La lame nue

This is a gripping and underrated thriller. It draws you in and holds you tight until the end.

I thought Cooper and Kerr were well matched and that Kerr played exactly the woman the character would have to be, i.e sheltered, very frightened, way out of her depth and near suicidal.

I thought the scene where she's watching a concert on TV was particularly telling, I felt that she's waiting there, expecting Cooper to come and kill her, indeed, surrendering to this fate as the only way out. That's why she has the TV so loud, so she can't hear him approaching and to drown out her own thoughts.

The scene where she's desperately trying to get out of the flat blocks complex was good too; certain that her husband's the murderer she can see the outside world but can't become part of it.

The tension was taut and maintained throughout. Sometimes with these old black and whites I check to see how long's left as they can drag a bit. Not this one, it was totally absorbing.

Being a British film, the censors were a bit less strict than those in the U.S. You actually see a little blood and there's some sexual talk that I don't think you'd hear in an American film of this era.

As with any old film, there's some quaint reminders of how things were back in the day. The remote control Kerr has (as she flicks between the 2 channels! Yes, the UK only had 2 in 1961) had a long wire to the TV on it and there's an ashtray in every room - even the library!

The music is way over the top but that's my only gripe with this superb little gem. See it - it's free on You tube.

The suspense of this film evokes the work of Alfred Hitchcock. It doesn't quite live up to such a comparison but nonetheless the plot and character interactions should rivet most viewers to the film. Creative shot selection (especially the preparation of the wife's death), fine performances (especially from Deborah Kerr), and a compelling plot create an entertaining movie experience, 7/10. I think this was Gary Cooper's last screen performance.

May I respectfully disagree with many of the posters here, who, knowing that Cooper had cancer while he made this film, claim that his under-played performance proves that he lacked the necessary vigor to do the character of the beleaguered husband justice. Quite the opposite! Cooper, who was famous for under-acting, most perfectly portrays a long-loving long-suffering husband who understands why his wife suspects him, but has decided (until the end) not to tell his wife the truth. If you watch his performance carefully scene-by-scene, you will see how skilfully he manipulates the audience: Cooper makes us believe he might be guilty or ... if you wish, might not. A tour-de-force of keep-them-guessing acting in the classic Hitchcock manner. Is he evil out isn't he? Much credit must be given here to the masterful direction of Michael Anderson, another neglected English director of exceptional talent with camera and actors who ended up doing too much minor work in Hollywood, as well as the superb contribution of Berlin-born cinematographer Erwin Hiller, a protege of FW Murnau and Fritz Lang.The B&W photography is astonishing. A plot full of improbabilities, yes, and the music keep spelling out what we can see, but all in all, an excellent job of suspense in the glossy English manner.

Michael Anderson does a great job with this Hitchcockian melodrama, that even boasts a musical score reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann.

THE NAKED EDGE was, sadly, the against type epitaph to Gary Cooper's memorable career as an actor. Although he was dead by the time the finished film hit the screens, and he shows signs of some physical decay, Coop retains his economy of gestures and the expressive eyes. I found it odd that Kerr's name should come first in the opening credits, after all Coop had won two Oscars by then, while Kerr never picked up the statuette. At any, Coop and Kerr complement each other's acting, he as the hubby who appears to have something to hide, she as the doubting wife. The always dependable Portman as the heavy, Cushing as the prosecution lawyer, and Diane Cilento as the wife of the wrongly accused man complete the great cast.

Interesting to compare Cilento's instinctive defense of her husband with Kerr's instinctive condemnation of hers.

The story is not that great or unusual, and you can easily spot some credibility holes, but it is very atmospheric. The sole drawback is that it pads the narrative with repetitive shots of similar facial expressions, and it could have done with 10 minutes less, especially the part where you see Cooper go into Portman's place, and then only shoes and trousers for a good 8 minutes, and suddenly everyone is back at Cooper's and Kerr's.

Ultimately, despite its flaws THE NAKED EDGE rates a must-see film noir, a definite must-see for the fans of that wonderful actor, Gary Cooper.

Not-bad adaptation of Max Ehrlich's novel "First Train to Babylon" turned out to be Gary Cooper's final film (he died before its release). An American Air Freight sales manager in London testifies against a fellow employee in a murder/robbery trial; five years later, with the manager and his spouse now living in luxury, the wife begins to suspect that her husband was the killer the entire time. Hurt by a seemingly lower-end budget--and by a script that doesn't always make sense--this is still a most unusual project for Cooper, who manages a fine performance. Film builds to a fine pitch of suspense in its concluding sequence (which Adrian Lyne might have studied for his "Fatal Attraction" closer). Deborah Kerr stays wide-eyed and white-knuckled throughout as Cooper's wife; she's also quite good, though the godawful shlock music by William Alwyn underlines all of her suspicions with a thundering of drums that could wake the dead. So, is Cooper guilty or not? The finale provides an amusing frisson or two--and a twist which the ghostly voice-over informs the audience to please not betray. **1/2 from ****