This first movie by Martin Ritt can be seen as a work against racism.In several respects ,it is,but it's much more: it's the story of a loser (Cassavetes) ,who is through with his family (his father could not forgive him the accidental death of his brother) ,with the establishment (he is a deserter) and with the men in general.He places his trust in Tommy Tyler (Toto;Sidney Poitier),a black man,whose life is not rosy though .The price to pay to regain self-confidence will be very high.
Filmed in black and white ,"edge of the city" takes place in a working-class milieu,which is rare in the world of cinema.Martin Ritt was a director whose social concerns continued on many of the works of his career: unions in "Norma Rae" ,education in "Conrack" ,illiteracy in "Stanley and Iris" ,racism in "Paris Blues " -but in this latter movie, Ritt was very naive when he thought that France was a country where racism did not exist-,all these subjects are hinted at in "edge of the city".
Filmed in black and white ,"edge of the city" takes place in a working-class milieu,which is rare in the world of cinema.Martin Ritt was a director whose social concerns continued on many of the works of his career: unions in "Norma Rae" ,education in "Conrack" ,illiteracy in "Stanley and Iris" ,racism in "Paris Blues " -but in this latter movie, Ritt was very naive when he thought that France was a country where racism did not exist-,all these subjects are hinted at in "edge of the city".