Rim of Violence
- Episode aired Jan 8, 1954
- 30m
YOUR RATING
A young policeman's daily contact with ugliness and heartbreak shakes his faith in humanity.A young policeman's daily contact with ugliness and heartbreak shakes his faith in humanity.A young policeman's daily contact with ugliness and heartbreak shakes his faith in humanity.
Photos
Sidney Clute
- Detective Dave
- (as Sid Clute)
Sammy Shack
- Bar Patron
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Featured review
Corny yet uplifting?
I really enjoyed the performances by star Scott Brady and a young Martin Milner in this Schlitz Playhouse segment, which plays like a much older artifact than something from the '50s. Frederick Brady (no relation) has provided a script that provokes mixed reactions.
The title "Rim of Violence" is misleading -it had me waiting patiently for a downbeat, nihilstic cimax. Instead, Frederick is writing a story meant to uplift and reveal the basic goodness in mankind.
He successfully lulls the viewer into a sort of head-nodding reaction for the bulk of the story, as we follow cop on the beat in the big city (presumably Manhattan) Scott who encounters everyday people on the sidewalk, all of them complaining about this or that, and all of them cynical. Everyone seems to have a negative view of the world, many assuming (or accusing) that the police are on the take and that crime is running rampant. Brady has somewhat of an "I've seen it all" smug attitude and comes off as equally cynical in his own way. A telling scene comes after he flirts with his girlfriend (Marcia Patrick), a cute moment followed by their mutual negativity about the state of the world, in which they seemingly agree that getting married would be a bad idea (similar to the movie cliche of "who would want to bring a child into this awful world?" attitude.
Milner pops up as a soldier returned from overseas who is looking for his wife -she's not at home and she stopped writing to him some time ago. Brady realizes she's become notorious locally, for hanging out with a known gangster, but he play dumb, not wanting to spoil Milner's illusions. It's more than a hint that our tough cop is a softie inside.
This leads in a roundabout way to the show's violent climax where Brady breaks up an armed robbery at a bar, where bystander Milner gets shot, followed by a very optimistic and hopeful ending for everyone. The script's sentimentality and manipulative nature makes this happy conclusion seem very dated, for like that of a Depression Era drama of 20 years before.
Changing times and attitudes is most glaring in a subplot of a young boy running to Brady reporting that his dad is beating up his mom. Scott's reaction when he arrives at their apartment is to sympathize with the boy's plight at having to grow up with battling parents, but he completely ignores the battered wife's problem, leaving them to settle the matter themselves. I was struck at this assumption that the wife shares the blame and needs no protection, a reaction that seems ancient, yet just days ago we all learned about VP candidate JD Vance, here in 2024 (70 years after this show was telecast), having the same attitude as our cop protagonist toward "violence in marriage" situations.
The title "Rim of Violence" is misleading -it had me waiting patiently for a downbeat, nihilstic cimax. Instead, Frederick is writing a story meant to uplift and reveal the basic goodness in mankind.
He successfully lulls the viewer into a sort of head-nodding reaction for the bulk of the story, as we follow cop on the beat in the big city (presumably Manhattan) Scott who encounters everyday people on the sidewalk, all of them complaining about this or that, and all of them cynical. Everyone seems to have a negative view of the world, many assuming (or accusing) that the police are on the take and that crime is running rampant. Brady has somewhat of an "I've seen it all" smug attitude and comes off as equally cynical in his own way. A telling scene comes after he flirts with his girlfriend (Marcia Patrick), a cute moment followed by their mutual negativity about the state of the world, in which they seemingly agree that getting married would be a bad idea (similar to the movie cliche of "who would want to bring a child into this awful world?" attitude.
Milner pops up as a soldier returned from overseas who is looking for his wife -she's not at home and she stopped writing to him some time ago. Brady realizes she's become notorious locally, for hanging out with a known gangster, but he play dumb, not wanting to spoil Milner's illusions. It's more than a hint that our tough cop is a softie inside.
This leads in a roundabout way to the show's violent climax where Brady breaks up an armed robbery at a bar, where bystander Milner gets shot, followed by a very optimistic and hopeful ending for everyone. The script's sentimentality and manipulative nature makes this happy conclusion seem very dated, for like that of a Depression Era drama of 20 years before.
Changing times and attitudes is most glaring in a subplot of a young boy running to Brady reporting that his dad is beating up his mom. Scott's reaction when he arrives at their apartment is to sympathize with the boy's plight at having to grow up with battling parents, but he completely ignores the battered wife's problem, leaving them to settle the matter themselves. I was struck at this assumption that the wife shares the blame and needs no protection, a reaction that seems ancient, yet just days ago we all learned about VP candidate JD Vance, here in 2024 (70 years after this show was telecast), having the same attitude as our cop protagonist toward "violence in marriage" situations.
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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