People are voting emotionally.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Quality entertainment that gets to the point and stays there. We get to visit with the docks back in in the 50's and the nonsense some serious some not that goes on there. Working at the docks is simple enough but the people make it not only interesting but in this case dangerous too. Enjoy Jack Warden who always delivers his characters true to life and is so good at representing the average man or point of view even if unpopular. John Cassavettes is not to be missed and who can ignore any film with Sidney Poitier in it? Lumped all together, we get a nice little glimpse and taste of human natures, life in the trenches and we get to see up close for ourselves what makes a man or a mouse as well as an ani-male and be better for it. Nice portrayal of the age old omerta type law of the underworld where if one sings like a canary, they are branded a rat. But the question begs this: What if one should tell what happened because it is the right thing to do? What then? This is the true test of manhood or the lack thereof and we are introduced to this dynamic in this movie which is reason enough to watch it. This is an excellent movie for eating a sandwich, chips and a tasty drink. This may not be edge of your seat entertainment but edge of you life also known as real life....

Sidney Poitier is famous for his serious roles as an outstanding person in unfortunate circumstances, often dealing with people who are horrible to him. Being a black leading man in a time when there weren't many black leading men, many of his movies also deal with race. So it was kind of nice to see this movie, because this one is quite different.In "Edge of the City", Poitier plays Tommy Tyler, a freight car loader who finds Axel "North" (John Cassavetes) looking for a job where he works. Tommy offers to give a recommendation for Axel, but Axel insists that his friend Charlie Malik (Jack Warden) will get the job for him. Charlie becomes a bit too controlling of Axel though, so Tommy gets him switched from Charlie's crew to his. Charlie is not exactly a great guy, so this causes some serious issues. There's lots of fun along the way though, with Sidney Poitier playing one of the sweetest movie characters in the history of film. We get to see him dance, too, so that is definitely a plus. I mean, how often are you going to have the opportunity to watch Sidney Poitier dance? I will warn you that the happiness doesn't last, but I suppose that is not very hard to guess anyway.One thing that I love about this movie, and I would guess that Poitier appreciated it too, is that the movie doesn't really focus on his race. They don't play up the fact that he is black like they often did, he and his wife and son are just regular, wonderful people. It's nice to see a movie from that time period where the actors are not black actors and white actors, they are just actors.I know I have been talking about Sidney Poitier a lot, but John Cassavetes is very good in this too. He is great as the troubled Axel who has a dark past that we don't really learn about until well into the movie. His character, along with the overall look of the movie, seems a bit "On the Waterfront"-esque to me, which I found quite interesting. It is shot in the same style of black-and-white-after-black-and-white-wasn't-really-being-used filming and some aspects of the plot are kind of similar.All in all, "Edge of the City" is a really great, well-acted movie that I enjoyed a lot and would definitely recommend.

A skillfully directed film by Martin Ritt where a drifter and anti-hero, John Cassevetes lands in N.Y. to escape a tragic incident in his life, where he killed his brother in an automobile accident as well as going AWOL from the army.Cassavetes, always an intense actor, shows grit in his portrayal of a film. Am surprised that Montgomery Clift didn't get this part.Ruth White is his mother and does remarkably well in two scenes on the telephone.Once in New York, he befriends Sidney Poitier as the two work on the docks. Immediately, Jack Warden, a bully and villain in this film,takes a dislike to him and tragedy ensues when Poitier tries to defend his friend.Ruby Dee, plays Poitier's wife in this film, and is brilliant in a scene where she urges Cassavetes to reveal the killer of her husband.This is definitely an interesting film of moral values and the loner in society. With the backdrop of tenements, the right mood is depicted in the film.

I first saw this film on cable in the 80's and it rocked me to the core. It showed up again on TV about six months ago.Filmed on location, the black and white cinematography graphically portrays 1950's New York as the gritty "urban jungle" at a time when there was far more industry and port activity in the city, particularly in Manhattan.John Cassavetes always brought a special intensity to his acting, and is magnificent in the role of the army dodger. His brief 1959 TV series "Johnny Staccato" is also a joy to watch.Sidney Poitier and (later in the film) Ruby Dee bring freshness and vitality to their roles. But it is Jack Warden's superb acting as the vicious, brutal shift boss that grabbed my attention. To get an idea of Warden's versatility, watch this film, then check out a 1962 episode of the TV series "Naked City" entitled "Specter of the Rose Street Gang (available on video)." If you are a fan of film noir, this is a must see. Enjoy!