L'homme qui tua la peur

A skillfully directed film by Martin Ritt where a drifter and anti-hero, John Cassevetes lands in N.Y. to escape a tragic incident in his life, where he killed his brother in an automobile accident as well as going AWOL from the army.

Cassavetes, always an intense actor, shows grit in his portrayal of a film. Am surprised that Montgomery Clift didn't get this part.

Ruth White is his mother and does remarkably well in two scenes on the telephone.

Once in New York, he befriends Sidney Poitier as the two work on the docks. Immediately, Jack Warden, a bully and villain in this film,takes a dislike to him and tragedy ensues when Poitier tries to defend his friend.

Ruby Dee, plays Poitier's wife in this film, and is brilliant in a scene where she urges Cassavetes to reveal the killer of her husband.

This is definitely an interesting film of moral values and the loner in society. With the backdrop of tenements, the right mood is depicted in the film.

I really liked this film--mostly because the acting and dialog was so good. So, while much of the film is very quiet and the plot somewhat normal by movie standards, it's a wonderful example of a film that is a showcase for the actors.

John Cassavetes plays a disaffected young man. He's failed many times in the past and expects to keep failing when he comes looking for a job as a longshoreman. At first, he's taken under the wings of a cruel jerk (Jack Warden)--who exploits him and is a bully. But, a particularly kind man at the job (Sidney Poitier) takes him on in his work crew--and the two become fast friends. But there still is the bully to deal with--as well as Cassavetes' dark secret. See this film.

I really liked the relationship between Poitier and Cassavetes because it was NOT played as an interracial relationship but just as two friends. There was no obvious or overt message about racial brotherhood--but simply by the casting it made a great point. Well done all around, though I was a bit disappointed by the exciting ending, as, if you think about it, it doesn't make a lot of sense (Cassavetes could have just gone to the police--and that would have been a lot more logical). Still, it's got a heck of a punch.

Martin Ritt's first film offers an exceptional existentialist answer (three years later) to Elia Kazan's more conservative "On The Waterfront." While "Waterfront" benefited immensely from an electrifying Marlon Brando, who inadvertently disguised Kazan's offensive theme of trying to justify naming names (as Kazan did eagerly before the House Un-American Activities Committee), "Edge of the City" boasts a young John Cassavetes and an upstart Sidney Poitier daring to confront issues that "Waterfront" failed to acknowledge, namely, workers' rights and race relations.

"Edge of the City" boldly dives into this (then) unknown territory, and although the quite appealing black protagonist (Poitier) may seem a bit Hollywood simplistic, the courageous struggle against thinly-veiled bigotry and violence has hardly aged at all. One wonders how shocked initial 1957 moviegoers were at such a bold presentation of white-black relations (if some of the bigoted didn't leave the theater early, they must of left dumbfounded, if not offended).

The last reel of the film will still surprise audiences, as it refuses to sink into expected clichés, including those that tainted "Waterfront." While both films climax with a fight in front of stunned workers, director Ritt avoids the tiddy simplicity of Kazan's ratonalizied ending. Only the most jaded viewers will not realize "Edge" remains such a radical and entertaining film.

What's most disturbing about this lost classic: how it sadly stayed unavailable on any format, for reasons that remain quite cloudy until it surfaced in a Sidney Poitier compilation in late 2008. This film should be required viewing in high school or college history classes across the country, yet one can only find it on obscure late-night TV, if ever at all.

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 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 he 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.

Back in 1957, I was 21 at the time, and working in a similar enviorment, with trucks in front for loading and unloading, and freight cars in rear also. All that seemed right on. Yes, some guys/bosses can be nasty. Plus I also had a good buddy who was a driver/laborer. He also was black. I'm white. One of the best friends I ever had. We got along the same way as Poitier/Cassavetes.