Edge of the City (1957)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

For years, I had wanted to see this movie but I didn't find it in any video stores nor see any listings on TV schedules in whatever local paper I was reading. So when I found it was available on DVD from Netflix, I made an order. I just watched it with my mom, who hadn't seen it before, and we both were enthralled by the drama about John Cassavetes, a loner with a troubled past, who gets a job on the docks. He meets a couple of coworkers there: Jack Warden who doesn't seem to like him and Sidney Poitier, who does. Warden also doesn't seem to like Poitier and it doesn't take long figure out why but it's a while before things come to a head. Anyway, this was quite a compelling drama as directed by Martin Ritt with fine supporting turns by Kathleen Maguire, Estelle Hemsley, and Ruby Dee as Poitier's wife especially when she confronts Cassavetes near the end. So on that note, I highly recommend Edge of the City.

The reason why this movie isn't any better known and more appreciated to me seems because of its subject. Because of its controversial subject this movie never got a proper big release and still remains a fairly unknown one to this very day. Not that it's subject is that controversial now anymore though.Basically in essence it's a movie about a white man befriending a black man. The friendship does not seem forced or unrealistic but the way it gets portrayed in this movie makes it all feel very real. We see these different ethnics mingle in with each other, as if it's just completely normal. Unfortunately of course back in those days it really wasn't regarded as anything normal. Seeing a black man talking to a white girl and just having fun with her as a friend must have been an hard thing to watch for instance for some proportions of its 1957 audience.You can really understand why Sidney Poitier has always been and still is being respected so much by the Hollywood society and the black-community in general. Of course it's one of the reasons why he also received an Honorary Award at the Oscar's, in 2002. In his movies he often fights against discrimination and prejudiced issues, with of course "In the Heat of the Night" as the best example of this. A real role model, that certainly has inspired many Afro-American actors, to this very day. But on top of that, he also was a great actor. Yes, he is still alive but he has pretty much retired completely from movies now it seems, since his last credited role is from 2001.This movie was Martin Ritt's directorial debut and he also wasn't given too much movie to spend on his movie. The studios were probably also a bit reluctant mainly because of its concept and/or because it was Ritt's first movie. Or perhaps it was simply due to the fact that MGM just wasn't that big anymore and it had left its best days behind them. Ever since the '50's on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer sort of had the reputation of making not too great and cheap movies, while in the early years before that it was really one of the biggest studios with lots of stars and acclaimed directors attached to it, who made many award winning classic movies. Luckily for them their reputation is starting to change again and whenever the MGM-logo appears at a movie people are no longer expecting a lesser-movie anymore.Anyway, even with its restrained budget and limited resources they managed to make a great movie out of this one. The movie is very simple, with only a few characters and a simplistic plot in it. The movie however still manages to capture you with its story and subjects, without ever starting to become preachy or anything about it. It makes the movie an effective one as well with its subjects.Really a movie that deserves to be seen.8/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Highlighting the acting of Sidney Poitier and the brooding on-screen presence of John Cassevetes, The Edge of the City is a highly-watchable film from the fifties, directed by Martin Ritt. There is great acting and stunning on-location photography in black and white.Poitier performs superbly at this early point in his career and Tommy Tyler, the character he plays is happy and outgoing. He befriends Axel Noordman, played by Cassevetes, who is a young man suffering from poor self-esteem and a past that he wants kept under wraps. Tyler, a black man, brings his friend out of his shell and introduces him to his family and a new girlfriend.Tyler and Noordman are employed on the New York docks at a time when the workers were expected to tow the line, if they knew what was good for them. The boss Charles Malik, played by Jack Warden, in one of his many hard-bitten roles, becomes the focus of discontent, which leads to a climactic showdown with Noordman.The two main characters have left the audience with a story of friendship between two different men who unite as friends in a hostile world.

EDGE OF THE CITY is a waterfront drama with overtones of racial intolerance, a tough, gritty drama with strong performances by JOHN CASSAVETES, SIDNEY POITIER and JACK WARDEN, under Martin Ritt's knowing direction. Warden makes the most of an unsympathetic role as a longshoreman boss who harasses Poitier and Cassavetes, both just trying to make a living out of their waterfront jobs. Warden represents "the lowest form of life" in this screenplay.It's a sort of buddy flick, with the friendship between Cassavetes and Poitier accented throughout the first forty-five minutes before you get an inkling of where the plot is going. Behind it all, we know that Jack Warden and the workplace environment is going to steam up into some sort of confrontation--and all we know about Cassavetes is that he's hiding something in his past.We learn eventually that he's an Army deserter who has to keep his identity secret. At work, it's Warden who knows about his past--and therein lies the conflict that has to be resolved. An argument between Cassavetes and Warden leads to a lethal fight between Warden and Poitier, after which an investigation takes place with regard to Poitier's murder.The code of silence among the onlookers hinders the investigation but the final scene packs a powerful punch as Cassavetes gets even with Warden.Remarkably taut during the last fifteen minutes, there are strong performances from the men and RUBY DEE as Poitier's grief-stricken wife. Well worth watching.