''The River's Edge'' is a 1957 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

adventure, crime, and drama DeLuxe

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

film directed by

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, was ...

and starring

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...

and

Debra Paget Debra Paget (born Debralee Griffin; August 19, 1933) is an American actress and entertainer. She is perhaps best known for her performances in Cecil B. DeMille's epic ''The Ten Commandments'' (1956) and in Elvis Presley's film debut, '' Love Me ...

. The picture is based on the unpublished short story "The Higher Mountain" by

Harold Jacob Smith Harold Jacob Smith (July 2, 1912 – December 28, 1970) was an American screenwriter. His screenplay for ''The Defiant Ones ''The Defiant Ones'' is a 1958 American adventure drama film which tells the story of two escaped prisoners, one whit ...

. Location filming was done in

Amecameca Amecameca is a municipality located in the eastern panhandle of Mexico State between Mexico City and the Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl volcanos of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It is located on federal highway 115 which leads to Cuautla, w ...

and

Iztaccihuatl Iztaccíhuatl (alternative spellings include Ixtaccíhuatl, or either variant spelled without the accent) ( or, as spelled with the x, ), is a dormant volcanic mountain in Mexico located on the border between the State of Mexico and Puebla wit ...

in Mexico.
The supporting cast features

Harry Carey, Jr. Henry George Carey Jr. (May 16, 1921 – December 27, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films, including several John Ford Westerns, as well as numerous television series. Early life Carey was born on a ranch near ...

and

Chubby Johnson Charles Randolph "Chubby" Johnson (August 13, 1903 – October 31, 1974) was an American film and television supporting character actor with a genial demeanor and warm, country-accented voice. Early years Johnson was the son of entertaine ...

Plot

Ben Cameron is a struggling New Mexico rancher who is devoted to his wife Meg. They married while she was on parole for a ten-year prison sentence. Meg has not adjusted to ranch life and she still loves her former partner in crime, Nardo Denning, who abandoned her after her arrest. After an argument with Ben, Meg prepares to leave him. Denning arrives and wants Ben to help him cross the border to Mexico. Ben refuses, and Denning and Meg leave for town. Ben finds a photograph of Denning and realizes that he and Meg were lovers. Denning apologizes for deserting Meg and reveals that he has $1 million in cash from a recent job. While driving, they are stopped by a police officer who looks into the trunk. Denning backs over him several times. Hysterical, Meg runs from the car and Denning drives towards her before crashing into a boulder. He tells her he backed over the officer by accident. Ben returns to the ranch, where he finds Denning and Meg. Ben wants her to go to the police, but Meg refuses because they will find out she violated her parole. Denning eventually agrees to give Ben $10,000 for escorting him and Meg over the border. After Denning kills a friend of Ben's, Meg realizes that he is a coldblooded killer. During an attempt to escape him, she cuts her arm on a barbed wire fence. She tells Ben she no longer loves Denning. Later, Meg collapses due to her infected injury. They shelter in a cave, where Ben starts a fire with his $10,000 to boil water for her injured arm. He tells her he would wait forever for her if she went back to jail. The next morning, Denning and Ben fight, resulting in Ben being pinned under a boulder. He gives Denning a choice of paths: to an airport or to a village that will send help for him and Meg. That night, Denning is knocked into a gorge while trying to stop a truck. Ben and Meg find the money and Denning's broken body, discovering that he was going for help. They bury him and return home to face the consequences of the past few days.

Cast

as Nardo Denning *

as Ben Cameron *

as Meg Cameron *

as Chet *

as Whiskers *

Byron Foulger Byron Kay Foulger (August 27, 1898 – April 4, 1970) was an American character actor who over a 50-year career performed in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions. Early years Born in Ogden, Utah, Byron was the second of four ...

as Barry * Tom McKee as U.S. Border Patrol Captain * Frank Gerstle as Harry Castleton

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:River's Edge, The 1957 films American crime drama films 1950s crime films 20th Century Fox films Films directed by Allan Dwan 1957 adventure films Films based on short fiction Films shot in Mexico 1950s English-language films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links