Edge of the City (1957)

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Amateur movie with Big budget

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

"Edge of the City" casts Sidney Poitier as a warehouse worker who befriends John Cassavetes' troubled loner. His ready laugh and casual manner belie a character of depth and fortitude. As Tommy Tyler, Poitier exudes kindness and grace, even as Jack Warden's Charlie tries to bully and intimidate him. Cassavetes was skeptical of Lee Strasberg's Method by 1957, and he plays it fast and loose as Axel, an Army deserter who cannot find his place in the world. "Edge" spends a considerable amount of time showing these two characters at work in a warehouse, and the incidents of harassment and horseplay ring equally true to anyone who has done time in the world of unskilled blue-collar labor. This is the first feature film directed by Martin Ritt, and the themes of male bonding (Hud) and workplace injustice (Norma Rae) are ones he would revisit during his illustrious career. Exemplary cinematography by Joseph C. Brun, and observant writing by Robert Alan Aurthur add to the verisimilitude of this examination of the everyday existence of men who toil anonymously in the background of urban life."You go with the lower forms, and you are down in the slime."

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.

Edge of the City is not as remembered as it should be. John Cassavetes gives his best performance of all time. Poitier and Warden are not far behind in their performances. Martin Ritt's first film is one of his most intense and well-made. The best part is the innocence and wisdom of Poitier's character placed against Cassavetes' troubled personality. The relationship between the two is one of the most enlightening of the film. The noirish aspect of the picture is well-done, but what really makes it great is the respect the film has for New York. Not as great as Cassavetes' later Shadows (which deals with much the same themes), but still a worthwhile masterpiece.

1957's Edge of the City, directed by Martin Ritt, stars John Cassavetes, Sidney Poitier, Jack Warden and Ruby Dee. It's the story of a troubled man, Axel, who has a mysterious past that gradually comes out during the film. He has a connection that gets him a job on a loading dock working for Charlie (Jack Warden), a real meanie who takes kickbacks from his workers and rides them hard. Charlie has an intense dislike for a black man, T.T. (Poitier) who holds the same position. T.T. invites Axel to work on his team; Axel defies Charlie and does so. Axel finds a place to live and socializes with T.T., his his wife (Dee) and their son's white schoolteacher (Kathleen McGuire). When tragedy strikes, none of the men on the loading dock will talk to the police, and Axel has to come to grips with his values, what he stands for, and the meaning of friendship.This is a really excellent black and white film that curiously isn't really about being black or white! It's really about the limits one puts on oneself and knowing who you are. Charlie is a bigot and hates that a black man has a good position on the dock. T.T. teases Charlie and gives as good as he gets. There's no discussion of T.T. and Axel spending time together or of T.T.'s son having a white teacher with whom the family also socializes. What Axel, a loner, finds difficult is accepting any friendship or confiding in anyone - these things he learns through T.T.Poitier absolutely shines in "Edge of the City" - he's warm, energetic, loving and smart, a man with a real enthusiasm for life, afraid of nothing. Cassavetes is excellent and plays a character totally opposite - hiding in the shadows, chronically depressed and always nervous.The film leaves open what happens to Axel. Whatever does, he's a different man now.Strangely underrated and unknown film, possibly in the shadow of a lot of the angry young men films that came out in that era.