A MAN IS TEN FEET TALL (EDGE OF THE CITY)

US, 1957, 88 minutes, Black and white.
Sidney Poitier, John Cassavetes, Jack Warden, Ruby Dee, Kathleen Maguire, Ruth White.
Directed by Martin Ritt.

A Man is Ten Feet Tall is a fine film that should prove popular to most audiences, even though it dates from the mid-50s. It was the first film directed by Martin Ritt, who later developed his talent for exploring characters well within a very well developed and portrayed social background.

Sidney Poitier is excellent and vital in his role here, something of the humour he shows in his Oscar-winning Lilies of the Field. His later films show him as more silently noble. John Cassavetes was at the beginning of his acting career and performs well, as does the versatile Jack Warden.

There is a toughness about the film along with some wonderful sequences on the nature of true friendship.

1. The film had two titles. Which appeals to you more as an appropriate title? Why?

2. The film opened with running, a sense of urgency, a man alone in a dingy city. How well did this set the tone for the film?

3. What were your first impressions of Axel? Did you like him? Why his attempts to get a job, dependence on Charlie and friends, yet his surliness when pushed around? What did you think was wrong with him?

4. How effective was the sequence of his phoning his parents and keeping his hand over the receiver while talking? Why couldn't he communicate? Why did each parent react in love and anger?

5. What kind of man was Charlie Malek? Did he have any likeable and redeeming qualities?

6. Did you like Tommy Tyler? Why? Why did he offer friendship? Did he have any obligations? Did he approach Axel well or clumsily? Why did Axel respond eventually (and why was he intellectually so suspicious)?

7. How important was it for Axel to talk to T and for T to listen? What did you learn about Axel and his condition - especially his way of talking about his brother, his father, the accident, his trying to prove himself in the army, his desertion? What stage had he reached when he could talk like this to T?

8. Was he too dependent on T, especially at work? Why did Charlie want to get to him? Why did he hate T? How important was the race theme?

9. Hew desperate was the fight? Why did T fight? How angry was he? What did he mean by saying "This is nonsense" before being killed?

10. What comment on the yards, the men, fear and Charlie did the workers' refusal to say anything make?

11. How fearful was Axel? What should he have done? Was T's wife right to be so angry? What effect did this have on Axel?

12. How important was the phone call to his parents, his communication, their love for him and their acceptance?

13. Was the final fight and death an appropriate conclusion? What did it do to Axel? Was it too crudely violent? Was it the only way justice would be done?

14. What kind of man was Axel at the end? Had he become ten feet tall?

15. What human values were to the fore in this film? What insights into loving and friendship did it give? Is it accurate to call T a Christ figure, giving his life for his friend?