highlight the acting of sidney poitier and the brooding on screen presence of john cassevetes and the edge of the city be a highly watchable film from the fifty and direct by martin ritt . there be great act and stun on location photography in black and white . poitier be a delight at this point in his career and tommy tyler and the character he play be happy and outgo . he befriend axel noordman and play by cassevetes and who be a young man suffer from poor self esteem and a past that he want keep under wrap . tyler and a black man and bring his friend out of his shell and introduce him to his family and a new girlfriend . tyler and noordman be employ on the new york dock at a time when the worker be expect to tow the line and if they know what be good for them . the bos charles malik and play by jack warden and in one of his many hard bitten roles become the focus of discontent and which lead to a climactic showdown with noordman . at the end of the movie and we be leave with mixed emotion . however and the two main character have leave the audience with a story of friendship between two different men in a hostile world .