Edge of Eternity (1959) starring Cornel Wilde, Victoria Shaw, Mickey Shaughnessy, Edgar Buchanan directed by Don Siegel Movie Review

Edge of Eternity (1959)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Victoria Shaw and Cornel Wilde in Edge of Eternity (1959)

Not Enough Edge

After a troubled case caused him to leave Denver, Les Martin (Cornel Wilde) settled down in a small Arizona town where he works as a deputy sheriff and where life is quiet with only the occasional speeder to deal with. That is until old Eli Jones (Tom Fadden) finds a man with his hands tied behind his back hanging in his home and now Les is going to have to call on his old detective skills and the help of a few friends including Janice Kendon (Victoria Shaw), the speed loving daughter of local mine owner Jim (Alexander Lockwood) who it turns out was the boss of the hanging man. But it seems someone may have been stealing from the mines and a series of people paid with their lives to keep things quiet.

There is a lot of beauty in "Edge of Eternity"; Victoria Shaw is gorgeous whilst the views of the Grand Canyon are both beautiful and breathe taking. But in truth get beyond the beauty and Don Siegel's crime story surrounding a deputy with a troubled past trying to solve the mystery surrounding a trio of deaths in the Canyon does little for me. The trouble is that it isn't overly realistic, full of plot holes and cliches so it plods along, going here and there till we get to the final 20 minutes and then all of a suddenly something comes to the attention of Martin and in facing danger cracks the case.

I suppose in truth "Edge of Eternity" probably was a good movie when it was released as it delivered what audiences wanted back in 1959 and it had the Don Siegel trademark action as well. But everything about it, even down to the way a judge leans forward in his seat to talk during a case is typical and nothing stands out.

What this all boils down to is that "Edge of Eternity" is a typical cop movie of the late 1950s. It probably still will entertain those who watched it when it was first released but for those who discover it now for the first time might find its typical nature to ordinary.


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