Highlighting the acting of Sidney Poitier and the brooding on-screen presence of John Cassevetes, The Edge of the City is a highly-watchable film from the fifties, directed by Martin Ritt. There is great acting and stunning on-location photography in black and white.<br /><br />Poitier is a delight at this point in his career and Tommy Tyler, the character he plays is happy and outgoing. He befriends Axel Noordman, played by Cassevetes, who is a young man suffering from poor self-esteem and a past that he wants kept under wraps. Tyler, a black man, brings his friend out of his shell and introduces him to his family and a new girlfriend.<br /><br />Tyler and Noordman are employed on the New York docks at a time when the workers were expected to tow the line, if they knew what was good for them. The boss Charles Malik, played by Jack Warden, in one of his many hard-bitten roles becomes the focus of discontent, which leads to a climactic showdown with Noordman.<br /><br />At the end of the movie, we are left with mixed emotions. However, the two main characters have left the audience with a story of friendship between two different men in a hostile world.