Edge of Doom is a 1950 black-and-white film noir directed by Mark Robson and starring Dana Andrews, Farley Granger, and Joan Evans.

Plot

The story concerns a young man, Martin Lynn (Farley Granger), who becomes emotionally untethered after his sick mother dies. One of the main targets of his anger is the Catholic Church which, in addition to slighting him when he had requested a priest for his mother, had years before refused to bury his father who had committed suicide. Martin, blaming the environment he lives in for the state of his life, lashes out at his cheap boss, a mortician and - most tragically - a Catholic priest, Father Kirkman (Harold Vermilyea), who refuses to give Martin's impoverished mother a big funeral. The hard-line priest is elderly and worn out from the strain of working with the desperate people in the neighborhood. He adopts an indifferent attitude which drives Martin into a blind rage. Martin beats Father Kirkman with a heavy crucifix, killing him. Kirkman's assistant, Father Roth (Dana Andrews), suspects the young man, who finds himself accused of a separate crime, of the murder.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

When the film was released, the staff at Variety magazine gave the film a positive review, writing, "A grim, relentless story, considerably offbeat, gives some distinction to Edge of Doom. It is played to the hilt by a good cast and directed with impact by Mark Robson." The New York Times wrote, "Robson's direction gives flashes of high tension to the film, for he has made effective use of street scenes and noises and has skillfully reflected the oppressive atmosphere of poverty and squalor, but his actors run more to types than to real people."

Awards

Wins