The Brothers Rico

Not Karlson’s best but the character that owned the hotel is an all time great, seedy guy.

The ending is unconvincingly optimistic, and so is Eddie Rico himself--especially given Conte's marvelously expressive, world-weary performance. Did Eddie really believe the mob boss loved him like an uncle and wanted the best for him and his stool pigeon brother? In spite of these flaws, this taut paranoid thriller is expertly directed, completely absorbing, and its laconic dialogue and low key mobsters will continue to entertain when many more expensvie, more heralded movies are forgotten.

Even if the movie isn’t that great and this one isn’t Karlson is always able to craft these perfect side characters and climaxes.

A former mob accountant gets sucked back in when his brothers are in danger. It's a solid thriller, with a good performance by Richard Conte and a thick air of paranoia and tension. It didn't really impress me much, though. It's certainly not a bad film at all, I even enjoyed it... it just doesn't have that certain something.

Eddie Rico is one of the most slow-witted protagonists in gangster movie history. It takes him the better half of the movie to wisen up to something that every character around him had been trying to tell him, and even then he goes and acts stupid some more. The Brothers Rico generally suffers from long, sticky scenes and over-explanation. The premise is pretty solid, so it could have provided for a more convincing film.

Dumb ending.