Customer Reviews

The River's Edge

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The best way to decribe "The River's Edge" is that it is a hybrid of noir and pulp fiction reminiscent of the work of Jim Thompson. It also works as a smashing adventure story. The two leads here are superb. Ray Milland is menacing as the heavy but does so with great subtlety. Anthony Quinn is intriguing as the rancher and there are many shades to his character. His Ben Cameron is a good man but he is no wilting flower in the face of evil as represented by Milland's Nardo Denning. The confrontations between these two are tense and keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. Though not fatal to the film, Debra Paget as Quinn's wife and Milland's former squeeze is the weak link in the triangle. You don't believe for one minute that Paget was ever a gangster's moll who served time in the pen. I recommend this film ultimately as an opportunity to see two top actors at the top of their game.

This wonderful and underrated film is one of Dwan's finest. Allan Dwan's career, which started in the silent era, is amongst the most exciting and prolific of Hollywood's classic era. The River's edge starts like a melodrama: ex crook Ray Milland looks for his former girlfriend (Debra Paget) and eventually finds her, remarried to a simple and honest man (Anthony Quinn at his very best). But the plot then shifts into a manhunt across the mountains, with murder and betrayal. Dwan has a unique sense of time and space, not unlike Anthony Mann's, and his style combines the flamboyence of Sirk with the self contained assurance of John Ford. As a mixture of 50's noir and contemporary western, River's edge, beautifully photographed in technicolor and cinemascope is one of the great "lost films". It's ruthless but filled with extraordinary humanity. The film builds up to a surprising finale with a startling shot alongside "the river's edge". Its a film about greed, lust and love, wonderfully written and acted. A must see.

Put together on a very limited budget by independant producer Benedict Bogeaus, 1957's THE RIVER'S EDGE is a very entertaining film which plays like a cross-breed noir adventure. It's stars are Ray Milland, Debra Paget and Anthony Quinn.

When San Francisco con-man and all-round bad guy Nardo Denning (Ray Milland) tracks down his former girlfriend Meg (Debra Paget), now living on a small farm with husband Ben Cameron (Anthony Quinn); he pays Ben to guide him over the border into Mexico. Nardo's sole cargo is a suitcase stuffed with hot cash - and the offer is too good for Ben to refuse. Their farm isn't working out, and Meg's about to walk away for good.

As the troubled trio set off on foot for Mexico, all manner of obstacles will stand in their way - most of which stem from the psychological torment the two men harbour over Meg...

THE RIVER'S EDGE is a rare colour noir; and the colour works to spectacular effect in illustrating the inner dilemmas of the characters. Debra Paget, looking very foxy indeed with her close-cropped hair (dyed in a vivid red that pops off the screen) delivers a good performance as Meg, though it's been reported that director Allan Dwan felt dissatisfied with her portrayal. Fans of Paget will know that this was one of her first truly "contemporary" film roles (after years of working in period costumes in things like "Les Miserables" and "Prince Valiant"). I imagine she enjoyed the chance to finally prove herself with a modern heroine.

The two men are likewise superb, but you can't really miss when you have Anthony Quinn and Ray Milland on the screen. Quinn was riding high on a series of superb film performances, including Fellini's "La Strada". Milland, in a sense, repeats his dubious, benign bad guy from "Dial M For Murder" in his portrayal of Nardo, but it again works for this movie.

The film's small budget is apparent in some scenes (like the studio-bound cave sets and some particularly-clunky Day for Night shots) but THE RIVER'S EDGE is a good example of the Fox B-movie at it's height. Recommended.

The DVD from Fox includes a few good extras you wouldn't normally find for a film as relatively "minor" as THE RIVER'S EDGE, including audio commentary with film historians Alain Silver and James Ursini, the trailer, and a still gallery; plus bonus trailers for "The Snake Pit" and "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit".

This is a good, old fashioned movie with good acting and something you probably will never find on the TV classics. Ray Milland is very good as is Anthony Quinn and Debra Paget. You will enjoy this one.

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Film noir and westerns were both popular in the 50s, so why not a film noir western? Indeed Fritz Lang made "Rancho Notorious" at the same time that "The River's Edge" appeared and while this film is certainly not up to the standards set in Lang's film, it's an entertaining enough effort.

Rugged Anthony Quinn (1915-2001) plays a farmer who marries a woman who was involved in some shady dealings. In 1957 he was a major star having won the Oscar for "Viva Zapata" (1952). Quinn, of course, left us a great legacy of more than 100 roles, with films like "Zorba the Greek" (1961) and "Lust for Life" (1956). He was nominated for an Oscar 4 times, winning twice for Best Supporting Actor. Quinn gives his usual stalwart performance.

Petite Debra Paget (1933) plays the woman with a past. Paget is best known for her role in films like "Broken Arrow" (1950), "The Ten Commandments" (1956) and "Love me Tender" (1956).

Ray Milland (1905-86) plays the gangster from Paget's past. Milland is best known for his Oscar and Golden Globe winner performance in "Lost Weekend" (1945), although he gave us memorable performances in more than 100 films including "The Thief" (1952) and "Dial M for Murder" (1954). He transitioned to TV in the 50s and appeared in several TV movies as well as series including "The Ray Milland Show" (1953-5) and "Markham" (1959-60). Milland gives a good performance.

Look for Harry Carey Jr. as a station attendant and Chubby Johnson as an old man who runs into the trio. Harry Carey Jr. (1921) was the son of Harry Carey, a great silent film western star.Carey is best known for his 9 films with John Ford, including the cavalry trilogy, "The Searchers" (1956) and "Two Rode Together" (1961). Chubby Johnson (1903-74) made a career out of being the affable sidekick in western films and then TV.

Director Allan Dwan (1885-1981) made more than 400 films, most of them in the silent era. He's best known for "Heidi" (1937), "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms" (1938), and "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949). He did several film noir including "Slightly Scarlet" (1956) and "Surrender" (1950), but was more versed in the western - "Cattle Queen of Montana" (1954), "The Restless Breed" (1957), "Silver Lode" (1954), "Montana Belle" (1952).

Harold Lipstein (1898-1974) provides wonderful on location photography in Northern Mexico. Among the 50+ films he made, Lipstein was nominated for an Oscar for "A Man Called Peter" (1955)

The top grossing films in 1957 were "Bridge on the River Kwai", "Peyton Place", "Sayonara", "Old Yeller", and "Raintree County". The big Oscar winners were "Kwai" (Picture, Director, Actor) and "Sayonara" (Actor, Supporting Actress). Other notable films released that year include "Three Faces of Eve", "Pal Joey", "Funny Face", and "Witness for the Prosecution".

The River's Edge is a curious film. Though it appears in bright Technicolor, the first hour sets the tone for a classic film noir. But then things break down as an overlong escape through the desert/mountains turns out to offer redemption for one of the characters and a happy ending for the other two, and moves away from film noir. I suspect that the conventions of film noir conflicted with the conventions of the western, and unable to reconcile the two, Dwan went with the western, a genre he was more familiar with.

Bottom line - an unsuccessful attempt to blend westerns and film noir offers good acting and wonderful on location scenery.

I purchased this because I know Ray Milland to be an excellent actor, as indeed he is. Regardless, this is one horribly done, unrealistic, ridiculous movie. If you are interested in good Ray Milland movies, try "Dial M For Murder, and/or "The Lost Weekend".