Sidney Poitier Flourishes at the Edge of the City

 

Culling clips to use for a recent tribute video (which can be viewed here) to one of my favorite actors, Sidney Poitier, allowed me to view several entries in the esteemed star’s filmography I’d missed. Among staunch late-career work as an authority figure in Shoot to Kill, Sneakers and The Jackal and a fine turn alongside Rock Hudson in the surprisingly violent (for 1957) Something of Value, one title stood out as offering Poitier at his very best. His moving, charismatic work in Martin Ritt’s directional debut, 1957’s Edge of the City, captures Poitier between his major breakthrough in the controversial Blackboard Jungle and stardom via his Oscar-nominated turn in the following year’s The Defiant Ones. Edge makes it clear Poitier was on-the-brink for greater fame, and as Tommy Tyler, a benevolent, spirited Manhattan dock worker, he holds the screen with grace, and an endearing focus and energy.

Director Ritt, aided by Joseph Bruns’ evocative NYC on-location black-and-white cinematography, does an impressive job in capturing a specific time and place. Although Robert Alan Aurthur’s screenplay (based on his A Man Ten Feet Tall teleplay, which also starred Poitier) shares resemblances to On the Waterfront and the slew of socially-conscious dramas of the period, and sometimes gives the film an air of “been there, done that,” the film moves briskly throughout its 85 minutes and, benefited by Poitier’s spontaneity and freshness and Ritt’s already-evident ability in showcasing players to their best advantage, provides a compelling viewing experience.

In the lead role of Axel Nordmann, a wayward, troubled young man trying to turn his life around, the earnest, handsome John Cassavetes works hard in his first major role, as one of the sensitive anti-heroes so popular during this period, in the wake of the success of Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and James Dean. Cassavetes’ at his best in scenes with Poitier, fully conveying the ever-growing bond between the two men, and generally does a competent job illustrating the various insecurities and hopes involved in Axel’s complex makeup. Although Cassavetes would continue to have success as an actor, gaining an Oscar nod a decade later for the smash hit The Dirty Dozen and making an even more memorable impact the following year as one of the movie’s most diabolical husbands in Rosemary’s Baby, he would find his greatest success at the forefront of the independent film movement, which Cassavetes would have a substantial role in creating a couple years after Edge via his landmark work in his directorial debut, Shadows, which has ties to Edge in being shot on-location in NYC and having Aurthur as the co-screenwriter (with Cassavetes).

                Poitier’s ease with the character of Tommy may have stemmed from his first creating the role on television, but the energy and creativity he brings to the role is rare to see from an actor so familiar with a part. For example, the way Poitier dances and chants out dialogue to Cassavetes regarding Axel's date as music plays in the background is incredibly beguiling and original. Similarly, there’s a moment when Tommy meets Axel for work, and Poitier starts tapping out a beat on his lunchbox in greeting Axel, in a completely instinctive manner. These “in the moment,” possibly improvised sequences show how fully invested Poitier was in keeping Tommy real, as opposed to adhering to a performance already worked-out, as is often the case when a performer has previously played a role and, when transferring the work to film, sometimes tends to offer a stale, theatrical performance due to being too set in the role. Conversely, as Tommy Poitier seems to thrive on taking risks and maintaining a breezy naturalness in a truly unique portrayal.

With Poitier bringing stunning immediacy to the role, everything seems to be happening with Tommy for the first time, and a viewer quickly becomes enthralled by this engaging, outgoing, and downright good friend to Axel. Poitier is no less effective in some highly dramatic moments, such as early conflict with Axel as the two feel each other out before moving forward with the friendship, or an engrossing climax that finds Tommy at-odds with a villainous co-worker out to make life very difficult for him and Axel. Poitier brings so much life and complexity to Tommy, it’s a wonder he did not receive more recognition for his stellar acting in Edge, either upon the film’s release or in retrospect, as the accolades Poitier achieved for many other outstanding performances applies (at least) equally to his mesmerizing and very touching work in Edge.

As Lucy, Tommy’s understanding wife, Ruby Dee, who played opposite Poitier several times during their careers, starting with Poitier’s debut in 1950’s No Way Out, has an easy chemistry and good-naturedness with Poitier that serves as a nice contrast to the bitterness found in perhaps their most famous teaming as the conflicted couple in 1961’s screen adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun, which both Poitier and Dee starred in to great acclaim on Broadway, and gained Dee a National Board of Review Award for the movie version. The amiability Dee adopts as Lucy in Edge intensifies the impact of her final scene, wherein Dee fully displays her gifts for powerful emoting as a devastated Lucy rallies against Axel. Watching this stunning sequence, a viewer may wonder why it took the Academy another 50 years to finally nominate Dee, for equally moving work in American Gangster, yet be relieved Dee did at last get this major acknowledgement for her awesome talent.

Jack Warden also makes an impressive impact as Charlie Malick, a controlling foreman who takes an unhealthy interest in Axel. Warden was returning to the screen a few years after his first substantial part in one of the 1950’s big ones, From Here to Eternity, and his crafty, alternately intense and subdued playing of Charlie’s racist, temperamental and egotistical traits offer every indication Warden’s rare gifts would soon move him to the forefront of character actors, which proved to be the case the following year via The Bachelor Party and another of the 1950’s cinematic best, 12 Angry Men. In the other primary supporting role as Ellen, Axel’s love interest, Kathleen Maguire, in a similar vein to Dee’s portrayal, is charming and pleasant throughout the main storyline, until a strong confrontation scene with Axel reveals heretofore unseen depths in Maguire’s acting.

The film had limited impact upon release and hasn’t built a reputation over the years, yet Edge of the City is worth a look due to the work of Ritt and Cassavetes at the outset of their significant careers, and especially for the sterling portrait offered by Poitier. Although he would go on to become one of the major forces in film, specifically after his Oscar win for Lilies of the Field, then a phenomenal 1967, which had Poitier offering excellent star-powered work in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, To Sir, With Love and, most vividly, opposite Rod Steiger in the year’s eventual Best Picture winner, In the Heat of the Night, resulting in Poitier rising to #1 the following year on Quigley’s list of the top box-office stars, Poitier’s work in Edge ranks second-to-none in a rich career. Seldom has an actor combined such warmth, humor, compelling dramatics and originality into a role, as Poitier creates in Tommy a character audiences will immediately identify with, care for, and find hard to forget, due to the wealth of skill and talent invested in the part by one of cinema’s most renowned artists.