Edge of the City (1957) on Netflix
A deserter from the Army, calling himself Axel North, finds work as a longshoreman on Manhattan's west side. Tommy Tyler befriends him, and Charlie Malick, who knows his secret, extorts him.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb7.2/103,965 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Axel Nordmann, a young man who has left the Army, arrives at the west side of Manhattan looking for work as a longshoreman and calls himself Axel North. Charlie Malick, a bullying stevedore boss who resents blacks, hires him onto his gang, and Tommy Tyler, who supervises another gang, befriends him. Going to work for Tommy antagonizes Malick. Axel moves into Tommy's neighborhood, becomes friendly with Tommy's wife Lucy and begins a romance with Lucy's friend Ellen Wilson. Tommy urges Axel to stand up to Malick. Axel is hiding something: Malick knows he is a deserter and is extorting money from him.
Cast
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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Edge of the City (1957)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Edge of the City was refused by many theater managers and did not play in the Southern United States because of its depiction of an interracial relationship.
- John Cassavetes's character in Edge of the City carried a hint of homosexuality, uncommon for the time; the Motion Picture Production Code Administration allowed the innuendo but recommended extremely careful handling to avoid suggesting he was homosexual.
- Sidney Poitier was paid $15,000 for the film and received his first co-star billing, while director Martin Ritt, who had been blacklisted, was paid only $10,000.
- Sidney Poitier's role in Edge of the City, together with Blackboard Jungle, helped establish him as one of Hollywood's few established representatives for black Americans.
