Edge of Eternity

Filmed on location in a grandiose site, the movie is a taut suspenseful murder mystery ,close to English whodunit.The last scene , on the "dancing bucket" is not recommended for people suffering from vertigo ,a tour de force by Don Siegel whose movies are short (this one, the remake of "the killers "or his masterpiece "invasion of the body snatchers " ) but highly effective . Cornel Wilde has style in his green uniform and Victoria Shaw ,though a reckless driver, is an endearing character ,particularly when she talks about the past of the place .

Don Siegel has an eye for the visuals in this mystery story set in the Grand Canyon but the plot and dialogue are merely serviceable. Deputy Sheriff Les Martin (Cornell Wilde) patrols the canyon area which includes an abandoned gold mine. He listens to a tall story told by an old timer of a beaten up guy he saw when he suddenly pursues Janice Kendon (Victoria Shaw) the daughter of a local mine owner who speeds past him and after he books her they begin flirting with each other. Pretty soon the deputy is investigating missing men, murders and looking into whether gold is being smuggled out of the mine works. You have an old coot, a drunken son, a hostile father, a foreman, a comic relief and any one of them could be the shady heavy. There is an entertaining climax with the cable cars high above the canyon and there seemed to be a real bat cave full of bat crap which was involved in the location filming. I think a bit of bat poo went into the script.

A breezy, well-acted yarn attractively shot on location in Arizona in colour & 'scope, this film marking of one of Don Siegel's final assignments for hire has a climax that isn't for anyone scared of heights. The real star is the Grand Canyon which dominates the proceedings with billing to match.

Don Siegel was an outstanding action director,and although the plotting in EDGE OF ETERNITY is unremarkable,the lushly photographed locations(mostly around the Grand Canyon)and exciting action climax make it very watchable.Cornel Wilde is adequate in a predominately minor cast,but Mickey Shaughnessy and Jack Elam would have been better swapping their roles;despite his comic sense,Elam was always more effective as a slimy villain,whereas Shaughnessy,mostly known for his comedic parts,seems far too genial for this type of part. Still,a lot better than you'd expect,thanks to Siegel's skill at directing.

Don Siegel would become known for his high-impact, well-structured films, with good storylines, and usually got the most out of his actors. One of them, Clint Eastwood, not only had memorable performances under his direction, but fully absorbed the master's lessons and later devoted himself to directing, with the same commitment and grit as Siegel. The film is not only an adventure in the wilderness of the desert, very well filmed, but an above average cop and also an excellent thriller. The protagonist is the great Cornel Wilde, who had beautiful adventures in the 1940s, spanning the 1950s, and a second heavyweight team: Mickey Shaughnessy, Edgar Buchanan and Jack Elam, respectable presences in any film. It's really a thrilling movie, a great show, very good !!!

I'm indebted to Peter Bogdanovich for the information in his interview with Don Siegel in Who The Devil Made It. It seems the studio made it just to fulfil its obligation to Cornel Wilde. The story isn't good, it's made cheaply and the cast isn't the best, but the bucket sequence that closes the film is outstanding. "I guarantee your hands will be absolutely wet. Every shot was death...and we didn't kill anybody!" Cornel Wilde does well enough, Virginia Shaw, with her delightful resemblance to Kay Kendall, adds a bit of spirit to the picture, and Mickey Shaughnessy as the glib, easy going barkeep has a couple of memorable scenes.

Yeez. What a bore. 80 minutes of staring at the deep pit and dry rocks of the Grand Canyon. Dull, uncharismatic actors, characters you don't care about and a dull script several murders can't even liven up. The 1958 Edsel wagon and the Thunderbird convertible are the most interesting elements of this film. Don't bother unless the dry desert landscape makes you tingle.