La maison des étrangers

House of Strangers is directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and adapted to screenplay by Phillip Yordan from Jerome Weidman's novel I'll Never Go There Any More. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Luther Adler, Paul Valentine and Efrem Zimbalist. Plot finds Robinson as Gino Monetti, an Italian American banker who whilst building up the family business has ostracised three of his four sons. When things go belly up for Gino and the bank, the three sons turn against their father, the other, Max (Conte), stays loyal but finds himself set up for a prison stretch. Untimely since he's started to fall in love with tough cookie Irene Bennett (Hayward).

Jerome Weidman's novel has proved to be a popular source for film adaptation, after this 20th Century Fox produced picture came the Western version with Broken Lance in 1954 (Yordan again adapting), and then Circus set for The Big Show in 1961. While its influence can be felt in many other, more notable, crime dramas along the way. The divided clan narrative provides good basis for drama and lets the better actors shine on the screen with such material. Such is the case with House of Strangers, which while hardly shaking the roots of film noir technically, does thematically play out as an engrossing, character rich, melodrama.

Propelled by a revenge core peppered with hate motives instead of love; and dabbling in moral ethics et al, Mankiewicz spins it out in flashback structure. The primary focus is on Max and Gino, with both given excellent portrayals by Conte and Robinson. Gino is a driven man, very dismissive towards three of his boys (Adler standing out as Joe) who he finds easy to find fault with. But Max is spared the tough love, Gino admires him and sees him very much as an equal, which naturally irks the other brothers something rotten. This all comes to a head for the final quarter where the pace picks up and the tale comes to its prickly, if not completely satisfactory, ending.

In the mix of family strife we have been privy to Max's burgeoning relationship with Irene (Hayward sassy), which positively simmers with sexual tension, or maybe even frustration? This in spite of the fact he is engaged to be married to the homely innocent Maria (Debra Paget). So with dad Gino proving to be, well, something of an ungrateful bastard, and Max cheating on his intended, clearly this is not a film about good old family values coming to the fore! Then there's the small matter of brother betrayal and the case of the foolish decision making process, all elements that keep the viewer hooked till the last. 7/10

"House of Strangers" features three of my all-time favorite actors--Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward and Richard Conte--all at the very top of their form, as well as moody, almost noirish direction by the great Joseph L. Mankiewicz, in moody black and white. Those ingredients alone should indicate that a fine work is in store for the viewer, and such, happily, is the case here. The tale is told mainly in flashback, in which we learn how the four sons of Lower East Side banker Edward G. became enemies after their Pop got into some legal trouble. Susan Hayward, never more beautiful, plays a high-class dame who becomes involved with lawyer Conte, despite Conte's engagement to a proper Italian girl from "the old country." The relationship between Hayward and Conte is very adult for the restrictive late '40s. By the film's end, we really come to care about these two and hope that they can survive as a couple. As usual, Edward G. gives a bravura performance, this time as the domineering patriarch of his Italian clan. I believe his performance received a well-deserved award at Cannes that year. Conte and Hayward, both of whose careers are ripe for reevaluation and rediscovery, match him every step of the way. Luther Adler is fine also, in his role as Conte's elder brother, who feels he never got the respect he deserved. Deborah Paget, in one of her earliest parts, looks fine in a decorative role. For me, though, the main lure of this picture is the triumvirate of superb acting by the three leads. What a pleasure it is to watch these three great talents do justice to the well-written script here. I just love this movie, and suspect that a real treat is in store for the first-time viewer. Check it out, by all means!

This film is intense. The story is solid. The acting is riveting. There is nothing slow or lukewarm about this film. In my opinion this film is much better,realistic and poignant than the entire bloated 'Godfather' trilogy. It will stick with you I promise.

This is one of those well-crafted films from Twentieth-Century Fox when that studio employed some extraordinary talents both before and behind the cameras. Although he wasn't a Fox contractee, Edward G. Robinson gives a great performance as a wealthy Italian family's patriarch and he is well-matched by everyone else in the cast, especially Richard Conte, Luther Adler, and Susan Hayward, looking terrifically classy. The script bears some obvious signs of being polished by the director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and the technical credits are absolutely top-drawer.

Remade as a Western in CinemaScope and Color by DeLuxe in 1954, entitled "Broken Lance" with Spencer Tracy cast as the domineering father, the direction by Edward Dmytryk was not up to the standard of this earlier film with its then contemporary setting. This one is available on video (and seems to be very rarely exhumed on TV now) and is definitely worth a look.

Try and imagine Little Caesar getting out of the rackets and taking his hard stolen loot and setting up a bank. Then Mr. Bandello marries and has four sons.

You've got Gino Monetti who now that he's no longer terrorizing citizens confines his terrors to his own family. He's got four grown sons and he treats them like the hired help. All except Richard Conte who instead of working for him directly at the bank uses the bank's space for his law office.

I think that's the key to this film. The other three sons Luther Adler, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., and Paul Valentine all do work for him and he can treat them like dirt. Conte on the other hand, does not work for him, he's made his own career. By Robinson's logic, he's earned a certain amount of respect.

So he pits them against each other. Unfortunately Robinson's banking practices which are not exactly legal catch up with him. He's forced to turn the bank over to the three sons in an effort to save the bank.

Conte also tries to bribe a juror to save dear old Dad and gets disbarred and a stretch of seven years in prison for his troubles. Conte's out now and looking to even things up with his siblings.

Robinson who's played all kinds of immigrants of many nationalities has covered the Italian ground before. But he's real good as the scheming, sadistic patriarch who in fact gets a deserved comeuppance from his sons. All four sons are fine in their roles with Richard Conte and Luther Adler deserving particular attention.

Susan Hayward is the girl who waits for Conte. She must be in love with him. A disbarred attorney isn't exactly a dream prospect. She was just entering into the height of her career and this role was a career boost.

House of Strangers is far superior to the western setting remake that 20th Century Fox did five years later entitled Broken Lance