Full of potential - a story about a dodgy Italian American banker and his four sons, a riff on King Lear and Joseph and His Brethren ... based on a script by Phil Yordan who often adapted classics. (Though the script was rewritten by Joseph L. Mankiewicz).
But it's boring. There's yelling and Italian accent acting and the movie badly lacks star power. Edward G Robinson has charisma as dad but isn't in the movie enough - ditto Susan Hayward who is sexy. There's too much Richard Conte and his brothers, who all feel undercast (Luther Adler, Efrem Zimbalist Jnr, Paul Valentine) and not different enough.
It needed stars like Victor Mature or at least really different characters. It needed more sex and violence - they needed to be gangsters.
I didn't care about any characters. Especially not Richard Conte's. Not dramatised - Hayward should be in a love triangle with two brothers or something.
Nicely shot. The piece has tremendous potential. But it's weirdly undramatic.
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