Edge of Fury

“Sometimes you have to shock people to wake them up.” Hard to match for its peculiarity in the noir cycle, the independent, rarely seen Edge of Fury, co-directed by Robert Gurney, Jr., and Irving Lerner, attempts to combine high art and low budget, and whether the effort is successful is up to the viewer. Confused, brittle, and psychopathic, young Richard Barrie (Michael Higgins) rents a beach cottage to share with a middle-aged woman (Lois Holmes) he just met three weeks earlier (in a supermarket) and her two daughters, sexy Louisa (Doris Lesette) and sweet Eleanor (Jean Allison); it’s clear he’s desperate for a family connection but also can’t suppress his sexual urges, which thoroughly disgust him. Richard embodies extreme noir alienation (he chants “evil” while watching Louisa make love in the sand) but despite his erratic behavior, angry interior monologues, and a brutally violent conclusion, the filmmakers paint him with tremendous pathos; a scene when he hosts a party, reluctantly attended by the sisters and their boyfriends, is as creepy as it is heartbreaking. Meanwhile, the painterly B&W shots of the beach and dunes at dusk add a beauty and normalcy that almost seem out of place. Don’t expect topnotch acting or dialogue, but there’s something fascinating about Edge of Fury that will make a lasting impression.