House of Strangers **** (1949, Edward G Robinson, Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Luther Adler, Paul Valentine, Efrem Zimbalist Jr, Debra Paget) – Classic Movie Review 3399

Director Joseph L Mankiewicz’s sombre but distinguished 1949 drama is bizarrely the first of three movies written by screenwriter Philip Yordan based on the same novel, I’ll Never Go Home Again by Jerome Weidman.

Winning the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1949, Edward G Robinson eats up his gloomy role as Gino Monetti, a tough, tyrannical New York banker arrested for fraud.

Three of his greedy and nasty sons, Joe, Pietro and Tony (Luther Adler, Paul Valentine and Efrem Zimbalist Jnr), get him sent to jail. However, a kindly fourth favourite son, Max (Richard Conte), tries to help him but is then betrayed by his brothers. After seven years in prison, Max promises revenge on his brothers…

Robinson’s and Conte’s stylish acting and Mankiewicz’s tense, atmospheric direction make for a compelling experience in this downbeat story. Susan Hayward as Max’s lover Irene, Debra Paget as his fiancée Maria Domenico, Esther Minciotti, Diana Douglas and Hope Emerson are the main women involved in the movie.

Also in the cast are Tito Vuolo, Albert Morin, Sid Tomack, Thomas Henry Browne, David Wolfe, John Kellogg, Ann Morrison, Dolores Parker, Mario Siletti, Tommy Garland, Maurice Samuels, Frank Jacquet, Charles J Blynn, Howard Mitchell, Phil Tully, Joseph Mazzuca, John Pedrini, Charles McClelland, James Little, Scott Landers, Fred Hillbrand, Argentina Brunetti, Rhoda Williams, Donna La Tour, Maxine Ardell, Sally Arnell, Jeri Jordan, Marjorie Holliday, Bob Castro, Eddie Saenz, Mushy Callahan, George Spaulding and Jogb Red Cullers.

The plot was re-used for Broken Lance (1954) with Spencer Tracy (for which Yordan won an Oscar for Best Story) and The Big Show (1961) with Esther Williams and Cliff Robertson.

Diana Douglas died on July 3 2015, aged 92. She was married to Kirk Douglas (1943-51) and was the mother of Michael Douglas.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3399

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