JohnHowardReid Dana Andrews (Father Roth), Farley Granger (Martin Lynn), Joan Evans (Rita Conroy), Robert Keith (Mandel), Paul Stewart (Craig), Mala Powers (Julie), Adele Jergens (Irene), Harold Vermilyea (Father Kirkman), John Ridgely (1st detective), Douglas Fowley (2nd detective), Mabel Paige (Mrs Pearson), Howland Chamberlain (Mr Murray), Houseley Stevenson, Sr (Mr Swanson), Jean Innes (Mrs Lally), Ellen Corby (Mrs Moore), Ray Teal (Ned Moore), Mary Field (Mary Jane Glennon), Virginia Brissac (Mrs Dennis), Frances Morris (Mrs Lynn).Directed by MARK ROBSON. Screenplay: Philip Yordan. Based on the novel by Leo Brady. Music director: Emil Newman. Score: Hugo Friedhofer. Photographer: Harry Stradling. Editor: Daniel Mandell. Art director: Richard Day. Costumes: Mary Wills. Set decorator: Julia Heron. Make- up: Blagoe Stephanoff. Hair styles: Marie Clark. Additional scenes directed by Charles Vidor, written by Ben Hecht. Sound recording: Fred Lau. Producer: Samuel Goldwyn.Copyright 3 August 1950 by Samuel Goldwyn Productions, Inc. Released by RKO Radio Pictures. New York opening at the Astor: 3 August 1950. U.S. release: 30 September 1950. U.K. release: December 1951. Australian release: 16 August 1951. 99 minutes.U.K. release title: STRONGER THAN FEAR.SYNOPSIS: "It's simple story about a boy who wants a fine funeral for his mother, so he kills a priest." — Sam Goldwyn, explaining the plot to an eager group of journalists.NOTES: After its New York opening, Goldwyn rejigged the movie by adding narration, plus a prologue and epilogue, written by Charles Brackett and Ben Hecht, directed by Charles Vidor. Even with the additional scenes, the movie still came in at 96 minutes — 3 minutes less than before. Considerable excisions were made. Some of the most powerful episodes were deleted altogether, whilst others, notably the undertaker's sequence, were unmercifully diluted.VIEWERS GUIDE: Adults.COMMENT: This film is not now available in its original form but, whether called "Edge of Doom" or "Stronger Than Fear" (its U.K. release title), in a version somewhat mutilated by the addition of a fatuous prologue and epilogue and a patronizing commentary, all written by Ben Hecht and flatly directed by Charles Vidor.In its present state, the movie's entertainment quotient hasn't been increased, but lessened. Nonetheless, there are still features of interest to the connoisseur. The scene in which Harold Vermilyea is murdered still comes across with considerable force. The driving pace of Robson's direction, the moody black-and-white photography of Harry Stradling, the fine sets of art director Richard Day and some very good performances, particularly Vermilyea, Keith and Stewart, plus incisive dialogue are all positive recommendations.Offsetting all these is the glum performance of Dana Andrews, whilst Farley Granger makes an unlikely hero. Mala Powers is also very weak as the hero's girlfriend. And then there's that commentary!OTHER VIEWS: Whatever induced that normally astute showman Sam Goldwyn to attempt a film of Leo Brady's morbid novel? (Some sources say it was his wife, a convert to Catholicism). Whatever, Sam parted up with no less than $150,000 just for the film rights. He then ripped the guts out of the book by casting Dana Andrews as the priest. What few virtues Mr Andrews has as an actor — doggedness, certainly — neither sincerity nor saintliness, let alone spiritual strength, figure in that short list. Not that Farley Granger was any more charismatic, but at least his weakness was right for the role. As for the movie itself, even the re-edited light version is still mighty heavy going. — JHR writing as George Addison.

secondtake Edge of Doom (1950)It would be hard to find a movie as unrelentingly dark and brooding as this one. Everyone from the priest to the hero's mother, from the sweet girlfriend to the neighbor down the hall is burdened with the pain of everyday life. Most of the scenes at night, too, or inside dark rooms and hallways, or both, so the shadowy world only descends lower. And this is partly what makes it really work. Dana Andrews is a worldly, reflective priest in a tale of redemption, actually, against all this gloom. The protagonist is a young Farley Granger, who gets in trouble from a single rash act, and is in a tailspin for the rest of the movie. From one shadowy scene to another, running through dark streets or hiding in a dingy apartment, Granger has to face his inner demon.But Granger, like Andrews, is a thoroughly decent person inside, and the movie, despite all the negative vibes, is about faith and goodness. Director Mark Robson is not a big name, of course, but he paid his dues with some of the best--Robert Wise and Val Lewton. And he came out of an era of Hollywood that was uncompromising in its technical quality. It shows. This is a movie with a single main theme, and if it has impassioned acting and high dramatics (at times) it also is gritty and single minded, too. The plot is packaged too neatly, and littered with Andrews narrating through the long flashback. That's its one limitation--that it's limited. But what it does do it does with real intensity.

bkoganbing One of the reasons that I liked Edge Of Doom is the fact that Catholic priests are portrayed as human. In that the contrast in the behavior of Dana Andrews and Harold Vermilyea is the key to the film, not withstanding the performance of Farley Granger as the protagonist, a sensitive troubled youth driven to rage and murder.Harold Vermilyea is a thirty year veteran of the skid row parish he's been assigned to. Faces have changed, but conditions haven't and he's seeing that his religious message hasn't brought much change. He's suffering from the very human condition of burnout. So when Farley Granger who has a history with the church consisting of his father not being given a Catholic funeral because he was a suicide comes to Vermilyea asking for a big celebratory funeral for his mother who was a believer who never lost faith and being told no, the rage takes over him. He clubs Vermilyea with a heavy crucifix and kills him.Vermilyea is having a family crisis of his own, his niece has run off with a divorced man and is having a civil ceremony because the church won't marry them. He was also bound by Catholic rules not to give Granger's father a Catholic rite because of those selfsame rules. All that Granger doesn't know and when we seek guidance from clergy in any faith we never know what's in their background that could affect their actions with us.Anyway Granger spends the rest of the film with a troubled conscience which Dana Andrews suspects, but can't really prove. Since he hasn't come to him in confession there's no vow of silence unlike O.E. Hasse who tormented Montgomery Clift with that in I Confess. So Andrews is free to help the police investigation which is headed by Robert Keith.But Andrews is a priest in the best G.K. Chesterton tradition, as much concerned with Granger's soul as with solving the case. That's his dilemma. You can also see that he looks at Vermilyea and thinks that this could be him in another twenty years.Edge Of Doom is one of the bleakest noir films ever made. It offers no solutions to any problems. People seemed bound by fate and trapped by the dogma they believe. Some similar themes in a secular vein were also expressed in the Humphrey Bogart film Knock On Any Door which came out a year earlier with Bogart as an attorney and John Derek a young client who has a lot of history and baggage. It's a fine film, but prepare yourself for a real downer.

MartinHafer This film was told by veteran priest Dana Andrews to a young troubled priest. The tale was about a real-life murder and how Andrews came to become involved in counseling this young killer. The intent of the story was to make you feel sorry for Farley Granger and understand his motivation--something I just KNEW would be a major thrust in the film since Farley made a habit of playing young "good" men who somehow go bad (as in ROPE and THEY LIVE BY NIGHT). The problem with this whole angle, though, is that apart from Granger's poverty, I didn't feel the least bit sorry for him or understand the pointless murder. Granger's character was very whiny and weak and frankly he disgusted me with his petulant manner throughout the film. Now Andrews was excellent as a priest--forgiving, kind and yet tough when he had to be and I could understand why, as a priest, he worked so hard to save Granger's soul--even if Granger was a childish idiot. In fact, aside from Granger's character, the film was very good but the general unlikability of him really did a lot to deaden the impact of the film. A nice try to make a film with a social conscience, but it just didn't fly and is just a time-passer.