La maison des étrangers

Original title: House of Strangers

1949
Approved
1h 41m

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

4.4K

YOUR RATING

Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward, and Richard Conte in La maison des étrangers (1949)

Trailer for this drama about a house divided

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11 Photos

Film Noir Crime Drama Thriller

After years in prison, Max promises revenge on his brothers for their betrayal. His lover Irene and memories of his past yield him a broader perspective.After years in prison, Max promises revenge on his brothers for their betrayal. His lover Irene and memories of his past yield him a broader perspective.After years in prison, Max promises revenge on his brothers for their betrayal. His lover Irene and memories of his past yield him a broader perspective.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

4.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 6 wins & 2 nominations total

Minor Role
(uncredited)

Al Bain

Fight Spectator
(uncredited)

David Bauer

Prosecutor
(uncredited)

Martin Begley

Minor Role
(uncredited)

Ray Beltram

Man on Street
(uncredited)

Director
- Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
According to Kenneth L. Geist's biography of the film's director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, "People Will Talk", the film's producer Sol Siegel hired Philip Yordan to adapt Joseph Weidman's novel for the screen. After Yordan submitted three-quarters of the script, Siegel, finding the script unacceptable, fired him and asked Mankiewicz to redo the script. Mankiewicz rewrote all of Yordan's dialogue, reshaped the script and finished it. The Screen Writers Guild ruled that Yordan receive sole story credit and that Yordan and Mankiewicz share credit for the screenplay. Mankiewicz refused to share credit for a screenplay he had basically written and so received no credit. The studio remade House of Strangers as a western in 1954 as Broken Lance and Yordan was given credit for the story and won an Academy Award for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story.

Goofs
In flashbacks dating back to 1932, Irene wears hairstyles and clothing that are not significantly different from the fashionable look she sports during the 1939 framing story, 7 years later, and all of which are strictly in the significantly different mode of 1949, the year the film was made. Likewise, the men's fashions, particularly the bulky extremely broad shouldered suits, are all strictly 1949, and not the more closely tailored styles of the 1930s.

Quotes
Max Monetti: Always looking for a new way to get hurt from a new man. Get smart, there hasn't been a new man since Adam.

Connections
Featured in Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz (2008)

Soundtracks
Largo al factotum
From the opera "Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)" (uncredited)
Music by Gioachino Rossini (uncredited)
Lyrics by Cesare Sterbini (uncredited)
Performed by Lawrence Tibbett
Played on the phonograph before dinner at the family house

User reviews73

Featured review

10/10

Wow.

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.