The Naked Edge (1961)

You won't be disappointed!

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

This movie might have been called The Cutting Edge for all the boundaries of 1961 it pushed! It utilizes innovative camera and editing techniques that echo Alfred Hitchcock's scary scenes from Psycho, alludes to sex in a way few films had been able to do since the fall of the Hays Code, and put the word "naked" in the title! Even the first shot of the film is unusual, making you wonder, "Why did they show that? What am I missing?" for the first of many times as the mystery continues throughout the film. A bead of sweat is shown running down Gary Cooper's face. He's in court, ready to testify as a key witness to a murder. His accounting condemns a man to life imprisonment, and the guilt rattles him after the trial. Years later, he's a successful businessman, and he and his wife Deborah Kerr are living a life of luxury. He receives a threatening letter, making Deborah doubt his testimony all those years ago. . .The Naked Edge is one scary movie! I'm not his biggest fan, but Gary Cooper gives a more energetic performance than he usually does. Although Deborah's character isn't written to be the smartest tool in the shed, she does a good job exuding her fear and doubt without turning it into a melodrama. Usually, Gary plays likable, earnest roles. This is the only movie I've seen where Gary Cooper plays a bad guy! This one's pretty scary and very suspenseful, so rent it on Halloween and cuddle up to your honey—or don't. . .DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, there's one part of the movie that might that will make you sick. There's a scene where Deborah Kerr gets lost and when she runs up and down the streets, the camera is hand-held. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

A sales manager (Gary Cooper) fingers coworker (Ray McAnally) for the murder of his boss and theft of a large sum of money. After the trial, Cooper tells wife Deborah Kerr that he is purchasing a business with a large sum of money he made from a killing in the market. With the prodding of blackmailer Eric Portman, Kerr grows increasingly suspicious that her husband was guilty of the murder and theft. Cooper was horribly miscast: He was too old for this role - he looked ridiculous next to Kerr discussing how they were struggling to make it. Coop at the time was around 60 years old and looked much older; by contrast Kerr was about 40 and looked younger (and was lovely to boot). Thus he's never believable in the role. The direction of this movie left much to be desired. The scenes become tedious replaying themselves over several times. Music blares at points when high suspense is supposed to build. The courtroom scenes were stagy and failed to build any drama. The ending was less than satisfactory feeling rushed and not tying in the loose ends. Nevertheless, the cast is good and turned in fine performances with the exception of Cooper, who struggled with the dialog, and Michael Wilding who is mostly wasted. And the plot is interesting enough but the script and execution are lacking. Some of the cinematography of London is very good and in general the film has an appropriate dark noirish atmosphere. However, there's a good reason why this is a forgotten thriller.

In Gary Cooper's last performance you can see that he is almost washed up, acting like an old age Roark (from 'The Fountainhead') stiffer than ever with very little stamina left, while fortunately Deborah Kerr makes up for it completely in her superb rendering of a married lady who just can't make things add up, wavering between an increasing suspicion of her husband's possibly having committed an heinous murder while at the same time refusing to believe it could be true. Another asset is Peter Cushing's brilliant acting as the prosecutor. The film begins with the murder trial with Gary Cooper sweating from the beginning, he himself can't make things quite fit while he is perfectly convinced that he couldn't be wrong, while the triumph of the film is the very clever story. By the accumulating inconsistencies a suspense is mercilessly built up and increased all the way to the bitter end in a virtuoso thriller more like Hitchcock than any Hitchcock. The real turning point though is the marvellous scene with Diane Cilento as the victim's wife, whom Deborah Kerr visits with traumatic consequences, which really triggers her suspicion and conviction that nothing in this story fits. After the climax in the end with all battles fought to the bitter end, everything falls into place however with perfect logic. This is a marvel of a thriller, and not even Hitchcock could have made it more exasperating in its irrevocably constantly increasing unbearable suspense. This is Michael Anderson's best film, and you regret that he didn't make more films like this one.

The last film of Gary Cooper is an enjoyable thriller-drama. It's not great cinema, but I was surprised by the pace of it. With most of those "old" films, I have trouble to sit them through. But this one kept my attention from beginning to end.The story is about a man(Cooper) who's a witness to a murder and thanks to whose testimony the killer is locked away. But did this guy really commit the murder? Years later, Cooper's wife(Kerr) starts to suspect her husband. Slowly, everything begins to point in HIS direction. Is she still safe with the man she loves? Will he kill her(too)?As I said, this film is very entertaining. The story however has some major holes in it and the ending is a bit of a let-down. You'll have to see what you make of this film with the ending in mind. This could have been done much better. Cooper is very good in his last role as the husband, but Kerr was less convincing as his wife. There are also some rather colourful, but sometimes annoying supporting roles. I can recommend it, as long as you don't expect to much of it. But if you don't like old films, this is a good movie to help you with that. The filming is very up-to-date. 6/10