House Of Strangers (1949)

Returning home after seven years in prison, the revenge bent son (Richard Conte) of a banking financier (Edward G. Robinson) reflects on the circumstances that led him to prison. The patriarch (Robinson) of an Italian family so infatuated with his success that he doesn't see the simmering resentment among his own sons. Based on the novel I'LL NEVER GO THERE ANY MORE by Jerome Weidman and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (ALL ABOUT EVE). This noir-ish family drama is an engrossing watch even though there's isn't a decent major character in the movie. HOUSE OF VIPERS would be as apt a title as HOUSE OF STRANGERS! Without anyone to invest one's affinity toward, we're left to merely observe as the snakes hiss and bite each other. The acting is excellent with Robinson receiving the best actor award at the Cannes film festival for his work here. Remade twice, in 1954 as a western BROKEN LANCE and 1961 as THE BIG SHOW. With Susan Hayward, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Debra Paget, Luther Adler, Hope Emerson, Paul Valentine and Diana Douglas.