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It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The movie pretty much stands fabled American success stories on their head. Gino Monetti (Robinson) may be a Horatio Alger of the lower-end banking industry, but it's caused him to fail as a father. Except, for son Max (Conte) he bullies and insults his other three sons. In short, he's become a petty tyrant of the first order. The story details how his transgressions play out.All in all, it's a performance powerhouse, though Robinson spreads on the Big personality pretty thick. Conte, however, remains a badly underrated actor who could make you believe whatever his role. Here, it's really he who's central to both the plausibility and the plot. His extended verbal sparring with Hayward, however, suggests a studio build up of two promising performers, even at the expense of pacing. Then too, Paget and Zimbalist get little more than stand-around-and-look-good roles. But what I really like is a neglected aspect of the script. Instead of just making oldest son Joe (Adler) a vicious product of his ruthless dad, a blonde up-scale wife (Douglas) is plotted in. So now Joe's got to prove himself worthy of her and her social registry standing. So how much humiliation can he tolerate as his dad's lowly bank employee. It's a good motivational addition. It's also worth noting that for most of the film, there's really no one to identify with. Max is most promising, but he's a pretty dour personality, not all that likable. And that's probably as it should be, given his background and context.On the whole, ace writer Yordan has fashioned a challenging screenplay that powerfully subverts many Hollywood rags to riches stories, especially among immigrant ethnics. Also, it's likely no accident that the premise is about corrupt banking practices, a logical target of a lefty like Yordan, (later blacklisted). Anyway, director Mankiewicz has fashioned the touchy elements into a compelling 100-minutes that stands up well even among our changing times.

This is one of Joe Mankiewicz' lesser known films (birthday today 11.2) and definitely among his best ones. Edward G. Robinson performs at his best as the Italian father of a banking family with four brothers embroiled with each other, as usual in Mankiewicz's films a brilliant dialogue mesmerize you all through, Susan Hayward also making a splendid performance. Richard Conte plays the one son who acts honourably, while all the others turn against him and betray their father out of necessity to survive – and let Conte pay for it. When he is freed from prison (which is where the film begins, and we know nothing yet of what has passed), the immediate meeting with his brothers creates the suspense which lasts and constantly grows tighter through the entire film, until the conflict is resolved in the end after many unexpected turns. All actors are at their best, while the lasting impression is made by Conte as a paragon of straight Sicilian nobility, Susan Hayward as a surprising woman of superior character, and above all Edward G. Robinson as the father, who although powerful and successful can't quite follow the new turns of his age. Although autocratic he never becomes unsympathetic, but you rather understand him and have to pity him - he is the tragedy, in a marvellously well-written film script (as all of Joe Mankiewicz' films are) perfectly handled by a masterful director and a set of actors together creating a virtuoso family performance.

The movie needed more development. Robinson wasn't menacing enough to provoke such disdain from his sons. Even his wife seems cold to the point of death. Was he that bad? You don't get that impression. Robinson's character was fairly likable, in fact. Susan Hayward is kinda wasted in her part, but she's nice to look at. The movie isn't much in the way of 'film noir'. Not really suspenseful at all, except a little at the end. Not a bad film. It just needed about 15 more minutes of drama, making Robinson's character a bit more believable as a tyrant and more interplay of conflict between Conte's character and his brothers. Maybe a little more of Hayward too.

HOUSE OF STRANGERS is another classic from the Noir vaults of 20th Century Fox and is one of their very best. Under the guiding hand of the brilliant director Joseph L. Mankiewicz the film emerged in 1949 and remains to this day a remarkable piece of cinema! All credit must go to the excellent screenplay by Philip Yordan, the masterful low key black & white cinematography of Milton Krasner and the atmospheric score by the Russian composer Daniele Amfitheatrof.The stellar cast is headed by the great Edward G. Robinson. Fresh from his wonderful Johnny Rocco in Houston's "Key Largo" Robinson plays Gino Monetti, the Italian immigrant who runs the bank he founded in New York's lower east side. He runs it with an iron fist as he does his family of four sons who work for him. Three of whom are resentful of him because of the poor wages he pays them and the domineering way he treats them. Robinson's Gino Monetti is a deftly crafted and skillful piece of acting and with just the right Italian accent the actor once again demonstrates that he was one of the finest players in American cinema. Watching him here one can't help but think what a fine Corleone he would have made had he been around (he died in 1972 the year "The Godfather" was released)Richard Conte, in one of his best parts, plays the loyal and favoured son Max Monetti with his trademark serious look and in his best oppressed hero style. The other siblings are played by Luther Adler as the oldest and meanest, Efrem Zimbalist as the ladies man and Paul Valentine excellent as a slow witted amateur pugilist. Romantic interest is supplied by the ever lovely and vivacious Susan Hayward whose star at this time was about to start its rise. But it is Robinson's movie from the moment he comes into it - you simply cannot take your eyes of him!Five years later the studio re-fashioned Yordan's screenplay (itself loosely based on Shakespeare's "King Lear") and turned it into a splendid western called "Broken Lance" with Spencer Tracy. This fact is strangely omitted from any text on the DVD?A curious footnote: At the end of the picture we don't hear Amfithetrof's finale music! What we get instead is the end title from Alfred Newman's score for "The Razor's Edge" (1946). Why and how this should be is anybody's guess! Apart from this sloppy denouement it is still a fine movie in a fine package which has a commentary,a trailer and a good behind the scenes still gallery.Classic line from "House Of Strangers".......... When one of Robinson's errant sons declines to help his father during his trial - "I'm sorry pop I don't want to stick my neck out" to which Robinson wryly inquires "Why - what's so good about your neck".