I Walk the Line (1970)

Taglines: Every man walks the line between right and wrong. One day Sheriff Tawes crossed over.

I Walk the Line movie storyline. Henry Tawes is an aging sheriff in small-town of Gainesboro, Tennessee, who is becoming bored with his wife, Ellen, and his life. He meets young Alma McCain, oldest daughter and de facto housewife of a poor family led by her single parent father. Her age is ambiguous, but she is clearly far younger than Henry.

Henry and Alma become romantically and physically involved, meeting secretly at various points around their town, particularly an abandoned house. Her family quickly learns and is very accepting of the relationship, appearing also to take his forceful advice to destroy their still and all evidence it had existed before a visiting excise official named Bascomb returns and is likely to find it. Henry Tawes clearly doesn’t see harm in the manufacture of moonshine but needs to balance his personal views and his role as town sheriff. The couple start to discuss running away together.

A deputy, Hunnicutt, starts taking an active interest in the McCains, ignoring warnings from Tawes to leave them alone. Henry’s wife also starts to suspect that he is having an affair and confronts him about it, although she is apparently more concerned about pleasing him and protecting her family than his obvious infidelities. Against this background, Bascomb returns to the town and organizes a systematic search of the county, with the McCains being a family of particular interest because of prior history of the father; Henry also learns from him that Alma is married, her husband being in prison.

At their next meeting he becomes angry with her about the fact she hadn’t told him, but then they make love and he proposes that they run away together. She is reluctant, fearing the response of her family, but they arrange to meet and leave for California early the next day.

I Walk the Line is a 1970 American Drama film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Gregory Peck and Tuesday Weld. It tells the story of Sheriff Henry Tawes (Gregory Peck) who develops a relationship with a girl in town, Alma McCain (Tuesday Weld). The screenplay, written by Alvin Sargent, is an adaptation of Madison Jones’ novel An Exile. The I Walk the Line soundtrack is by Johnny Cash; it features his 1956 hit song of the same name. The movie was filmed on location in Gainesboro, Jackson County, Tennesee and Center Hill Lake and Dam in Central Tennessee.

Directed by: John Frankenheimer
Starring: Gregory Peck, Tuesday Weld, Estelle Parsons, Ralph Meeker, Lonny Chapman, Margaret A. Morris, Charles Durning, Jane Rose, Bill Littleton, Leo Yates
Screenplay by: Alvin Sargent
Production Design by:
Cinematography by: David M. Walsh
Film Editing by: Henry Berman
Costume Design by: Lewis Brown
Set Decoration by: Marvin March
Art Direction by: Albert Brenner
Music by: Johnny Cash
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violence and sexual content.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: November 18, 1970