edge of eternity

In 1959, the movies still served as a sort of "staycation," allowing audiences to see the world without leaving their local theater. While studios often glommed this travelogue approach onto existing creative properties (e.g. King Solomon's Mines or Ian Fleming's Bond adaptations), they weren't above milking locations a little closer to home for some dramatic appeal. Case in point, director Don Siegel’s Edge of Eternity, which stages a rather lackluster noir / mystery in one of the most spectacular settings in North America: the Grand Canyon.

Les Martin (Cornel Wilde) is the Deputy Sheriff of a faded Arizona mining town suddenly facing a string of murders. His instincts lead him to the Kendon family, whose patriarch owns the local gold mine, which went belly-up after WW2. After a string of dead ends and more bodies, daughter Janice Kendon (Victoria Shaw) proves to be a wealth of information - and romantic possibilities. Together they begin to link the killings to a likely motive and one unanswered question: how much gold is left in the abandoned Kendon mine?

Edge of Eternity is the sort of B-movie detour you'd expect Don Siegel (Dirty Harry) to knock out of the park. But even with its short running time (only 80 minutes), the movie meanders through a low-stakes plot without ever making much of a dramatic impression. After a stunning opening action scene at the rim of the canyon, we're subjected to an endless "meet-cute" car chase between Wilde and Shaw while another important murder is happening off-screen! It's one of several questionable creative choices that Siegel makes throughout the film, despite having some fine character actors (Siegel regular Jack Elam and Petticoat Junction's Edgar Buchanan) at his disposal and a likable leading man.

But the real star of the picture is its location, offering breathtaking views of one of the 8 Wonders of the World in equally breathtaking Cinemascope. The memorable finale, hyped on the original poster and Twilight Time's new artwork, includes a fist fight atop an unstable tram bucket (full of bat guano, no less!) suspended hundreds of feet above the gorge. It's a scenario that's been recreated dozens of times, from Where Eagles Dare to (once again) James Bond, but the recognizable background somehow makes the sequence more visually iconic. Plus, it costs a whole lot less than an annual park pass!

Twilight Time's 3000-copy limited edition is another stunning presentation of a movie could only be appreciated in hi-def. The colors and widescreen composition pack quite a punch, especially on larger displays. Extras include an isolated score track, liner notes and audio commentary with film historian C. Courtney Joyner and Nick Redman.