EDGE OF DOOM

Farley Granger and Dana Andrews

EDGE OF DOOM (1950). Director: Mark Robson.

Father Thomas (Dana Andrews) tells a colleague (Robert Karnes)  -- who wants to leave this impoverished parish and go elsewhere -- the story of young Martin Lynn (Farley Granger), and how meeting him helped renew his faith. Martin's father was a criminal who committed suicide, and he hates the church because he was denied a Christian burial. Now Martin needs a raise to send his ill mother out of town, but his boss can't afford it. When the mother dies, Martin insists that old Father Kirkman (Harold Vermilyea of Manhandled) -- the one who denied the burial -- make up for all the money his mother gave to the church by paying for an elaborate funeral. Kirkman objects and things go downhill from there.

Granger with Mala Powers

Edge of Doom doesn't exactly take an intellectual approach to the material -- few "religious" movies ever do -- but it is nevertheless an interesting picture, and not as simple-minded as it might at first sound. An interesting aspect is the depiction of Father Kirkman. While he is not quite an ogre, he is also not the beneficent Bing Crosby-type of priest, being generally grumpy (and not in a cute way) and unpleasant, out of touch with his parishioners -- I wonder what the Catholic church thought of how he was portrayed. It would also be all too easy to dismiss Father Thomas as a bleeding heart who confuses reasons (for a person's behavior) with excuses, but it is easy to see why he has sympathy for Martin despite the young man's actions. Oddly, virtually no sympathy is expressed for the victim, despite his being an elderly priest! But this is typical of movies that focus more on troubled-young-men who become killers than they do on the ones they kill (especially if the killers are handsome).

In deep trouble: Farley Granger

The performances in the film are generally good. Granger at 25 may be a little old for the part but he certainly has affecting moments. Andrews is solid and convincing in an unusual role for him. Mala Powers is sensitive and effective as Martin's girlfriend. There is also good work from Paul Stewart as a neighbor, Robert Keith as a detective, Vermilyea as the older priest, Houseley Stevenson [Dark Passage] as Martin's boss at the flower shop, and Mabel Paige as an old woman who sees the priest killer outside the rectory and becomes a witness. Adele Jergens is a bit unsatisfactory as Stewart's girlfriend, however, especially in a scene she has with Andrews and Granger at the rectory. Douglas Fowley and Ellen Corby have smaller roles. Oddly Joan Evans, who was with Granger in Roseanna McCoy the previous year, receives top billing with him and Andrews but only has a small and relatively unimportant role as Father Kirkman's niece; she has one tiny scene with Granger. NOTE: Apparently the scenes with Andrews telling Martin's story were added after the film's initial release, as some feel the whole point of the movie and the novel it is based on is that the Church really can't do much to solve the problems of its parishioners.

Verdict: Imperfect but interesting crime drama. ***.

OUR VERY OWN

Ann Blyth and Joan Evans

OUR VERY OWN (1950). Director: David Miller.

Gail McCaulay (Ann Blyth) is just about to turn 18. Gail, who has two younger sisters, is practically engaged to her handsome beau, Chuck (Farley Granger). The elder of Gail's two siblings, Joan (Joan Evans of On the Loose), is attracted to Chuck and very jealous of their relationship, and during an argument she lets slip that Gail was adopted, something Joan only recently discovered by accident. Gail's world is upended by this revelation, and she decides to seek out her birth mother (Ann Dvorak), but will she be able to ultimately handle her feelings and accept that she is very much loved by her true and supportive family? And what will her "real" mother be like?

Ann Dvorak and Jane Wyatt

Our Very Own is an absorbing and pleasant movie with good performances from Blyth, Evans and Granger as well as from Jame Wyatt and Donald Cook as the girls' parents. Ann Dvorak also scores as the birth mother who is so afraid her husband will find out about her child, and you wish she was given  more screen time. Natalie Wood is adorable as the youngest of the three sisters, and she has a cute scene when she's driving a TV installer (Gus Schilling) to distraction with all of her questions. Phyllis Kirk also appears to advantage as Zaza, a very sympathetic friend of Gail's -- her wealthy father would rather go to a party than attend her graduation.  Martin Milner is Bert, who has a crush on Joan and is rather unkind to Gwen (Kipp Hamilton of The Unforgiven), a slightly chubby girl who has a crush on him. Those who hope the film might be a trash wallow along the lines of Three Bad Sisters will be disappointed, as there are no cat fights and no talk of genetic issues that may derail marriage plans and the like.

Verdict: Compelling romantic drama with a heartwarming conclusion. ***. 

ON THE LOOSE

Joan Evans

ON THE LOOSE (1951). Director: Charles Lederer.

Jill Bradley (Joan Evans) is a small-town 16-year-old girl who has distracted parents (Lynn Bari and Melvyn Douglas) and a seemingly devoted boyfriend named Larry (Robert Arthur of Naked Youth). When Larry brings Jill to his house when his parents are gone, he passes out on the sofa and is found hungover the next morning. Larry is forced to break up with the "fast" Jill, who dates lots of guys to get over her heartbreak and winds up with a "reputation," nearly leading to tragedy. On the Loose is a time capsule of a movie, looking back at 1950's attitudes towards dating and premarital sex, as well as at timeless troubled marriages, and on that level is quite effective. Joan Evans [Roseanna McCoy] gives a very good performance as the confused and unhappy young woman, and the rest of the cast are also on target, with Melvyn Douglas [Hud] delivering some fine moments when he does his best to bond with his daughter in the second half of the film. Hugh O'Brian makes an impression as a kind-hearted doctor, and Tristram Coffin plays a judge, who shows up after some melodramatic developments in a bar. The ending is unrealistically happy but nevertheless touching.

Verdict: Teen angst well-played. ***. 

ROSEANNA MCCOY

ROSEANNA MCCOY (1949). Director: Irving Reis.

"Don't talk with your knife in your mouth!"

Hollywood's look at the famous feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys of Kentucky has Roseanna McCoy (Joan Evans) falling in love with Johnse (sic) Hatfield (Farley Granger) while the relatives fuss, fight, sass, and shoot. The main problem with the film, besides a script that's half-baked, is the miscasting of the leads. Granger is no Kentucky mountain man by a long shot, and Evans [pictured with her godmother Joan Crawford], although not totally awful, is too inexperienced and passionless -- not to mention comparatively plain and pudgy-faced -- to amount to much of a heroine. The much more talented supporting cast is certainly interesting, however. Raymond Massey and Aline MacMahon, are Roseanna's parents, while Charles Bickford and Hope Emerson of Caged fame are the Hatfield folk. Arthur Franz, Marshall Thompson and Richard Basehart also have roles, and do fine with them, Basehart in particular. Gertrude Hoffman of My Little Margie and Mabel Paige of I Love Lucy and The Sniper also have small roles. But perhaps the best and most impassioned performance in the film is given by little Peter Miles, who plays "Little Randall" McCoy, and is the brother of Gigi Perreau (who was his sister in real life and in the film). Years later Miles wrote the novel upon which Robert Altman based his film That Cold Day in the Park. While there's some fairly exciting gun play at the climax, the entire project is mostly forgettable.

Verdict: Watch the Beverly Hillbillies instead. **.