Walk Softly, Stranger

Walk Softly, Stranger is a 1950 film starring Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli, directed by Robert Stevenson. It tells the story of a small-time crook on the run who later becomes reformed by the love of a crippled woman. This would be the last RKO credit for famed producer Dore Schary, who would leave the studio soon after the film's completion. Privately, Schary did not see eye to eye with RKO owner Howard Hughes. Filming ended in June 1948, but Hughes later shelved the film. It would not see the light of day until its premiere in October 1950, more than two years after production had wrapped. Hughes likely intended to release the film and capitalize off the success of Carol Reed's The Third Man (1949), which also starred Cotten and Valli.