Tonight's Movie: I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes (1948) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES (1948) is a very good Monogram "B" film just released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive.

I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES is one of a pair of short crime movies newly available from the Archive. I reviewed the other film, STEP BY STEP (1946), a few days ago.

Don Castle and Elyse Knox star in I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES as Tom and Ann Quinn, down-on-their-luck hoofers living in a rented room with a hot plate and a communal bathroom down the hall. Ann spends her evenings dancing for dollars at a "dance academy" while Tom spends his days trying to book their dance act at a nightclub.

Late one night cats screeching outside the window make it impossible to sleep, and the annoyed Tom tosses his shoes out the window to break up the catfight. Realizing he had inadvertently thrown his good pair of shoes at the cats, rather than the ancient pair he'd meant to throw away, Tom immediately goes downstairs to retrieve the shoes from the yard, but they're nowhere to be found. However, the next day the shoes mysteriously turn up in the hallway outside the Quinns' apartment door.

Things seem to be looking up for the couple when Tom finds a wallet containing money but no identification. After waiting a few days to see if anyone advertises a missing wallet in the classifieds, Tom and Ann begin to spend the money.

There's just one problem...the money, along with a print of one of Tom's shoes left in some mud, connects Tom to a murder case, and police detectives (Regis Toomey, Rory Mallinson, and Charles D. Brown) arrest him in short order.

I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES is a well-done 70 minutes. The film initially starts out feeling a bit contrived, as the setup with the shoes is established, but it quickly morphs into something which is simultaneously familiar and compelling.

An added angle of interest is that much of the film is set at Christmas; it would be perfect for a Christmastime showing on TCM's Noir Alley franchise.

I knew next to nothing about the movie before watching it and was struck by how much it reminded me of two favorite noir films, I WAKE UP SCREAMING (1941) and BLACK ANGEL (1946). I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES mashes up the obsessed cop of the first film with the young wife desperately trying to save her husband from the electric chair of the latter film.

As it turns out, I was right on target. I discovered that the screenplay of I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES was written by Steve Fisher, who wrote the book on which I WAKE UP SCREAMING was based.

In turn, Fisher's I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES screenplay was based on a story by Cornell Woolrich (aka William Irish), who also wrote the story which inspired BLACK ANGEL. I had to chuckle when I realized these connections; I guess I know my film noir pretty well by now!

More connections: Don Castle and Regis Toomey appeared the previous year in Monogram's HIGH TIDE (1947) and THE GUILTY (1947), which I saw at the 2013 and 2015 UCLA Festival of Preservation, respectively. THE GUILTY was also based on a Woolrich story.

I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES leading lady Elyse Knox is perhaps best-known today as the mother of Mark Harmon, but she made over three dozen films in a career which lasted a little over a decade. She's capable and attractive as the gutsy young wife desperate to save her husband.

Castle is a solid "B" player, and I'm quite a fan of Regis Toomey, who always brings his "A" game. His role as another cop, in CRY DANGER (1951), is a favorite performance.

I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES was directed by William Nigh and filmed in black and white by Mack Stengler. It was one of the very first films made by Oscar-winning producer Walter Mirisch.

The supporting cast includes Tito Vuolo, Steve Darrell, Bill Kennedy, Esther Michelson, John Elliott, and Robert Lowell.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray is a very attractive print with an equally good soundtrack. Blu-ray extras are the short THE SYMPHONY MURDER MYSTERY (1932) and the cartoon HOLIDAY FOR SHOESTRINGS (1946). The cartoon's Christmas theme is a nice tie-in with the disc's feature film.

I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES is an excellent release in every way, a terrific-looking print of a film which proved to be a fun new discovery. I'd love to see more releases similar to I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES and STEP BY STEP from the Warner Archive in the future.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from the Warner Archive Collection Amazon Store or any online retailers where Blu-rays are sold.

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