House of Strangers

UPC: 024543244516

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Mild Violence, Questionable for Children]

Summary: House of Strangers is the first of three film versions of Jerome Weidman's I'll Never Go Home Any More, each of which was scripted by Philip Yordan. Edward G. Robinson plays a Giannini-like Italian-American banker, Gino Monetti, who runs roughshod over his four grown sons. The ruthless Gino engages in several illegal activities to build up his business, and is arrested as a result. Though the sons have always been fully aware of their father's questionable business practices, they refuse to help him stay out of prison; led by oldest son Joe (Luther Adler), three of the sons take over the business and kick their father out. Only son Max (Richard Conte) remains loyal to his father, whereupon his three brothers conspire to have Max thrown into prison as well. Max promises the dying Gino that he'll exact vengeance on the treacherous sons; but when he is released, Max hasn't the stomach for revenge, not even after one of his brothers (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) tries to kill him. Max leaves his brothers to stew in their own juices, and heads to California for a new life with his fianc?e, Irene Bennett (Susan Hayward). Subsequent film versions of the Jerome Weidman novel included Broken Lance (1954) and The Big Circus (1961). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Actor – Cannes Film Festival

Features: ccAudio commentary by film historian and author Foster Hirsch
Poster gallery
Production stills gallery
Unit photography gallery
Theatrical trailer

House of Strangers

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 06/06/2006

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo, DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- House of Strangers
1. Main Titles
2. Between Brothers
3. Seven Years in Jail
4. At the Big House
5. Gino Monetti
6. At First Sight
7. Waiting Game
8. Family Dinner
9. Apartment 11A
10. No Since Eve
11. The Engagement Discussion
12. Last Night Together
13. Sweating It Out
14. Another Man
15. The Empire That Gino Built
16. On Trial
17. Jury Tampering
18. The New Monetti Bank
19. They Must Pay
20. Irene's Plea
21. Gino Is Dead
22. Taking Control
23. Joe's Rage
24. Saving Joe/End Titles

Craig Butler

House of Strangers is a stylish, powerful but ultimately unsatisfying family drama that benefits from a quartet of top-notch performers and from Joseph L. Mankiewicz's stylish and assured direction. Although Mankiewicz is not credited as a writer, the screenplay for Strangers bears a number of Mankiewicz touches, including an extended flashback (started, as in A Letter to Three Wives, by an aural cue); incisive, character-defining dialogue; and a slight tendency toward over-explaining. It's the last characteristic that tends to hurt Strangers, especially at the end. This is exacerbated by the fact that the climactic change of heart by the lead character comes from nowhere; he goes over territory that he has clearly been over hundreds of times before, but for some reason, this particular time it causes him to do a complete about-face. Of course, the fact that his girlfriend is now involved is a factor, but he has earlier dismissed that element so thoroughly that something more is needed. Fortunately, Edward G. Robinson's commanding presence, Richard Conte's smoothness and strength, Susan Hayward's complex and richly shaded characterization, and Luther Adler's oily opportunism help to overcome the flaws in the script and make Strangers a good, if not great, film. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Mushy Callahan  Actor 
Dolores Parker  Actor 
Charles McClelland  Actor 
Maurice Samuels  Actor 
Sally Yarnell  Actor 
Charles Flynn  Actor 
Howard Mitchell  Actor 
George Spaulding  Actor 
Jeri Jordan  Actor 
Marjorie Holliday  Actor 
John Pedrini  Actor 
Bob Castro  Actor 
John Kullers  Actor 
Herb Vigran  Actor 
Maxine Ardell  Actor 
Argentina Brunetti  Actor 
Frank Jaquet  Actor 
Phil Tully  Actor 
Joseph Mazzuca  Actor 
Silvio Minciotti  Actor 
Mario Siletti  Actor 
Rhoda Williams  Actor 
Tom Browne Henry  Actor 
Lawrence Tibbett  Actor 
James Little  Actor 
Daniele Amfitheatrof  Composer (Music Score) 
Joseph L. Mankiewicz  Director 
Sol C. Siegel  Producer 
Philip Yordan  Screenwriter 
Edward G. Robinson  Actor 
Susan Hayward  Actor 
Richard Conte  Actor 
Luther Adler  Actor 
Paul Valentine  Actor 
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.  Actor 
Debra Paget  Actor 
Hope Emerson  Actor 
Esther Minciotti  Actor 
Diana Douglas  Actor 
Tito Vuolo  Actor 
Alberto Morin  Actor 
Sid Tomack  Actor 
David Wolfe  Actor 
John Kellogg  Actor 
Ann Morrison  Actor 

Country: USA