House of Strangers, a review by Antares
House of Strangers (1949)
82/100 - It's truly sad that modern day film lovers only know Richard Conte as Don Barzini in
The Godfather, because in his younger days, he had real screen presence and acting chops. He's the kind of actor George Raft would never become. I have yet to see him play a role in a film where he doesn't hold the viewer's attention whenever he's onscreen. But then, there's Susan Hayward, who gives him a run for his money with her performance. Their dialog together is biting, bantering, seductive and noirishly playful. There's a scene early in the film, where Hayward and Conte are sitting in an Italian bar, listening to a piano player and Hayward's character is in the process of ending their affair and she just radiates on the screen, her lines of dialog, cutting like a knife in Conte's heart. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. If this film doesn't make you fall in love with her, then I don't think any other would. Edward G. Robinson does what Robinson always did best, he disappears into his character, making him completely believable. Sure, some may say that his portrayal might be a bit stereotypical and somewhat of a caricature. But when you take into context, the fact that his character also speaks Italian throughout the film, these assessments don't hold water. If he just spoke the broken English, then yeah, he'd look like an over the top buffoon. The mixing of both languages is pivotal to making his character convincing. He's Old World and old school and I've known a few modern day, elderly Italian men who also spoke that way. Hell, he must have done something right, because he took home the
at the Cannes Film Festival that year.
Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is(From Antares' Short Summations on November 29th, 2014)
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May 14, 2024, 05:54:44 PM
