Copyright 1956 by Columbia Pictures Corp. No New York opening. U.S. release: September 1957. U.K. release: 11 August 1957. Australian release: 1 August 1957. Sydney opening at the Victory. 94 minutes.SYNOPSIS: An ex-mobster turned successful businessman, Eddie Rico, is contacted by the syndicate to locate his younger brothers who have apparently double-crossed their gangland associates. He feels obliged to search for his brothers, not only to protect their lives but of his family as well. As he tracks his brothers down, the elder Rico begins to suspect ulterior motives for his frenzied manhunt.COMMENT: Slow-moving and not very satisfying crime melodrama. Just about all the action occurs off-camera and the film throws a considerable emphasis on talk. Skilful trimming improves the film no end. I have seen a version in which 20 minutes was lopped out. Diane Foster's part was reduced virtually to a walk-on and the consequent improvement in pace was amazing.However, we are reviewing the full version here - and that is a horse of a different color. After this elaborate build-up, the climax is disappointingly weak and tame and Larry Gates - his is the one outstanding portrayal in this film, you can actually sense the evil behind his gloved voice - seems to have a much smaller role than he does in the shortened version.Extensive locations lensing is an asset, although Karlson does not make all that much out of them. In fact, the handling is often uncomfortably reminiscent of a TV show, with lots of medium close-ups and the feeling that the film was shot on a very tight budget. The interior sets are not impressive and other production credits are merely capable.Conte's age is showing and one is not surprised to learn that this film virtually marked the end of his screen career. Aside from the Italian-made This Angry Age and Robert Rossen's They Came to Cordura, Conte depended exclusively on his buddy Frank Sinatra for future roles.

This one I didn't have a clue what it was about when I decided to watch it. Being that Richard Conte was in it I expected more of the same with him. Lo and behold, he finally gets a role that's a little different from his usual bad guy/scumbag roles.Eddie Rico runs and owns a laundry service in Florida and does really well for himself. He and his wife can't have kids so they decide to adopt but something in the way of and old acquaintance needs a favor derails his plans. His wife demands he doesn't do what they want but he has no choice...he's a former account for the mob. He still believes his old connections are "OK" so he tells her not to worry. His old friend from years back wouldn't steer him wrong. Turns out his brothers were involved in a killing and their bosses think one of them is going to squeal so they disappear. He's ordered to find them under the guise of they just wanna make sure "they're safe" under wraps. Eddie doesn't realize he's being used to find his brothers so his old connections can kill his brothers.I will say that right up until the end this is a pretty good little film. For the lack of cast it had they really picked some decent B grade actors to make this believable. The tension and watching Conte play this clueless ex mob guy railroad his brothers to their death is sad. He thinks you really can be left alone when you leave the mob, but in reality, you can't. He's naive in this regard.Richard Conte has always played the scumbag roles but this one is a tad different. He's an old mob accountant who really has no violent or bad guy tendencies. The real down point of this film is the end. It's beyond unrealistic. It just about wastes the entire film's effectiveness. Throughout you realize that this guy is not gonna get revenge through violence for them killing his brothers and he would turns states evidence instead. It's a pretty transparent conclusion throughout but the real "yeah right" in this is turning states evidence and his life in the end resumes to normal. This wouldn't happen lol. I've read enough news stories and books in my life to know that would never happen. He would have been relocated somewhere else with a new name. Not in this. Keeping up with every things ends up alright theme of Hollywood in the 50's, they just about give it a "G" rating ending.Outside of the ending this is a really decent film. Not a great cast but it was well written and solidly acted without a doubt. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for someone to see. Well worth the time.

The Brothers Rico is directed by Phil Karlson and adapted to screenplay by Lewis Meltzer, Ben Perry and Dalton Trumbo from a story written by Georges Simenon. It stars Richard Conte, Dianne Foster, Kathryn Crosby, Larry Gates and James Darren. Music is scored by George Duning and cinematography by Burnett Guffey.Retired from the mob and happy in his new found family life, Eddie Rico (Conte) is pulled back into the underworld when word comes that his two brothers, who are still working for the syndicate, are wanted men.Coming at the end of the film noir cycle, The Brothers Rico sits somewhere in between noir and pure crime drama. Conte's character is a classic noir protagonist, a man who is unable to shake of his past and gets drawn into the dark underworld by family ties. Waiting there for him is a surprise, and not a good one at that. The script is very well written, which in Karlson's hands paints a sinister mob underworld operating right under the noses of everyday folk. There's much talking and very little action for most of the running time, but the dialogue is strong, always imbuing the narrative with a sense of menace, background characters are always a threat and violence implied looms over proceedings.However, in spite of it being well written and acted with great skill by Conte, Gates and the support cast, it's a dull visual experience and crowned off by a ridiculous "aint life grand epilogue". Top cinematographer Burnett Guffey is wasted here, the film is very minimalist in production, with the film often feeling like an episode of some TV cop show. There's a brief glimpse in the last five minutes of what Guffey could do, but that's it. Conte's character provides the ticket to the noir universe, but ultimately this represents the changing of the guard, a winding down of true film noir. From a viewpoint of the film being a crime drama that provides an observation of a crime syndicate as a real presence, Karlson's movie scores a more than safe 7/10. As a film noir, though, it barely registers and noir fans should expect a flat 5/10 movie. Rounded out I make it 6/10.

Richard Conte plays an ex-gangster who's gone straight many years before the film begins. However, even though he's a successful businessman, he's called out of the blue to do them a couple favors. Unfortunately, it turns out that the mob is looking for his brothers--and although they claim to want to get them out of the country for their own good, it sure looks as if they are just using him as bait.The casting of this film left a lot to be desired. There was a 26 year difference in ages of Conte and Darren and they are supposed to be brothers! In addition, they looked like they were 26 years apart. Yet despite this, it's a taut and well-acted film. For lovers of film noir, you won't be disappointed--though the movie is more cerebral and less violent than most examples in the genre. Plus the plot if very interesting and kept me engaged throughout.