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House of Strangers

House of Strangers

Drama · Crime · Thriller · 1949

Ruthless Italian-American banker Gino Monetti is engaged in a number of criminal activities. Three of his four grown sons refuse to help their father stay out of prison after he's arrested for his questionable business practices. Three of them take over the business but kick their father out. Max, a lawyer, is the only son that remains loyal.

Movie details

House of Strangers

“A powerhouse of emotion.”

1949 Drama · Crime · Thriller 1h 41m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.3 / 10

4.3K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

71 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Ruthless Italian-American banker Gino Monetti is engaged in a number of criminal activities. Three of his four grown sons refuse to help their father stay out of prison after he's arrested for his questionable business practices. Three of them take over the business but kick their father out. Max, a lawyer, is the only son that remains loyal.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over House of Strangers?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Written by

Philip Yordan

Edward G. Robinson

Edward G. Robinson

Gino Monetti

Susan Hayward

Susan Hayward

Irene Bennett

Richard Conte

Richard Conte

Max Monetti

Luther Adler

Luther Adler

Joe Monetti

Paul Valentine

Paul Valentine

Pietro Monetti

Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Tony Monetti

Debra Paget

Debra Paget

Maria Domenico

Court is in session

Put House of Strangers on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.