Martin Ritt’s feature directing debut, Edge of the City, is a socially-conscious melodrama set in the rail yards of New York City.
Grade: B
Edge of the City | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster by Saul Bass
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Dealing boldly with union corruption, interracial integration, moral integrity, and the meaning of friendship, it stars John Cassavetes, who soon will become a famous director (“Shadows,” “Faces”) and the young Sidney Poitier, soon to become a major star and the first African-American to win the Best Actor Oscar (for “Lilies of the Field,” in 1963).
Robert Alan Aurthur’s screenplay was expanded from his original TV tale, staged as the final episode of Philco Television Playhouse, A Man Is Ten Feet Tall (1955), also featuring Poitier.
Cassavetes plays Axel North, an AWOL soldier who takes a job as a railroad worker, where he is bullied by bigot supervisor Charles Malik (Jack Warden), a union functionary appointed by the Mob.
Axel befriends Tommy Tyler (Sidney Poitier), his African-American co-worker, whose very presence enrages the racist boss.
After a series of arguments and physical fights, Tommy dies in an “accident” arranged by the boss. Only Axel knows the truth, but he remains “silent,” fearing the reaction of the corrupt union.
However, inspired by Tommy’s widow (Ruby Dee) to stand up for what is right, Axel challenges Warden in a climactic one-on-one battle.
The movie lacks the dramatic power and impact of Kazan’s 1954 Oscar-winning drama, “On the Waterfront,” with which it shares some thematic similarities, but it is sincerely acted by all of the cast members.
Considered to be unusual for its time because of its positive portrayal of interracial friendship, the film was praised by representatives of the NAACP, Urban League, American Jewish Committee and Interfaith Council.
Of Similar Interest: Interracial Dramas
Something of Value (1957), Poitier and Rock Hudson
The Defiant Ones (1958), Poitier and Tony Curtis
Critical Status:
In 2023, the film was selected for preservation in the U.S National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”
Despite positive reviews, the movie was a commercial flop, though its failure did not impact the careers of the actors or director.
Cast
John Cassavetes as Axel North
Sidney Poitier as Tommy Tyler
Jack Warden as Charles Malik
Kathleen Maguire as Ellen Wilson
Ruby Dee as Lucy Tyler
Robert F. Simon as Mr. Nordmann
Ruth White as Mrs. Nordmann
Val Avery as Brother
John Kellogg as Detective
David Clarke as Wallace
Estelle Hemsley as Lucy’s Mother
Charles Jordan as Old Stevedore
Ralph Bell as Night Boss
Will Lee as Davis
Credits
Directed by Martin Ritt
Screenplay by Robert Alan Aurthur, based on A Man Is Ten Feet Tall by Robert Alan Aurthur
Produced by Jim Di Gangi, David Susskind
Cinematography Joseph Brun
Edited by Sidney Meyers
Music by Leonard Rosenman
Production companies: David Susskind Productions, Jonathan Productions
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date: January 29, 1957
Running time: 85 minutes
Budget $493,000