Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

dougdoepke 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.

mark.waltz While this has nothing to do with the Arthur Miller play "All My Sons" that Edward G. Robinson starred in the film version of, he does play a father of four grown men whose resentment towards their father covers a variety of different reasons. Robinson is an Italian immigrant on New York's lower East Side who makes good as the founder of a bank. He runs his loan division with high interest rates and no collateral, and this makes him subject to an investigation by the Feds. Son Richard Conte, his absolute favorite, is resented by his three older brothers who feel worthless in their father's eyes. Robinsons' old school ideals don't mesh with American values, and some of his ruthless ways fall on each of them, causing impending violence between Conte and the others.This is a modern day Greek tragedy, and features interesting psychological study of each of the main characters. Susan Hayward is the top billed female as a sexy client of Conte's who ends up falling in love with her in spite of the fact that he is engaged to the pretty Diana Douglas. When the chips fall on Robinson because of his illegal banking activities, it is Conte who takes the plunge with them, and the brothers use this as an opportunity to get revenge on dad. Luther Adler, Paul Valentine and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. are the other brothers, and Esther Minciotti (the mother in "Marty") is Robinson's quiet, long-suffering wife who would rather have a simple life back in the old country rather than the rich life Robinson has given her. Right before her Oscar nominated role in "Caged", the large Hope Emerson gives a showy performance as Douglas's domineering Italian mama.The strongest performances are of course by Robinson (using a convincing Sicilian accent) and Conte. Esther Minciotti is amazing in her one strong scene where she unleashes her fury on her sons. The screenplay is powerful (later successfully re-adapted as the Western, "Broken Lance"), and Joseph L. Mankiewicz's direction is masterful. Beautifully filmed with a spooky look at the abandoned house all of the sons were raised in, "House of Strangers" is an absolute must see as a view of how power corrupts and how dynasties fall when they don't stick together.

MartinHafer Joseph L. Mankiewicz had an amazing fun in Hollywood during the late 1940s and into the 50s. Aside from his HUGE misfire later in life ("Cleopatra"), he had an incredible string of successes--one brilliant film after another. Just think about it--he directed "A Letter to Three Wives", "House of Strangers", "No Way Out", "All About Eve" and "People Will Talk" all one after the other! Any one of these films would make a director proud--and yet Mank also wrote these films! Wow."House of Strangers" is unusual for me because I rarely watch a movie more than once (this could explain part of how I've reviewed so many movies). But, because I loved it so much the first time, I thought I'd watch it again. The film was remade only a few years later as "Broken Lance"--also a good film but not in the same league as "House of Strangers". It was also remade only a few years after that as "The Big Show". Obviously, it was an awfully good script.The film begins with one son (Richard Conte) arriving at his huge family home. It seems he'd just completed a stretch in prison. Why he went to prison and what's happened in this family unfolds slowly through the course of the film. I really like this style. Instead of telling a straight sequential narrative, this approach increases the suspense greatly.As for the rest of the cast, the film is filled with some great talents. Edward G. Robinson is at his best as a manipulative and dictatorial family patriarch--and proves he was much more than a one-note actor who played gangsters. Luther Adler, Susan Hayward and even a young Efrem Zimbalist Jr. are on hand to round out the cast. And, although I mentioned him earlier, Conte is great--and it's one of his best roles (along with the highly underrated "Thieves' Highway").The bottom line is like the best of Mankiewicz's films, it's all about PEOPLE and ACTING. You don't watch a Mankiewicz film for spectacle or action (thus the failure of "Cleopatra") but for dynamite acting, great characters and dialog--fantastic, fantastic dialog. For example, watch the scene where Hayward and Conte first meet--it's brilliant and memorable. Also, the ending is just great--very tense and very brutal--sort of like a 'family noir' picture!

edwagreen This is an outstanding film with Edward G. Robinson giving a superb performance as an old-lined Italian banker, playing the game for his economic gain at the hardship of others. It takes a depression and subsequent government intervention in banking to bring Gino Minotti (Robinson)Gino had 4 sons played with relish in particular by Richard Conte, as the attorney who attempted to bribe a juror, and Luther Adler, the son who was scorned by his father throughout life and brought unbelievable revenge.Susan Hayward shows that absolute gritty facade as the woman who loved Conte and brought him back to life after prison. Hayward shows that famous swagger walking up to a bar. I thought that in some of the scenes Hayward and Conte were practicing for "I'll Cry Tomorrow," 6 years later.Anyone notice that the ending music was the same theme played 3 years before in "The Razor's Edge?"The picture succeeds because it depicts the differences in immigrant life before and after reaching America. Greed, ambition and hate were never better depicted.