within shoe-shot of Castle's, but this proves to be only a rather tasty red herring. As the clock ticks down to midnight and curtains for Castle, Knox stumbles upon the clue that cracks the case....

Many forgotten films from the noir cycle turn out to be just what one might suspect: hackneyed, humdrum crime programmers. But, like Decoy, I Wouldn't Be In Your Shoes surprises by its competence. The dancing couple exude appeal, Toomey and the other cops offer acting rather than shtik, and the plot unfurls with reasonable deftness. It even looks good. As a restoration to the noir canon, it's more than welcome.

Tom Quinn (Don Castle) gets his last meal before his execution. He recounts his story to the other prisoners. He and his wife Ann Quinn (Elyse Knox) are struggling dancers. Police detective Clint Judd (Regis Toomey) investigates a murder investigation with a shoe print as evidence. Tom found a wallet full of old money. Both the shoe print and the money point the finger at him. Ann recognizes Clint as "Santa Claus", the man who gave her a big tip for a dance.

This is a film noir B-movie adapted from a pulp novel. It's a simple crime police drama. I do question the shoe print as that impressive of a piece of evidence. I like the opening on death row. I like Clint and his motivation. This is good pulp. This is a very solid and compelling crime drama.

A dancer chucks his tap shoes out the window at a noisy cat and ends up facing a murder charge. I could make a comparison to a certain other film noir (actually a film noir and its remake) but that would be giving away its surprising twist. Given the era, you know the innocent man will get a last minute reprieve, the trick is how we get to that point. When the realization dawned on me -- about 30 seconds before the first real clue -- it was one of those magic "How did I not see this coming?" moments. Certain plot points that at first seemed very contrived clicked into place (although to be totally honest, a lot of it is still kinda contrived... goofy coincidences and twists are something of a trademark for Cornell Woolrich). The film is clearly a shoestring budget production, but even if the performances aren't great, they are at least sincere. The "wrong man" scenario provides the usual (justified) paranoia concerning the authorities charged with protecting us, and the tight running time makes this a worthwhile picture, even if not exactly an undiscovered classic.

This rediscovered little dilly wouldn't walk away with any awards, but it's the sort of grade-B fare that makes film noir aficionados jump for joy! As is remarkably common in such flicks, the fog of confusion comes in on little cat feet--this time in the presence of two fighting felines on a fence. The protagonist flings his shoes at them, and fate suddenly starts tromping roughshod over him and his hapless spouse. The plot is somewhat plodding by modern standards, but its patient unfolding allows realization to creep slowly over the viewer, so that the conclusion is all the more credible and satisfying. Fans of crime and mystery films of the forties and fifties should find this offering to be a runaway pleaser!

I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes is directed by William Nigh and adapted to screenplay by Steve Fisher from a story by Cornell Woolrich. It stars Don Castle, Elyse Knox, Regis Toomey and Charles D. Brown. Music is by Edward J. Kay and cinematography by Mack Stengler.

Hoofer Tom Quinn (Castle) is convicted of murder on circumstantial evidence. Sentenced to death row, Tom must hope his wife Ann (Knox) can find the proof of his innocence before his date with death.

Pretty routine noir exercise this one, but definitely of interest to film noir lovers looking for something they may not have seen before. In true noir fashion fate and coincidences play a huge part in the narrative drive, as does a bit of obsessive yearnings and questionable moral standing. The look is nifty, very noirish when the prison or the church is involved, or the nighttime shots in general, while there's a quirky edge to proceedings that always keeps the pic interesting. The ending is a disappointment (in true noir terms), and apart from the always reliable Toomey, the acting only just about passes muster, but it's worth a look see, even if it isn't the under seen gem some would have you believe... 6/10

Don Castle (Tom) is an out of work dancer with only 1 pair of shoes. Not only that but he throws them out of the window when some cats bother him. He goes to retrieve them but can't find them. Next morning, his wife Elyse Knox (Ann) brings them to him from outside their apartment. Someone has returned them. How nice. Not really, though. Whoever left them there has murdered someone whilst wearing them and has kindly returned them for framing purposes.

We have a flashback film with Castle on Death Row awaiting his execution. He relates his story to 4 other prisoners and the film intersperses between the prison cells, where prisoner no. 3 is in charge of the tunes, and a separate investigation to discover what actually happened courtesy of Knox.

It's an entertaining film and it has a twist. You'll probably guess but these plots are all about the moment that you realize. Mental illness is definitely on the cards in this offering.

(1948) I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes CRIME MYSTERY DRAMA

Adapted from the novel by Cornell Woolrich that has a jail cell #5 reevaluating what happened as his last meal is being brought over to him, and waiting to be put to death as a result of sentence. And just when his fellow inmates were asking him what he was charged for, is when the movie then goes back to the time that ignited the unfortunate event that happened to him. It has struggling tap dancer, Thomas J. Quinn or Tom for short waiting nervously for his wife, Ann to return to their measly one bedroom apartment. And when she does arrive, Tom then gets jealous as a result of her working as a dancing hostess. And just when both of them go to bed, cats below them begin to make some noise, motivating Tom to throw his tap dancing shoes at them. Ann orders her husband to retrieve them enlightening him that they were his "new" tapping shoes he threw out the window. When he couldn't find them, he was not able to get them back until some person left them by the apartment door on the following morning. Tom decides to get his shoes shined, he notices a murder has been committed nearby, and chooses to ignore it. Inspector Stevens is in charge of the case, we find out 70,000 was stolen from the victim, making the motivation to be robbery. Leaving nothing but a single footprint on the muddy ground. Coincidentally, the day of his neighbor was found murdered, Tom then does the dumb thing of listening to his wife about keeping $2,000 he found that had no identification instead of returning it to local authorities. And when Tom is tried and convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death by electrocution, a detective, Clint Judd manages to convince his boss, Inspector Stevens to let Ann go for the intention of tailing her, part of recovering the other $68,000. And of course, once she is let out, she then goes on the pursuit of attempting to prove her husband Tom innocent with the help of Clint.

Although, this is clearly a nightmare scenario one of the inconsistencies is the fact that if a murder were to happen, it is authorities job to ask around the area, particularly it's neighbors whether each of them had either seen or heard anything. And that that procedure was not done until much later. Other than that, it is a pretty decent whodunit movie that keeps viewers glued, until we're able to guess out the person who did it. And Eddie Muller was correct when he said that the set up is somewhat similar to Cornell Woolrich's other story "Black Angel" from 1946.

This film would appear to have been 'lost' since it's release in 1948, and that's a shame as while it's certainly not the best film of the 'film noir' era; it's a good one, and a lot better than many of the more popular noirs. The film features the trademark noir gloomy atmosphere, and this is excellently complimented by the shots of the city at night. The plot focuses on the idea of bad luck, as many noirs do, and the title is a lot more literal than you may think. The plot isn't full of ideas, and mostly just focuses on the central theme; which is a bonus if you ask me as it means that the director can spend more time building up the central situation and as a result; the film is ultimately more thrilling. We focus on a pair of characters; both out of luck dancers. One night, they are being kept awake by cats outside their apartment and so, as you do, he throws his shoes out the window to shut them up. He retrieves them the next day, and soon after their luck changes when he finds a wallet containing two thousand dollars. However, the police come to believe that the money belongs to a murdered man; and the husband soon comes under suspicion for the murder.

The idea that the plot focuses on is good, and the shoes of the title are the centrepiece object - which helps the film as it gives it a real sense of irony. The acting isn't the best, but all the performers do well in their respective roles. Don Castle convinces as the unlucky law abiding citizen, while Elyse Knox gets most of the plaudits for her central role as his put-upon girl. Regis Toomey, who has previously worked with the likes of Frank Capra and Alfred Hitchcock rounds off the cast nicely, and takes a lot of the focus away from Don Castle with his linchpin role. The plot plays out well, and even though the film only runs for seventy minutes; it has to be said that the film explores most of the implications of the plot, and this is always interesting since there isn't any padding. Director William Nigh does well in creating mystery and suspense, and the plot all builds to a satisfying and somewhat shocking conclusion that sees all the characters get a fitting comeuppance. Overall, this isn't a great film, noir; but it's well worth seeing and hopefully it'll be uncovered soon and given a DVD release!

A film noir from 1948. Don Castle & Elyse Knox are a happily married couple trying to make ends meet w/poor Castle an out of work hoofer hoping to score a gig. One rainy night after being disturbed by some feuding cats, Castle tosses his tap shoes out the window to silence them & after feeling guilty & not finding them goes to sleep. The next morning however he finds his shoes neatly placed by his door & off he goes to his day. When he comes back later in the day, he brings Knox some good news showing up w/a wad of cash (totaling about 2 grand) he says he found which he believes will turn their bad luck around. He also mentions cops milling about the building which turns out to be they're investigating a murder of a notorious miser in the building known for spending large out of print bills (the same kind of bills which were part of Castle's stash). The cops soon put 2 & 2 together & come collect Castle & being they found his shoe prints (in the mud) & further deets reveal his recent spending spree, he's tried & convicted for the murder leaving him on death row where he spins his yarn (to himself & for us) as Knox enlists one of the detectives, Regis Toomey, whom she had some history with, to go about zooming the case along since Castle's hours are ticking away even enticing him she'll leave Castle if he's successful which spurs him to find another suspect of the crime (a man who was a brief boarder who lived across the way from the victim) which leads to wonderfully demented ending as the true killer is revealed. Shot & paced well (for a movie which runs barely 75 minutes) whose only fault is the lackluster acting (& delivery) but still manages to pack a punch to see the lengths a person will go to for love.

A husband and wife dancing team down on their luck finds some money that gets them into a lot of trouble - and the husband on death row for murder. His one pair of shoes condemns him. After an open-and-shut trial and conviction, the wife ends up taking on his case herself as the clock ticks toward his execution. Camera flashes between husband in cell contemplating his life and impending death while his wife and others (with varying levels of interest and investment) work toward a resolution and possible alternative outcome.

Truly wonderful Film Noir murder mystery with intrigue, a twisting plot and surprise ending. Keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way. Highest quality acting, directing and script.

Sadly, there seems to be only one print of this film in the world.

A case of mistaken identity, in this B film, from monogram. When someone turns up dead, dancer tom quinn (don castle) is blamed for the crime. He and his wife must figure out what's going on before things go too far south for quinn. Circumstantial evidence keeps bringing the coppers back to quinn, and he knows it looks bad. The only name i recognize in here is regis toomey.. he's detective judd, who is sure he's got the right guy. The script and the music are pretty lame. Everyone does a pretty good job with what they are given. Quinn's wife backs up his story in court, but clearly, most wives would. It's not bad. And not as predictable as I thought it was going to be. According to turner classics, the book ended quite differently than the film. That may explain some of the edits and choices. It's mostly good. Directed by bill nigh. He had worked with boris karloff a bunch of times, sometimes in mister wong mysteries. Castle died quite young at 48. And how did regis toomey never win an oscar? He was in some pretty big films... big sleep, girl friday, and spellbound.

Don Castle and Elyse Knox are married, in love, and dead broke. They're sustained by her income from the dancing academy she works at. He hasn't been able to get a job for their night club act in a while. Things go from bad to worse when he chucks his shoes at the cats yowling on the fence back of the cheap rooming house they're staying at, and it turns out to be his special tap shoes. But things start to turn up the next morning. The shoes turn up right outside their door, and when he goes to his lucky weighing machine, he finds a billfold with two thousand dollars in old-fashioned bills. He wants to hand them in to the police and hope no one claims them. She talks him into holding the money for a week, scanning the lost-and-found in the papers. After a week, no one has claimed the money, so they take $200 each and go on a spending spree.

However, the money came from a neighborhood recluse who was rumored to have nearly $100,000 in old bills. He's been murdered, any money has disappeared, and the impression of Castle's dancing shoes has found in the mud right there. The police had tracked him down quickly; they were just waiting for the money to start coming out. Castle is convicted of murder and faces the electric chair, despite anything that police detective Regis Toomey can do after Miss Knox promises him she'll be his if he can get Castle off.

Although the principal actors are good, there are some wonky line readings among the smaller players; it's easy to understand with a script derived from a Cornell Woolrich story. Cameraman Mack Stenger makes it clear early on that this is a film noir, and perhaps overdoes it a touch here and there, but the way the sequences on Death Row are shot is excellent.

One of those "Lost" Movies that Turned-Out Was Not.

From a Cornell Woolridge Short-Story, Produced by "Monogram '' (King of the "B's) where Cost-Cutting was a Way-of-Life, Essential for Survival.

Adopted by the Prolific and Excellent "Steve Fisher", Directed by Journeyman William Nigh, and the Only "Name" in the Cast was "Regis Toomey".

Who Plays a Detective on a Murder Case that has the Protagonist Convicted of Murder by Circumstantial Evidence.

The Lead Couple are Out of Work and Out of Luck "Dancers". While Residing in a One-Room Bottom of the Barrell Flop, a Catawarling Feline Disturbs Hubby's Sleep.

So He Throws His Shoes to Stop the Feline Fracas and Decides to Retrieve them in the Morning.

He Surprisingly and Suspiciously Finds them at Rest Outside His Door the Next Day. Turns-Out an Old-Man is Found Murdered Near-By and also Found is a Footprint in Proximity.

You Guessed it, the Print Matches the Dancer (Don Castle) and Before You Can Say "Death Row",

it's the Electric Chair and Only 60min. For His Wife (Elyse Knox) to Clear Him.

She Hooks-Up with Det. Toomey (who has a crush) and the Movie is Pulp-Fiction Until the Twist-Ending.

Not a Lot of Expressionism but Plenty of Gloomy Scenes.

The "Surprise" Ending won't be that for Avid Readers of Paperback-Crime-Stories, It's Good but Not Especially a "Classic".

It Seems to have had a Goodly Amount of Fan-Support on its Rediscovery and Release on Blu-ray.

That may be in Part because the Film was Thought "Lost" and Noir-Fans were Giddy Upon its Discovery.

Join in on the "Welcome-Back" Party because it's Certainly...

Worth a Watch

Note...A nomination for one of the strangest titles ever.

Quite similar in story and mood to Noir Alley's previous offering, "Black Angel". Both are noirs based on Cornell Woolrich tales of stand up gals (to employ a noir ism) who partner with dodgy guys (to employ a Brit ism) to try to free their wrongly accused hubbys, currently on death row, before they are executed. If I preferred "Angel" to this film maybe it is because I felt there was a fuller and more convincing dark, Woolrichian, urban underworld portrayed. "Shoes", by contrast, beyond Regis Toomey's excellent study in lonely creepiness and a few odd bits, like the death row inmates who like Chopin (eerily similar to Peter Lorre's gangster who likes Shostakovich in "Angel"), is a bit on the blandly generic side, especially when the plodding police procedural takes center stage or when the husband and wife dance team engages in lovey dovey banter, which is often. Or maybe it's just that I prefer June Vincent to Elyse Knox. Give it a B minus.

PS...Reason # 301 why Eddie Muller is my favorite TCM host...the guy's a cat aficionado.

Don Castle plays a Death Row inmate in this wrong man mystery. He ponders how a set of unfortunate coincidences have led to his dire predicament. He narrates his memories as the story moves to flashback. He and his wife are an out-of-work dance duo. Frustrated because his wife has become the breadwinner, Don gets upset with the yowling alley cats at night. He throws his expensive tap shoes out of the window in an effort to stop their noise. On trying to retrieve them, he finds they have vanished. They then mysteriously turn up on his doorstep. These spooky shoes lead him to being on a murder charge. Cornwell Woolrich's story is given extra twists for the screen version by his friend Steve Fisher. About to retire, experienced B director William Nigh does this great story justice.

The tap dancer and performer Thomas J. 'Tom' Quinn (Don Castle) is unemployed, and his beloved and beautiful wife Ann Quinn (Elyse Knox) is financially supporting their lives with dancing classes. They live in a simple room in a boardinghouse and one night Ann arrives later then usual. She explains that a costumer called by Santa Claus has tipped her to talk with her. There are cats meowing during the hot night and Tom throws his new pair of shoes through the window to stop the noise. On the next morning, Ann finds the shoes at the front door and brings them to Tom. During the day, he finds a wallet with a large amount of old 20-dollar bills near a scale and he intends to take it to the police, but Ann convinces him to keep the money and see the lost and found section of the newspapers during a week to see whether the owner claims his lost money. Meanwhile, in a building close to Quinn's boardinghouse, a wealthy and stingy man that kept his money at home is murdered and his old and peculiar money is stolen. Inspector Stevens (Charles D. Brown) keeps secret from the press and Police Detective Clint Judd (Regis Toomey) finds Tom's shoe print in the mud of the victim's backyard. When the couple spends part of the money, the police arrest Tom and Ann, and she notes that Detective Judd is the Santa Claus. The public defense attorney is not capable to prove Tom's innocence and he is sentenced to death. Now Ann's only chance is that Detective Judd finds the real criminal.

"I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes" is a gem to be discovered by fans of film-noir genre. Surprisingly, IMDb has only 376 voters and the low rating of 6,5 for this unknown masterpiece. The film has a great structure and is tense, beginning with Tom in the death row and recalling his fate in flashback. Then, when the situation seems to be hopeless to Tom, the viewer sees the desperate attempt of Ann to save her beloved husband. One important element in the story is the change of size of the 20 dollar-bill in 1948. The direction is tight and the performances are great. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Segredo dos Sapatos"

"I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes" is a shockingly good crime film. I say it's shocking because it was made by Monogram Studios...a small-time outfit from which you wouldn't expect such a quality film! While it does have a relatively no-name cast, the script, direction and acting are spot on...and it's a terrific movie...as you might guess from the great title screen!

Through a series of dumb choices, a guy is arrested for murdering his neighbor. But the dumb things really were just dumb things and he didn't kill anyone. However, the jury doesn't believe him and the schnook is sentenced to death. The rest of the film consists of his loving wife trying to prove he's no murderer and she enlists the help of a strange police detective (Regis Toomey) to help her.

This movie is very intelligently written. And, towards the end when I assumed the writers screwed up, it turned out to be okay...it was no mistake and the script was very tight and enjoyable. I'd say more but don't want to divulge any of the twists in the story...suffice to say it's never dull and is a most unusual movie.

It was typically perverse of Godard to dedicate 'Breathless' to Monogram, but if you see the right film you'll concede that he had a point.

That this cleverly titled sleeper marked an early production by enterprising independent producer Walter Mirisch, was based on a novella by Cornell Woolrich and scripted by Steve Fisher already places it in good company. The film itself is a thoroughly professional job by veteran director William Nigh whose use of sound (including an ironic use of Chopin) amply compensates for the fact that the production never leaves the soundstage; while the narrative confounds your expectations with a dramatic shift of focus that turns the whole thing on its head.