Having witnessed the murder of his boss, Jason Roote, sales manager George Radcliffe (Coop) is a key prosecution witness at the trial of fellow Roote Air Freight Corporation employee, Donald Heath. It is revealed through Radcliffe's testimony that a large sum of money, from the collection of the COD payments, was expected the evening of the murder, and that in addition to himself and Mr. Roote being present, Heath had volunteered to work overtime and was in the building as well. Shortly after Mr. Roote departed George's office for his own, he was stabbed to death, and alerted to the crime by the victim's cry, George reached the hallway in time to see a man running from the building. Following the retreating figure, George ended up in the building's boiler room, where he discovered Donald Heath. Although the satchel of money was never found, the case is fairly open-and-shut, and the jury soon renders a guilty verdict, causing Heath to lose his composure and shout that he is innocent, that Radcliffe is, in fact, the murderer.
Several years pass, during which George Radcliffe and his business associate, Morris Brooke (Michael Wilding), become prosperous through a successful venture. It is then that the contents of a mailbag stolen five years earlier are forwarded to those for whom they had originally been intended. One of the pieces of mail, which George's wife, Martha (Deborah Kerr), opens is a letter from a Jeremy Clay, claiming that he knows Radcliffe was the man who really killed Jason Roote.
Although Martha insists that she doesn't believe the words of the letter, she is, nevertheless, very troubled by them. Recalling an angry altercation George (whom she calls Cliff) had with a man after the trial, and reflecting on the prosperity which he fell into around that time, Martha begins to get suspicious of her husband. She's not at all sure that he didn't kill Mr. Roote, and it doesn't help that Cliff's behavior is becoming erratic. As Cliff sees it, Martha is acting like a wife who has just begun to suspect a mistress, only her suspicions are worse.
Terrified that her husband is a murderer, Martha begins her own investigation, and the more she digs, the more she is convinced of his guilt. She knows she'll have to turn him in, yet she is also aware that Cliff would never allow her to do that...that he would do whatever it takes to keep her silent. She begins to fear for her own life.
Did George Radcliffe kill Jason Roote? Did he frame an innocent man and then send him to prison with his testimony? Will Martha discover what really happened? Will she go to the police with her suspicions, even if it means turning in her own husband? These are the questions which will play out in the balance of the film. By the end of the film, you will know who killed Jason Roote...and, in the same spirit as in Witness for the Prosecution, you will be asked to not reveal the secret to those who have not yet seen it. (I'm not one for spoilers anyhow, but with the movie's producers requesting discretion, I would certainly not reveal how everything turns out.)
This film is fascinating, and it has some very Hitchcock-esque qualities to it, particularly the scenes on the London streets and the scene in which Martha is listening to a Philharmonic concert on TV, while a man prepares to silence her in the bathroom upstairs. The musical score is terrific and adds greatly to the suspense. Deborah Kerr is perfect as the "I don't want to believe it, but I just can't help it," terrified wife. I thought she played the part with absolute believability. Gary Cooper, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable in his role. Oh, he wasn't horrible, but he just seemed stiff and wooden. Of course, his character was meant to be mysterious, so that could be it. Or perhaps he was uncomfortable portraying a man who may have committed a murder and is about to commit another. Even more likely, the early stages of his final battle with cancer were upon him here, and he was undoubtedly feeling the effects of them. Whatever it was, my darling Coop just seemed a bit out of his element here in The Naked Edge.
Despite Coop being a bit off, though, I really loved this film and found every minute of it be exciting. I was quite on the edge of my seat through the entire thing and, in fact, had considered it to be a 5-star film. I realize, however, that my effusiveness is somewhat because of my love for Coop, my excitement at discovering a "new to me" film of his, and the suspense of not knowing how it would turn out. In truth, I don't think repeat viewings (when you know how everything will turn out) will have quite the same effect on me; thus, I think future viewings will see me going with 4 stars, so that is how I am rating it now. Regardless---4 or 5 stars---it's an exciting, interesting, suspenseful, "Gary Cooper as you've never seen him before" film, well worth seeing and which I highly recommend.
There is a real bittersweetness to catching this film, though, because it is Coop's final film. The knowledge that my beloved guy's long and distinguished career had reached its end and that his beautiful, charismatic presence would never again grace the silver screen, is quite sorrowful. Adding to the sorrow is my awareness that it wasn't just Coop's career which was ending...it was his very life. Not long after completion of this film, he would succumb to cancer and depart this world at the too-young age of 60. In fact, The Naked Edge wasn't released in the U.S. until after his death. (His hometown of Helena, Montana, was the first U.S. city to screen it---June 28, 1961---two days before its New York screening.)
The film is not out on DVD, nor is it on the TCM schedule in the near future. However, it is available on VHS, plus it's available in its entirety on YouTube (HERE). Do try to catch it if you can.
Happy viewing!!