STRANGERS IN THE CITY dvd
(1962)
DIRECTOR: Rick Carrier
STARS: Robert Gentile, Camilo Delgado, Rosita De Triano, Greta Margos, Bob O'Connell (Death Promise), Rene Santoni (Dirty Harry)
SYNOPSIS: This low budget drama with a cast of unknowns shows the struggles of a Puerto Rican family adjusting to life in NYC. They live in a run down neighborhood in East Harlem in the early 1960's. The father can't hold a job and forbids his wife from working. Their daughter (exotic looking Greta Margos) finds work in a sewing factory and the son (star Robert Gentile) runs errands for a grocer. They're just keeping their heads above water with barely any food to eat and the threat of having their electricity turned off. The son loses his job when a local gang steals his deliveries and beats him up. The daughter is tricked into prostitution by the lure of a fancy lifestyle and expensive clothes. It all ends with a series of deaths and suicide that almost turns it into a horror film. A pretty bleak look at life in the slums. It's nowhere near as poetic as Killer of Sheep but it might be good as a double bill with that classic. A stand-out performance is by the older white man who teaches the daughter about how to behave as a call girl. He looks like Doodles Weaver and makes prostitution seem like it's going to be fun and rewarding. There's also a great knock-down, drag-out, fight between the son and a gang leader. They punch, kick and pummel each other through a string of demolished lots filled with garbage, broken bottles and rocks. All the exteriors were shot on location so there's tons of footage of New York circa 1961 including East Harlem, Manhattan and a sad looking off-season Coney Island. Keep your eyes out for an early appearance by the one actor in the film who would have a solid career, Rene Santoni (Dirty Harry, Bad Boys, Cobra).
*For more see: Night of the Juggler, Palm Beach, The Incident and The Guardian
Fullscreen / Black & White
Region Free NTSC dvd-R
BLACK dvd case (above image is the front cover art)
Buy "Strangers in the City" : $20.00
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