Edge of the City

An Army deserter (John Cassavetes) gains employment as a stevedore through use of a false name and forms a tight bond with a black coworker (Sidney Poitier) while another prejudiced longshoreman (Jack Warden) blackmails, bullies, and pushes him to the end of his rope. Martin Ritt's melodramatic Edge of the City suffers from a lack of realism it clearly strives to achieve but is assuredly directed in sharp black and white and boasts strong supporting performances from Warden and Ruby Dee as Poitier's wife.

*** out ****

Norma Rae

A poor, provincial single mother (Sally Field) laboring in poor work conditions alongside her father in a Southern textile mill acquaints rabble rousing New Yorker (Ron Liebman) sent by the union and gradually becomes involved in the cause. Norma Rae is an impeccably filmed, late career outing from versatile, socially conscious director Martin Ritt (Sounder, Hud, The Spy who Came in From the Cold) and a showcase for Field although the picture is anticlimactic, doesn't really have a conclusion, and leaves several things open. Liebman is obnoxious and given to preaching (both of which are called for however) and Beau Bridges, playing Field's affectionate coworker, has a thankless, and underdeveloped role. Despite its flaws, it is still a pleasure to see a work of such care and craft that feels largely absent from today's productions.

*** out of ****

Hud

As infection threatens to wipe out the heard, a cruel and selfish cattle rancher (Paul Newman) lives wildly and dejectedly on his family's homestead inspiring admiration from his nephew (Brandon De Wilde), disappointment from his father (Melvyn Douglas), and both lust and fear in his emotionally wounded housekeeper (Patricia Neal). Directed by Martin Ritt from a Larry McMurtry story, Hud is a perfectly realized, doleful and wretched anti-Western, heavy on atmosphere, exquisitely filmed, and featuring an unforgettable cast.

**** out of ****

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

A withered and tried intelligence officer returns home to London after losing one of his undercover agents while trying to cross the East Berlin border. Following a brief respite, on orders of headquarters, he descends into an alcohol fused spiral and romances a communist sympathizer, in an attempt to stage a defection to the Soviet Union and capture the officer responsible for his agent's murder. "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" is an icy and utterly realistic (especially in the face of the then surging Bond series) adaptation of John le Carré's espionage thriller, handled exquisitely, in stark black and white, by directing great Martin Ritt. Le Carré's labyrinthian plot is presented clearly, and features a masterful performance from Richard Burton, playing the detached and disillusioned operative. Claire Bloom is also excellent as the naive innocent who becomes the government pawn. In addition to the great spy material, the technical details, and Burton's commanding performance, what elevates "TSWCIFTC" is its investiture in the tragic, human elements of its story.
**** out of ****