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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

This film appears in John Springer's movie book "Forgotten Films to Remember" by Citadel Press, and certainly lives up to it's name! It is a dark movie about the dysfunctional Monetti family. The late great Edward G. Robinson portrays Gino Monetti, the controlling patriarch banker father that rules his family with an iron fist. Richard Conte gives a sterling performance as the well meaning faithful son, Max Monetti. He takes a prison rap for embezzlement for his aging father. While he is in prison he helplessly learns that his brothers Joe (Luther Adler), Tony (Edward Zimbalist Jr., and Pietro (Paul Valentine plan to take over the family banking business. As a result of this his father dies. Max returns home from prison focused on revenge. Fortunately, Max's girlfriend (Susan Hayward)convinces him that the revenge he seeks is not worth it. Realizing that his father Gino was the real source of hatred and evil in the family, he decides to peacefully leave town with his girlfriend, but is soon confronted by his evil brothers.

Amazingly this 1949 film was re-made in 1954 as a Western of all things! The title of the re-make was "Broken Lance". Same story different setting. Spencer Tracy (Controlling Rancher Father) plays the Robinson (Controlling Banker father) part, Robert Wagner plays the Conte part (Faithful son), Richard Widmark plays the Adler part (Ambitious older brother), Hugh O'Brien plays the Zimbalist part, and Earl Holliman plays the Valentine part (strong arm brother). Both films share a powerful script and good performances. Worth seeing!

In New York, after seven years in prison, the lawyer Max Monetti (Richard Conte) goes to the bank of his brothers Joe (Luther Adler), Tony (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and Pietro Monetti (Paul Valentine) and promises revenge to them. Then he visits his lover Irene Bennett (Susan Hayward) that asks him to forget the past and start a new life.

Max recalls the early 30's, when he is the favorite son of his father Gino Monetti (Edward G. Robinson), who has a bank in the East Side. Gino is a tyrannical and egocentric self-made man that raises his family in an environment of hatred and Max is a competent lawyer engaged with Maria Domenico (Debra Paget). When Max meets the confident Irene, he has a troubled love affair with her. In 1933, with the new Banking Act reaches Gino for misapplication of funds. Max plots a plan to help his father but is betrayed by his brothers.

Now Max will see his brothers that have also being raised under the motto "Never Forgive, Never Forget".

"House of Strangers" is a magnificent film-noir by Joseph L. Mankiewicz with a great story of hatred and forgiveness. Edward G. Robinson has one of his best performances (if not the best) and wins the Best Actor award in the 1949 Cannes Film Festival. Richard Conte has one of his best roles (if not the best) in his well-succeeded career. Susan Hayward is very beautiful and elegant and performs a strong female character. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

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

"House of Strangers" has done me a great service. Richard Conte has always been in my mind as the sadistic husband in "I"ll Cry Tomorrow" - the chap who trips Susan Hayward up so people will think she is drunk, the one who doesn't call her up when he says, so, (he hopes) she will start drinking again. I have seen him in other films but none was able to erase that memory.

So seeing him and Susan Hayward in "House of Strangers" as a fiery but decent couple has softened him in my eyes.

The story is told in flashback as Max (Richard Conte) goes to the bank, after years in prison, to have revenge on his family. Later at the family home he thinks over past events.

Edward G. Robinson plays Gino Monetti a powerful banker whose sons have to do his bidding. Richard Conte plays Max, who is an attorney, instead of following his brothers into the bank. He is also the only son who is treated with respect by the father and the other brothers resent it.

He also begins a tempestuous affair with Susan Hayward while his fiancée (Debra Paget) sits meekly by. The father is bought to trial for "cooking the books" and Max goes to jail for 7 years for trying to bribe a member of the jury. From his cell he is inundated with letters from his father filling him with hatred for his brothers.

The last 15 minutes are a real shock and brings the film up a few notches. Susan Hayward is her typically fiesty self and does a lot more with the character than is written. Edward G. Robinson over-acts as the larger than life Italian banker.

This movie is just superb. I can't believe I had not even heard of it, hopefully this DVD release will help it find a new audience and some deserved critical acclaim. It's billed as film noir, but it really isn't; it's more an extremely complex, suspenseful family drama. But that doesn't even do it justice. The screenplay is terrific, subtle, thoughtful, and at the same time, razor sharp. Some of the exchanges between Conte and Hayward in particular are electrifying. Talk about two 'tough cookies' that ignite when they get together. And you really begin to care deeply about what happens to them. (All of the acting is top notch, across the board.) And then there is the direction by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The movie is so beautifully crafted and feels as if it could have been made yesterday, it's gritty and urban and fresh. The composition in the movie has deep meaning in just about every shot, and is gorgeous to behold besides. Watch this movie.

If you're not told House of Strangers is an Italian-American reboot of King Lear, you might not catch on. But once you figure it out, the similarities will be extremely apparent. Starring Edward G. Robinson, a man's family dynamic is in jeopardy as his four sons, Richard Conte, Luther Adler, Paul Valentine, and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., grow up and turn against each other.

If you're an Edward G. Robinson fan, you'll definitely want to rent this movie to see him in a very meaty role. He's larger than life, warm, strong, forceful, and as always, has a huge heart. If you're a Richard Conte fan, you'll also want to rent this movie. He usually plays a bad guy, but in this movie, he has the biggest part and it's clear from the get-go you're supposed to root for him. Everyone in the film has a natural chemistry together, and the explosive tempers make it very believable they're all one "happy" family. And if you'd liked this version, check out Broken Lance, another modern King Lear adaptation starring Spencer Tracy and Richard Widmark!

I don't get the glowing reviews. The tyrant was betrayed by his wife who created a triumvirate of tyrants and she lost them all. The antihero was a narcissist and his girl was "complicated". If this were the Mob, there would have been blood everywhere. A sad story about sad people.

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.

House Of Strangers (1949) : Brief Review -

A family drama with a powerful noir touch and one of the best vocabularies. Joseph L. Mankiewicz rules, Period. I carry loads of expectations before watching any Joseph L. Mankiewicz film. He has a filmography such that I want to see more and better of his works. Believe it or not, but there hasn't been a single occasion when he has disappointed me, at least from whatever those 10-12 flicks I have seen so far. This man is a genius and on a different level. How did he manage to triumph in every genre by delivering something new every single time? It wasn't just that he mastered the genre's basics; he added something extra and extraordinary to it. House of Strangers is also in the same league. There is so much in this film, and that too after being a family drama. Complex relationships, love, hatred, parental advice, human values, revenge, forgiveness, old culture vs new culture values, an exchange of generations, and what not. House of Strangers got a house full of content. Above all, it has smartly written dialogues. What a fantastic vocabulary and what rapid-fire conversations! The conversations between Max and Irene will blow your mind-you can have my word on it. The screenplay is so engaging that I didn't even realise when those 100 minutes passed. Bow down to the great Edward G. Robinson. The legend at one of the finest workshops on the silver screen. That Italian accent (deliberate grammar mistakes) is top-class. Susan Hayward and Richard Conte's chemistry reminded me of the burning chemistry between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Yes, it has those "To Have and Have Not" (1944) vibes. Lastly, a big salute to the master of the craft, Mr. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. You were, are, and will always be one of my top directors of all time. The more I see of you, the more I want to see. Only God knows when this hunger will stop. Someday, it will, but I will have had my stomach full of great films by that time.

RATING - 7.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Joseph L. Mankiewicz had an amazing run 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!

In 1949, the soon-to-be Hollywood dignitary Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who would win 4 Oscars within two consecutive years (2 for directing and 2 for writing), knocks out two features, while A LETTER TO THREE WIVES takes all the spotlight in January (and the paycheck is Mr. Mankiewicz's first two Oscars, a full-year after), HOUSE OF STRANGERS, released five months later after its debut in Cannes, is ill-fatedly pigeonholed and regarded as a trou normand before the advent of his unqualified pièce de résistance ALL ABOUT EVE (1950), garnering another 2 naked golden statuettes for the champ.

Based on Phillip Yordan's novel I'LL NEVER GO THERE ANY MORE, the film is a studio-bound feud within the Monetti family, the patriarch Gino (Robinson) is an Italian banker in the East Side of New York, who starts his enterprise from scratch, begets four sons and his druthers is the second-born Max (Conte), who is a lawyer by vocation, whereas the other three work for the family bank.

The film starts on the day Max is released from prison after a 7-year stint, bays for blood after an altercation with his brothers and rebuffs the proposition to start anew in San Francisco with his old flame Irene Bennett (Hayward), at that point Gino has already been pushing up daisies. Then the flashback prompts to dwell on the familial tension from its initial stage, how Gino's preferential disposition detrimentally splinters his family into the titular "house of strangers" and causes deep rift when the family bank clashes with government investigation, and the story cogently flags up the capitalistic avarice, posits Gino as an usurious tyrant squeezing pecuniary gain out of the have-nots. Max is the only son who is spoiling for extricating Gino from the legal mire, but he is hoisted by his own petard when he tries to bribe a juror while his eldest brother Joe (Adler) has already secretly shopped him, that costs him a good 7-year and now he is back for vendetta, implanted by a vengeful Gino before his demise, can the ominous fratricide be averted in the eleventh hour?

Edward G. Robinson meritoriously won the BEST ACTOR trophy in Cannes and here his pompous mien writs large through the most compelling register, his Gino is an unrepentant egoist, a terrible father, paternalistic and uncouth, sticks to the value of family and tradition but has no clue that poison has already been interjecting into his progeny through their upbringing: the wicked, the spoiled, the dumb and the craven, here is the Monetti Quartet.

Max, played by a shifty-looking Richard Conte, is at first, nothing less repugnant than his magisterial father (both have the dastardly proclivity for laying their hands on women when confronted, can Mr. Robinson vanquishes a towering Hope Emerson in real life? The odds are not good on him!), but he is bestowed with a redeeming factor that he is the most upstanding one among the offspring to deserve a brighter future, but bemusing still, Max's final change-of-mind is cavalierly oversimplified. Susan Hayward, whose star was rising at then, channels a femme-fatale mystique on top of Irene's lonesome dame cliché, and Luther Adler, nearly upstages the rest with his fiendishly self-seeking turn as the nefarious Joe.

Honestly, HOUSE OF STRANGERS is a gripping tale at large under Mr. Mankiewicz's proficient supervision, on the technical level, it is as good as any top-drawer monochromatic studio fare of that time, only the shady nuts-and-bolts of the doctrinaire story take the shine off the outstanding teamwork.

This masterful adaptation of Jerome Weidman's novel stars Edward G. Robinson (arguably his best performance) as an Italian immigrant turned successful and wealthy banker. His hard-nosed attitude alienates three of his sons (portrayed by Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Paul Valentine and the always superb Luther Adler). His fourth son (the film noir regular, Richard Conte) however worships the ground his dad walks on. This doesn't go over so well with his brothers.

Although billed as a film noir, the film is as much a family drama as a thriller - and an extremely good one. Excellent screenplay by Philip Yordan. Robinson won the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance.

Edward G Robinson (Gino Monetti) is head of a bank and a family of four sons, three of whom work for him, but none of whom are shown any respect by him. The only son he seems to value is Richard Conte who has his own legal practice, albeit with dodgy customers. One of his customers is Susan Hayward (Irene) who gets the love interest role.

Robinson rules as a dictator. although he does have a funny scene where he compares the old world to the new world, and his business practices come under investigation. As a result of this, Conte tries to protect him but doesn't get very far. The majority of the film is told in flashback, on either side of which we follow Conte as he seeks out his mission of revenge to those who encouraged the downfall of his father.

Keep a look out for the best plate of spaghetti ever filmed. Robinson presides over his family every Wednesday evening when they are required to attend a family meal. They take their places around the table, sit in silence and wait for everyone to arrive before they can start to eat while listening to Robinson's opera records at a volume of 3 million decibels. On this particular occasion, they wait for Conte to arrive. It's a strained atmosphere but definitely worth the wait when that pasta shows up.

The film gets you involved in a family drama that throws in an un-anticipated end sequence that pushes the story to another level. It's an entertaining film that emphasizes dialogue and drama more than action. All the cast do well with a special mention to oldest brother Luther Adler (Joe). Not sure why Susan Hayward is billed above Richard Conte, though.

"House of Strangers" clearly is a film noir drama and crime story. But more than anything else, it's a showcase for the talent of Edward G. Robinson. This is a great performance by a great actor who never got so much as a nomination from any of the major groups in the film world. It always strikes me as a bit strange - maybe even a picture of a hypocritical and belatedly humiliated and humbled Hollywood, when it gives an honorary award for someone "who achieved greatness as a player, a patron of the arts, and a dedicated citizen, etc." But the person was never great enough to even be nominated once? Especially, when there's a list of outstanding films that he or she appeared in, either in a leading role or in a major supporting role.

Well, Mr. Robinson got his honorary Oscar in 1973. The fact that this took place at the March 27 Academy Awards ceremony -- two months and one day after Robinson died, further suggests the idea that the moguls of Hollywood (actors, directors and producers) were a little shame-faced and trying to save face. For posterity, the records would show that they did indeed honor this great actor. The albeit is that it was with a guilty conscience and almost in hindsight after he had died.

Edward G. Robinson has played a crook, a conman, a cop, a comic, and a crime boss. He was the consummate tough guy whether in a gangster movie, a war film, or a caper comedy.. Whatever role he had, Robinson was a fine actor and entertainer.

In this movie, Robinson plays Gino Monetti, an Italian immigrant who has made good. The uneducated tough guy worked hard to get where he is. Now he has a significant financial operation in a tough neighborhood of New York City. Many people rely on Monetti and his bank to help them in crises and their small businesses The trouble is, Gino doesn't know the rules - or the law and the regulations governing banking. So, he operates on the basis of handshakes, oral agreements and hand-scribbled notes. We see him as a kind-hearted guy helping out a widow who needs train fare for a dying relative. And, we see him taking a big cut of a loan to a street merchant who needs to buy a new horse to pull his wagon.

But the main story is about his family,. He has four sons. It's a very dysfunctional family. He treats three of the sons like dirt while favoring one of the younger of the two, Max, who has become a lawyer. The others are lackeys working as window clerks and guards in the bank.

All of this will lead to family disputes and conflicts that tear the family apart. As the matron of the family says, when times were tough and they had a barbershop they were a family and happy. But now they have nothing in the midst of plenty. After Gino dies, she says she no longer has four sons. The plot in which all of this comes about is noir and high grade drama.

Besides Robinson's central role, Richard Conte shares the limelight as Max. And, after he meets Susan Hayward's Irene Bennett, sparks of a sort fly hither and thither. Max and Irene have a running feud of words that are put-downs, insults, jabs and dismissals. So, naturally, they fall in love. Indeed, it isn't natural and it's the hardest subplot of this film to swallow. While such a relationship between two such personalities surely does happen sometimes, it would have to be extremely rare. Their spatting dialog maybe was intended to put some spice and wit into this film, but I think it's mostly a deviation from the Monetti family collapse.

Those who enjoy noir films should go for this one in a big way. Those who don't care for the sub-genre should probably skip it entirely. For other fans, it depends on what else may be appealing or not so - family dysfunction, tyrannical family head, very disrespectful treatment of a woman, etc. My eight stars are for the acting - not only by Robinson, but by most of the rest of the cast as well.

Here are a couple of the better lines in this film.

Joe Monetti, "A man who throws away money is a big worry. A big problem."

Max Monetti, "Vengeance is a rare wine, a joy divine, says the Arab."

The snappy-sappy dialogue and the upside-down sympathies I'm feeling for the characters in this movie left me a little disappointed. I tracked down and actually bought the DVD on eBay in order to see this film after seeing "Broken Lance" and reading that this was a superior version of the same story.

But Edward G. Robinson just doesn't exude the kind of menace that radiates from a real bully. Then again, I never could buy him as a tough guy. Then comes the insufferable performances by Richard Conte and Susan Hayward-- who rat-ta-tat their lines at each other in 1930's-speak making me cringe every time he says "period" (even though I know it's supposed to be a gag).

The whole issue of the "legal trouble" that powers the story is vague. Way too vague. It should be explained a bit better, but then that would "break the spell" that exists in this foggy netherworld of "noir" New York. The problem is that this isn't really a "noir" film but it kinda acts like it wants to be. Really, that's what's wrong with it. It wants Conte's character to be a hard-boiled private dick and Hayward is a rich dame who blows into his office...

I guess the director really wanted to make A DIFFERENT MOVIE about a private eye and a doll but they had to make it using this script. A shame. If they'd paid attention to the original story... coulda' been a contender.

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.

Edward G. Robinson is all wrong as the patriarch of an Italian-American family. He was a marvelous actor -- one of my favorites. And this was not his first Italian. But the pigeon English is so overdone as to be preposterous. The makeup, with a dark mustache, is no help either.

True, other (presumably) non-Italians are in similar roles here. But they underplay. Hope Emerson, Debra Paget, and (as one of his sons) Luther Adler are among these.

Richard Conte is excellent as the son who appreciates the father's efforts and goes to jail for doing so. But think of Conte, cast slightly against ethnic type, in "Thieves Highway" and his father -- Lee J. Cobb -- there. Cobb does not affect a Vaudeville show Greek accent there and it's a shame that Robinson was directed to here.

The story is compelling but it's hard to get past this.

Susan Hayward plays Susan Hayward. In early scenes between her and Conte, he seems to be picking up her mannerisms as they spit consonants at each other.

The role she plays doesn't seem to me to have much to do with the rest of the story. Using "Thieves Highway" as a comparison again -- and I admit it is somewhat arbitrary to do so -- Valentina Cortese's character is more organic to the plot. Here, the Hayward/Conte romance is more like a separate picture than like a subplot.