Themes: Crisis of Conscience, Down on Their Luck, Redemption
Main Cast: Dana Andrews, Farley Granger, Joan Evans, Robert Keith, Mala Powers, Paul Stewart
Release Year: 1950
Country: US
Run Time: 99 minutes
Plot
An unusually morbid film from producer Samuel Goldwyn, Edge of Doom stars Farley Granger as a sensitive young man trapped in an impoverished slum existence. Granger becomes unhinged when his beloved mother dies, and when an unfeeling elderly priest refuses to provide the woman with a lavish funeral, Granger savagely kills the priest. The boy's subsequent moody behavior is chalked down to grief over his mother, but a younger and more compassionate priest (Dana Andrews) suspects something is amiss. In as gentle a fashion as possible, the priest persuades Granger to confess to the crime and seek divine forgiveness. Joan Evans, a Goldwyn contractee for whom "big things" were predicted, plays the totally forgettable love interest for the tortured Granger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Edge of Doom is a surprisingly bleak film noir, and that's saying something. It's also a somewhat frustrating one, as it could have been a truly exceptional film but had to settle for being merely quite good. The main problem are the prologue and epilogue that bookend the film; these were written after the film was completed and released, and the tacked-on feeling they give to the piece is unmistakable. Between this beginning and this end, the screenplay makes some other mistakes, soft pedaling a little of the conflict and simplifying some characters and their motivations; but these would have been easier to overlook had the opening and closing segments not been forced on Doom. Even with these flaws, Doom is quite effective and in places remarkably powerful, especially when its social conscience meshes with its story and the two build up a good head of steam. Mark Robson directs the main body of the story with skill and precision, aided enormously by Harry Stradling's commanding and compelling cinematography. Doom would be even better if it had stronger performances from Farley Granger and Dana Andrews; they're both fine, but one wishes they had delved a little deeper into their roles. Fortunately, there's excellent support from Robert Keith and Paul Stewart to help make up for this defect. Doom may miss being an outstanding film, but it's got more than enough going for it to make it a must-see for noir fans. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Edge of Doom is a 1950film noir shot in black and white. The film has never been released on video reportedly due to the subject matter. The film is considered one of the bleakest films of the 1950s. The story concerns a young mentally disturbed man who goes on a rampage after his sick mother dies. One of the man's biggest beefs is with the Catholic church who, in addition to slighting him when his mother needed a priest, once refused to bury his father years earlier because he committed suicide. The man, blaming the environment he lives in, goes on a rampage taking revenge on his cheap boss, a mortician and a priest who refuses to give his poor mother a big funeral. He begins his rampage by killing the hard-line Catholic priest who slighted him by beating him with a heavy crucifix. Later, another priest suspects the young man, now arrested for another crime, for the killing. Cinematography by Academy Award winner Harry Stradling Sr.
