The Very Edge

Last updated

The Very Edge
"The Very Edge" (1962).jpg
Original British quad poster
Directed by Cyril Frankel
Written by
Produced by Raymond Stross
Starring
CinematographyRobert Huke
Edited by Max Benedict
Music by David Lee
Distributed by British Lion Film Corporation
Release date
  • 30 April 1963 (1963-04-30)(UK)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Very Edge is a 1963 British drama film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Anne Heywood, Richard Todd, Jack Hedley, Jeremy Brett and Maurice Denham. [1] A young woman is assaulted and stalked by a maniac.

Contents

Plot

Happily married couple Tracey and architect Geofrey are expecting their first child, when, one fateful day, a maniac breaks into their home and assaults Tracey, causing her subsequent miscarriage. Initially unable to cope with life after the attack, Tracey is unresponsive to her husband, and her great trauma does not heal easily.

Even after moving home, taking a holiday, and showing his wife every consideration, the strain of waiting for a second attack by the obsessive stalker, and his wife's continuing frigidity, tempts Geoffrey to start an affair with his secretary, who's confessed to falling in love with him whilst supporting him after becoming his secretary, and during his wife's hospitalisation. In the meantime, Scotland Yard detective McInnes has been unable to find the psychopath responsible for the assault, and Tracey's safety is still in question as she is constantly stalked by the criminal.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "There may be the germ of an idea in this unbelievable melodrama, but playing and production have destroyed any chance of giving it life. Conceived in cliché, it is an advertising man's (well photographed) dream, with all the O.K. gadgets of modern super-Span living. This would not have been a reproach if treated properly, but as used here it merely illustrates the essential shallowness in attitude and contempt for its audience which run right through the film. Faults in conception are not helped by the general superficiality of the performances, but there are some touches which hint at better things. Anne Heywood makes Tracey believable, and her scenes with the little girl down the road are charming and naturally played. Terror of violence from the under-privileged intruding into a carefree, secure life is lurking at the back of the film, and it would only have needed a little more integrity and artistry to turn the film from an insult to audience intelligence into an interesting piece of cinema." [2]

The Radio Times noted, "Another British cheapie that hoped to lure audiences into auditoriums with the sort of sensationalist story they devoured in their Sunday papers". [3]

TV Guide called it "An effectively handled psychodrama." [4]

Movie Magazine International wrote, "The intriguing element about The Very Edge, under Cyril Frankel's assured direction, was that Tracey Lawrence had more of a psychic bond with her attacker than she did with her own husband. ... She had a compassion for his illness and she was, ironically, less of a victim around Mullen than she was around Geoffrey. ... Brett was riveting as the tortured psycho..." [5]

Sky Movies wrote, "Producer Raymond Stross put his wife Anne Heywood through her most strenuous acting test to date when he and Leslie Bricusse thought up this dramatic thriller ... The plot bears a strong resemblance to the previous year's Return of a Stranger [1961] with John Ireland, although that didn't have the benefit of the distinguished supporting cast here." [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)</i> British television series (1969–1970)

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman, and was first broadcast in 1969 and 1970. In the United States, it was given the title My Partner the Ghost.

Sanditon (1817) is an unfinished novel by the English writer Jane Austen. In January 1817, Austen began work on a new novel she called The Brothers, later titled Sanditon, and completed eleven chapters before stopping work in mid-March 1817, probably because of illness. R.W. Chapman first published a full transcription of the novel in 1925 under the name Fragment of a Novel.

<i>The Spy in Black</i> 1939 film by Michael Powell

The Spy in Black is a 1939 British film, and the first collaboration between the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. They were brought together by Alexander Korda to make the World War I spy thriller novel of the same title by Joseph Storer Clouston into a film. Powell and Pressburger eventually made over 20 films during the course of their partnership.

<i>Multiple Maniacs</i> 1970 American film directed by John Waters

Multiple Maniacs is a 1970 independent American black comedy horror film composed, shot, edited, written, produced, and directed by John Waters, as his second feature film and first "talkie". It features several actors who were part of the Dreamland acting troupe for Waters' films, including Divine, Mary Vivian Pearce, David Lochary, Mink Stole, Edith Massey, George Figgs, and Cookie Mueller. The plot follows a traveling troupe of sideshow freaks who rob their unsuspecting audience members.

<i>The Fox</i> (1967 film) 1967 Canadian drama film

The Fox is a 1967 Canadian drama film directed by Mark Rydell. The screenplay by Lewis John Carlino and Howard Koch is loosely based on the 1923 novella of the same title by D. H. Lawrence. The film marked Rydell's feature film directorial debut.

<i>The Witches</i> (1966 film) 1966 British film by Cyril Frankel

The Witches is a 1966 British horror film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Joan Fontaine, Alec McCowen, Kay Walsh, Ann Bell, Ingrid Boulting and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies. Made by Hammer Films, it was adapted by Nigel Kneale from the 1960 novel The Devil's Own by Norah Lofts.

Cyril Solomon Israel Frankel was a British film and television director. His career in television began in 1953 and he directed for over 30 TV programmes until 1990. He directed many episodes of popular British TV shows, such as The Avengers, and the pilot episodes of the ITC Entertainment shows Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Department S in 1969. In 1970, he directed "Timelash", an episode of UFO, which he described as a very interesting script and one of his personal favourites.

The Late Lancashire Witches is a Caroline-era stage play and written by Thomas Heywood and Richard Brome, published in 1634. The play is a topical melodrama on the subject of the witchcraft controversy that arose in Lancashire in 1633.

<i>The Ghoul</i> (1975 film) 1975 British film by Freddie Francis

The Ghoul is a 1975 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Peter Cushing, John Hurt, Alexandra Bastedo, Veronica Carlson, Gwen Watford, Don Henderson and Ian McCulloch. Francis made the film as a favour for his son, who produced it for Tyburn Film Productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Heywood</span> British actress (1931–2023)

Anne Heywood was a British film actress, who is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1967 film version of D.H. Lawrence's The Fox.

<i>A Terrible Beauty</i> (film) 1960 film by Tay Garnett

A Terrible Beauty is a 1960 drama film directed by Tay Garnett and starring Robert Mitchum, Anne Heywood, Dan O'Herlihy and Richard Harris. It was adapted from a 1958 novel of the same name written by Arthur Roth. The film was an international co-production between Mitchum's production company, D.R.M., and that of producer Raymond Stross.

<i>Floods of Fear</i> 1958 British film by Charles Crichton

Floods of Fear is a 1958 British thriller film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Howard Keel, Anne Heywood and Harry H. Corbett.

<i>Its Hard to Be Good</i> 1948 English film

It's Hard to Be Good is a 1948 British comedy film directed by Jeffrey Dell and starring Jimmy Hanley, Anne Crawford and Raymond Huntley. In the film, an ex-army officer finds his altruistic attempts to improve the world are unsuccessful.

<i>The Demon</i> (1979 film) 1981 South African slasher film

The Demon is a 1981 South African slasher film starring Cameron Mitchell and Jennifer Holmes and directed by Percival Rubens. The film was released in 1981.

<i>Preservation</i> (film) 2014 American film

Preservation is a 2014 horror thriller film that was directed by Christopher Denham. It had its world premiere on April 17, 2014 at the Tribeca Film Festival and stars Wrenn Schmidt as a woman trapped in a forest preserve, stalked by maniacs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz McInnes</span> British Labour politician

Elizabeth Anne McInnes is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Heywood and Middleton from 2014 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she was a Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2016 to 2019 and Communities and Local Government from 2015 to 2016.

Ann Jennifer Evelyn Elizabeth Ross was a British literary muse who for a time financed The London Magazine.

Trevor Engelson is an American film producer and literary manager, whose work has included producing the TV series Snowfall, as well as the 2010 film Remember Me. Prior to his marriage to Tracey Kurland, he was married to Meghan Markle.

<i>Fatale</i> (film) 2020 American psychological thriller film by Deon Taylor

Fatale is a 2020 American psychological thriller film directed by Deon Taylor, from a screenplay by David Loughery. The film stars Hilary Swank, Michael Ealy, Mike Colter, and Danny Pino.

Sanditon is a British historical drama television series adapted by Andrew Davies from an unfinished manuscript by Jane Austen and starring Rose Williams, Crystal Clarke, Theo James, and Ben Lloyd-Hughes. Set during the Regency era, the plot follows a young and naive heroine as she navigates the new seaside resort of Sanditon.

References

  1. "The Very Edge". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  2. "The Very Edge". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 30 (348): 90. 1 January 1963 via ProQuest.
  3. "The Very Edge - Film from RadioTimes".
  4. "The Very Edge". TV Guide.
  5. www.jeremybrett.info. "Jeremy Brett Information :: Archive - Film".
  6. "The Very Edge".