Though tragic at the end, this film is a tribute to Lt. Petrosino of the New York City Police Department at the turn of the last century. It is also a fine vehicle for the underrated performance of Ernest Borgnine here. In my opinion, he was far better here than in his Oscar winning role as "Marty" 5 years before.
The film deals with a mobster protection ring in Little Italy. These guys mean business, even if it means that children are their victims. Either you pay up or you die. Terror fills the streets.
Zohra Lampert is very good as the woman who believed in Petrosino and asked him to marry her.
The film shows the impact of the mob and the inability of local citizens to cooperate. They feel that as in Italy, they can't trust the police.
Petrosino is the hero of this very good story. In fact, terror was never so good as depicted in this film. By the way, who sang for Howard Cain? I fondly remember him in television's Hogan Heroes and as Judy Garland's husband in "Judgment At Nuremberg."
The film deals with a mobster protection ring in Little Italy. These guys mean business, even if it means that children are their victims. Either you pay up or you die. Terror fills the streets.
Zohra Lampert is very good as the woman who believed in Petrosino and asked him to marry her.
The film shows the impact of the mob and the inability of local citizens to cooperate. They feel that as in Italy, they can't trust the police.
Petrosino is the hero of this very good story. In fact, terror was never so good as depicted in this film. By the way, who sang for Howard Cain? I fondly remember him in television's Hogan Heroes and as Judy Garland's husband in "Judgment At Nuremberg."