Many times a movie lover can look at the cover of a film and know exactly what they are in for. It isn’t a knack for having memorized any and all genre conventions, nor is it due to any sort of cynicism. Instead, some lovers of film are so in touch with the medium that they almost inherently know what type of film they will be sitting down to watch. One such moment came recently for me in the form of Edge of Eternity, a 1950s Don Siegel thriller starring Cornel Wilde and set in the Grand Canyon. Though billed as a thriller, the film exists more as a potboiler that can be considered passable at best…and that’s not so bad. Sometimes passable is just what a person craves.
Set in a run-down town not far from the Grand Canyon, Edge of Eternity stars Wilde as Les Martin, the newly-appointed sheriff whose arrival into town some time back signaled a new start for him following a tragic incident from the past. Martin doesn’t have many fans in the town, but he does have the support of Janice Kendon (Victoria Shaw), the daughter of one of the area’s most prosperous citizens. When a string of murders start occurring around town, Les must find the courage to overcome his past and prove himself as the true lawman he knows he is.
Edge of Eternity does indeed try to exist as a thriller, even if there is very little about it which comes across as novel. Yet the film is the kind of thriller that kicks things off before the first line of dialogue is uttered on screen, plunging the audience into the story from the get go. The thrills come swiftly and effectively, especially for a film from the ‘50s, with Siegel managing a level of pure starkness at times, greatly at odds with the decade. The most obvious example of this is the image of a victim hanging from a noose, which is shockingly but wonderfully executed. Maybe it’s due to its brief run time (the film clocks in at just under 80 minutes), but so much of Edge of Eternity feels like an extended Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode. This isn’t entirely surprising given how the film was made at the height of that series’ popularity. While this may seem like a drawback to some, it’s actually a glowing trait since the series proved a landmark in showing how a story full of suspense could be so efficiently and entertainingly told in such a finite amount of time. It’s not the easiest of storytelling skills to master, yet Siegel more than manages it here.
Much like most of the films made during this time, Edge of Eternity was an obvious showcase for technicolor. It’s easy to see why since the film is so richly heightened by the glory of technicolor, which was at its most exquisite, showing the power of the technology and the surroundings on hand here. There’s one luscious shot after another of the Grand Canyon itself, each of which accentuates the unmatched majesty of the landscape. The instances where the film’s music picks up when the camera swoops and glides over the Grand Canyon are definite highlights and make sure we know who the real star of the film is. It’s almost as if the audience is being instructed to be in awe and amazement of the Grand Canyon, which certainly isn’t hard. Meanwhile, the small desert town the characters reside in has such a strong sense of place and proves to be the perfect setting for the film’s events to occur in. The story slows down considerably whenever Janice enters the picture, but her scenes do speak to the faltering of once-thriving desert towns and the state they eventually found themselves in.
Needless to say, Edge of Eternity is far from a performance-driven film. Instead, this is the kind of movie established stars take on to clock in time and aspiring hopefuls intend to use as a stepping stone. As the film’s lead, Wilde is a tad miscast here. But his relationship with the moviegoing public was strong enough that most of his fans probably didn’t care. Shaw manages some true spunk and soulfulness, but is endlessly trapped by her limited character. The only person apart from Wilde and Shaw who bears any mention is Rain Garrick, who gives a heartbreaking performance as Bob Kendon, Janice’s brother, whose disillusion with life and a rocky relationship with his father has driven him to drink.
Edge of Eternity is certainly a far cry from Seigel’s greater works, and bears very little resemblance to the man who would go on to direct The Beguiled and Dirty Harry. While the traditional story device of a disgraced lawman trying to start over in a small town is used to somewhat good effect, too many of the film’s other qualities strive for greatness, yet still manage to come up short. The musical cues are a bit too heightened, almost bordering on melodramatic, and the brave subject of alcoholism is dealt with, if only on a base level. While Edge of Eternity is certainly a slapped together affair, it helps create a self-contained feel that makes it a diverting enough effort which will please fans of both the genre and the director.
The Package
A fairly standard audio track featuring Twilight Time’s Nick Redman and fellow film historian C. Courtney Joyner is the lone special feature on the release.
The Lowdown
The film may not show either director or star at their best, yet the two help make Edge of Eternity as good as it could have ever hoped to be.
Edge of Eternity is now available on Blu-ray from Twilight Time.
