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6.8/10
Archivist John
Senior Editor
A definitive 6.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Walking Back remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have an hour to kill and a soft spot for the late silent era when everything was starting to look really crisp before sound came in and messed up the lighting for a few years, Walking Back is a decent sit. It is for the person who likes seeing vintage cars treated like disposable toys. If you hate melodrama where the coincidence is so thick you can't breathe, you will probably want to turn it off by the thirty-minute mark.
The whole thing starts with Smoke Thatcher (Richard Walling) being a bit of a brat. His dad says no to the car, so he just swipes the neighbor's. It is that classic '20s 'youth in revolt' thing that movies like The Reckless Age tried to capture, but here it feels more desperate. Walling has this very earnest, slightly wide-eyed face that makes his bad decisions look like accidents rather than malice. You can see him thinking about how much trouble he's in even while he's trying to look cool for Patsy.
There is this 'car-fight' with a rival early on. It is not quite a chase; it is more like two guys trying to nudge each other into the ditch at 15 miles per hour. The way the cars bounce on those old springs makes the whole sequence look less like a thriller and more like a cartoon. When the car actually gets wrecked, the look on Smoke’s face is the most relatable part of the movie—that 'my life is over' stare every teenager gets when they break something expensive they weren't supposed to touch.
Sue Carol is great as Patsy. She has this energy that makes you realize why Smoke would risk prison just to take her to a dance. She isn't just standing there; she is actively pushing the plot forward, even if the plot is 'let's go to this incredibly shady garage to fix a stolen car.' She has a way of looking at Smoke that suggests she's way smarter than he is, which is probably true.
The garage itself is where the movie gets weird. It is supposed to be a fence for stolen cars, and the lighting gets all moody and expressionistic. It feels like a different film suddenly. One minute we are at a dance, the next we are in a proto-noir hideout. Ivan Lebedeff shows up looking exactly like a guy who would force a teenager to drive a getaway car. He has this way of leaning into the frame that feels oily. The way the gangsters just hang out in the shadows feels a bit staged, like they were told to look 'extra criminal' for the camera.
The sequence at the bank is genuinely uncomfortable. Smoke’s dad works there, and of course, he is the one who gets shot during the robbery. There is a shot of Smoke through the windshield, watching his father collapse on the sidewalk, and for a second, the movie stops being a fun Jazz Age romp. The editing here is frantic. It cuts between the father bleeding and Smoke’s terrified face, and it actually works. It isn't 'high art,' but it is effective enough to make you feel the kid's panic.
The ending is a bit of a mess. Smoke just kind of... ends up at the police station? The logic of how he 'captures' the crooks is thin at best. It is one of those silent movie endings where the hero succeeds because the plot says he has to, not because he did anything particularly clever. He is rewarded for being a getaway driver because he crashed into the right place. It is a bit like His Picture in the Papers in its reliance on accidental heroism, but without the intentional satire.
One tiny detail I liked: the way the extras in the dance hall scene don't really seem to be listening to the music. They are just moving in these stiff, rhythmic jerks. It gives the whole party a slightly eerie, mechanical vibe that probably wasn't intended but fits the 'downward spiral' feel of the story.
The movie gets noticeably better once it stops trying to be a light comedy about kids and leans into the crime stuff. It is not a masterpiece, but the car-wreck-to-bank-robbery pipeline is a wild ride. It doesn't know if it wants to be a cautionary tale or an adventure, so it just settles for being fast.
IMDb —
1923
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