Plot
The film opens with Father Roth counseling another priest named George, who wants to leave the parish because he's discouraged by the difficulties of caring for the parishioners. Roth tells him the story of Martin Lynn, a murderer who brought him "nearer to god". Martin is continually on edge for lack of money, needed to take his sick mother to Arizona so she can get better and so he can marry his girlfriend. His mother is deeply religious but Martin resents the Catholic church, specifically Father Kirkman for refusing to give his father a proper burial after he killed himself. When his mother finally dies he wanders down the stairway of his apartment house despondently, but stops on the next floor down when Craig, an older man with gambling issues but a smooth talker, asks him to pick up a paper for him. Craig sympathizes with Martin about wanting a big funeral for his mother, but tells him he won't be able to borrow the money for it, though his mother deserves it. "Somewhere out there someone owes you something. All you gotta do is have the nerve to collect", he says. As Martin walks the street, Roth's voiceover suggests that Martin, angry and full of shame, has had his young mind poisoned by Craig's advice. In Father Kirkman's office Martin demands the church give his mother a big funeral but Kirkman says it is a poor parish and they do not have the money. Kirkman writes Martin's name and address on a notepad as a memo to himself, planning for a simple funeral. As Martin speaks, he uses the same phrases Craig gave him, saying his mother is "owed" a big funeral and he's come to "collect". When Kirkman raises his voice because Martin refuses to leave, Martin snaps and hits him with the base of a crucifix. Before leaving he wipes his fingerprints off the weapon and takes the top sheet of the notepad with his name and address on it. On his way home he passes a movie theater that has just been held up by Craig and is caught in the gawking crowd. Panicking, he flees from the crowd, attracting the attention of two policemen looking for the robber, who arrest him on suspicion of robbery. Father Roth, at the station for another young man, vouches for him and escorts him home. Later, the police pull in Craig for the murder of Kirkman because he once threatened the priest, when he warned his fiancée (now his wife) about Craig's criminal past. At the funeral home Martin runs into Father Roth, who takes him to the church to counsel him. While Roth prepares tea, Martin overhears an elderly lady who has come to say she can identify a man (him) she saw ringing the church's doorbell just before the murder, and he leaves in a panic. Taking a phone call at Father Kirkman's desk, Father Roth absentmindedly rubs a pencil on the notepad Kirkman used, revealing the outlines of Martin's name and address, giving him to believe that Martin had very recently visited Roth and was probably responsible for the murder. The police pull in Martin for an improvised lineup that includes both Martin and Craig, and the elderly lady mistakenly identifies Craig as the man she saw. Bothered by his conscience, Martin goes to the funeral home and prays aloud to his mother, confessing the crime and asking for help. As he finishes praying he finds Roth at the back of the room and asks him for help, then sees a policeman waiting behind the priest and asks for reassurance from Roth that they'll let him go to the funeral. They walk off and the scene transitions back to Father Roth speaking to George, the other priest. Roth says Martin writes him letters from his cell and hopes to pray at the church again sometime in the future.Cast
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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edge Of Doom 1950 films 1950 drama films American black-and-white films Film noir Films based on American novels Films directed by Mark Robson Films scored by Hugo Friedhofer Samuel Goldwyn Productions films American drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Existentialist films Films about Catholic priests