A mentally unbalanced young man kills a priest. One of the priest's colleagues sets out to find the killer.A mentally unbalanced young man kills a priest. One of the priest's colleagues sets out to find the killer.A mentally unbalanced young man kills a priest. One of the priest's colleagues sets out to find the killer.
- Awards
- 1 win
Houseley Stevenson
- Mr. Swanson, the Florist
- (as Houseley Stevenson Sr.)
Jean Inness
- Mrs. Lally
- (as Jean Innes)
- Director
- Writers
- Charles Brackett(uncredited)
- Leo Brady
- Ben Hecht(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAs Martin Lynn (Farley Granger) heads to the church, he first hears a brass band playing the gospel song "Yield not to Temptation." Then a choir sings the chorus of another old gospel song, "Bring them In." The lyrics to both songs are appropriate for the situation.
- GoofsNed Moore assaults the priest, Father Thomas Roth, in the rectory and as the priest falls to the floor, his Roman collar falls open and hangs loose. He stands up to continue the fight with his collar fully intact.
- Quotes
Father Thomas Roth: You may have given up on God, but he won't give up on you.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Watching the Detectives (2007)
- SoundtracksSkid Row Rag
(uncredited)
Music by Paul Sprosty
Featured review
It doesn't take much to poison a young man's soul.
Edge of Doom is directed by Mark Robson and adapted to screenplay by Philip Yordan from the novel written by Leo Brady. It stars Dana Andrews, Farley Granger, Joan Evans, Robert Keith, Paul Stewart, Mala Powers and Adele Jergens. Music is by Hugo Friedhofer and cinematography by Harry Stradling.
Give evil a root and it will grow and thrive.
Relentlessly grim in thematics and mounted in classic film noir style by Robson and Stradling, if it were not for the heavy religio angle then we would be talking about one of film noir's highlights. Bookended by pious pontifications as Dana Andrews' priest offers his wisdom to a new understudy, everything in between is tinged by a bleakness as Granger's poverty stricken young man desperately tries to arrange a "big" funeral for his just deceased mother.
With a mother fixation firmly planted on his shoulders, Martin Lynn trawls through the oppressive and unforgiving city looking for help but finding none. His employer, the church, nobody, so when his temper finally snaps he also has to contend with guilt and the police circling him like a straight-jacket. All the while Father Roth is hanging around to show the good side of the church, even turning into the punching preacher at one point. But can he grant salvation to a frantic Martin Lynn as his soul begins to fracture?
Samuel Goldwyn effectively stopped backing the picture and Granger pretty much disowned it, unsurprisingly it flopped at the box office and has sort of languished in noir purgatory ever since. Shifting too much of the focus onto Father Roth really hurts the film, where Goldwyn had Robson do a re-edit and hired Ben Hecht to spruce up the religious theme. There's also a problem with Granger over acting at times, while Andrews is a touch miscast in a role tailor made for Pat O'Brien. Though the support players, particularly Keith and Stewart, more than compensate.
There's enough bite in the narrative to do justice to the excellent visuals, a cynicism that haunts the shadows of this seamy side of the city, but this really should have, and could have, been so much better. 7/10
Give evil a root and it will grow and thrive.
Relentlessly grim in thematics and mounted in classic film noir style by Robson and Stradling, if it were not for the heavy religio angle then we would be talking about one of film noir's highlights. Bookended by pious pontifications as Dana Andrews' priest offers his wisdom to a new understudy, everything in between is tinged by a bleakness as Granger's poverty stricken young man desperately tries to arrange a "big" funeral for his just deceased mother.
With a mother fixation firmly planted on his shoulders, Martin Lynn trawls through the oppressive and unforgiving city looking for help but finding none. His employer, the church, nobody, so when his temper finally snaps he also has to contend with guilt and the police circling him like a straight-jacket. All the while Father Roth is hanging around to show the good side of the church, even turning into the punching preacher at one point. But can he grant salvation to a frantic Martin Lynn as his soul begins to fracture?
Samuel Goldwyn effectively stopped backing the picture and Granger pretty much disowned it, unsurprisingly it flopped at the box office and has sort of languished in noir purgatory ever since. Shifting too much of the focus onto Father Roth really hurts the film, where Goldwyn had Robson do a re-edit and hired Ben Hecht to spruce up the religious theme. There's also a problem with Granger over acting at times, while Andrews is a touch miscast in a role tailor made for Pat O'Brien. Though the support players, particularly Keith and Stewart, more than compensate.
There's enough bite in the narrative to do justice to the excellent visuals, a cynicism that haunts the shadows of this seamy side of the city, but this really should have, and could have, been so much better. 7/10
helpful•91
- hitchcockthelegend
- Jan 15, 2014
- How long is Edge of Doom?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Auf des Schicksals Schneide
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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