The Brothers Rico

Eddie Rico used to keep the books for the mob; now he runs his own business in Florida and lives quietly with his family. His brothers are still inside the organisation, and everything comes apart when one of them disappears after a killing. The syndicate sends Eddie to find his brother, and Eddie sets off believing he is being trusted. The closer he gets to the man he is looking for, the clearer it becomes who is using whom. Phil Karlson's noir shows the mob without romance, as a corporation: decisions come by telephone and loyalty is a line item. Richard Conte's Eddie is not a bad man but someone who refuses until the last possible moment to see what the system is, and that is where the picture hurts. The story is by Georges Simenon. Burnett Guffey's photography manages to make even the Florida sun look like a threat.