THE VERY EDGE

Richard Todd and Anne Heywood

THE VERY EDGE (1963). Director: Cyril Frankel.

"You can't change what happens to you -- only how you feel about it."

Former model and happily married wife Tracey Lawrence (Anne Heywood) is assaulted and nearly raped in her home by a stalker,  Mullen (Jeremy Brett), who is obsessed with her; the incident results in her miscarrying. Her architect husband, Geoffrey (Richard Todd), is supportive, but eventually becomes impatient because Tracey's trauma prevents her from being intimate with him. Geoffrey's new secretary, Helen (Nicole Maurey), seems more than willing to take up the slack and an attraction between the two develops. Meanwhile, the stalker is still on the loose, and still focused on having his way with Tracey ... The Very Edge has all the elements of a good thriller, but it might have been more entertaining had it gone in more lurid directions. Anne Heywood gives an excellent performance as the likable Tracey, and Todd [The Hasty Heart] is also top notch, even if one questions his character and his actions late in the film. Brett is compelling in an unusual role for him, especially when you consider that just the following year he would be warbling "On the Street Where You Live" in My Fair Lady. Jack Hedley [The Anniversary] also scores as Inspector McInnes, adding nuances to his role, such as a possible attraction to Tracey himself. One might not expect the brilliance of , say, a Bernard Herrmann, but David Lee's musical score is rather poor. Cyril Frankel also directed the harder-hitting Never Take Candy from a Stranger.

Verdict: Reasonably absorbing if minor-league melodrama. **1/2, 

NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM A STRANGER

Patrick Allen, Budd Knapp, and Bill Nagy

NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM A STRANGER (aka Never Take Sweets from a Stranger/1960). Director: Cyril Frankel.

High school principal Peter Carter (Patrick Allen of Night Creatures) and his wife Sally (Gwen Watford) have moved to a new community with their young daughter, Jean (Janina Faye), and her grandmother, Martha (Alison Leggatt). One afternoon Jean tells her parents that she and her friend Lucille (Frances Green) were given candy by an elderly man in a house nearby who told them to take off their clothing. Peter wants to confront the old man, Sally wants to call the police, and the grandmother advises caution -- they aren't completely sure what if anything happened and the old man, Clarence Olderberry Sr. (Felix Aylmer) has a lot of clout in the town. Because of this the Carters find a lot of opposition when they have the man arrested and a trial ensues. Will the entire town turn against them and will Olderberry get away with his inappropriate behavior or get the help he clearly needs? Never Take Candy from a Stranger is a non-sensational look at a repellent subject, and is generally well-done and well-acted; Leggatt is especially good, as are Michael Gwynn [The Revenge of Frankenstein] as the prosecutor and Bill Nagy as Olderberry's son. This absorbing and distressing film leads up to a tragic and hard-hitting finale. One of the film's flaws, however, is that the "pervert" in question seems rather feeble and to be suffering from Alzheimer's, making some of his actions possibly unlikely, and his behavior perhaps more demented than criminal. A more menacing and younger antagonist, a more formidable and devious pedophile, might have given the film even more dramatic heft, although the ending is nevertheless uncompromising. Freddie Francis' cinematography gives the film a nice look, and there is a fine musical score by Elisabeth Lutyens [Paranoiac].

Verdict: Sobering look at a town's dirty secret. ***.