Richard Conte Movies
The son of a barber, Richard Conte held down jobs ranging from truck driver, to Wall Street clerk before finding his place as an actor. In 1935, Conte became a waiter/entertainer in a Connecticut resort, which led to stage work when he was spotted by Group Theatre's Elia Kazan and John Garfield. Through Kazan's help, Conte earned a scholarship to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse. His first Broadway appearance was in the fast-flop Moon Over Mulberry Street. In 1939, still billed as Nicholas Conte, the actor made his first film, 20th Century-Fox's Heaven With a Barbed Wire Fence (1939). It was Fox which would build up the intense, brooding Conte as the "New John Garfield" upon signing him to a contract in 1943. His best parts during his Fox years included the wrongly imprisoned man who is exonerated by crusading reporter James Stewart in Call Northside 777 (1947), and the lead role as a wildcat trucker in Thieves' Highway (1949). Among Conte's many TV assignments was a co-starring stint with Dan Dailey, Jack Hawkins and Vittorio De Sica on the 1959 syndicated series The Four Just Men. Appearing primarily in European films in his last years, Conte directed the Yugoslavian-filmed Operation Cross Eagles. Richard Conte's most important Hollywood role in the 1970s was as rival Mafia Don Barzini in the Oscar-winning The Godfather (1972). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1963
This romantic adult comedy finds psychiatrist Jason Steel (Dean Martin) the leader of a women's group therapy session. Jill St. John, Elizabeth Frazier, Macha Meril, Yoko Tani and Diane Foster all seek the advice of the handsome doctor, while husbands Louis Nye, Jack Soo, Richard Conte, and Martin Balsam ignore them in their usual poker game every Wednesday night. Jason plays doctor with pretty fiance Melissa (Elizabeth Montgomery) and Carol Burnette is his scatter brained secretary who does a hilarious striptease when she and Melissa can't pay for their dinner at a local nightclub after being stuck with the bill. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Elizabeth Montgomery, (more)
- 1963
In this thriller, an orphan with ESP is engaged to help solve the abduction of a wealthy Englishwoman by her aunt. The rich woman's brother and the local cabbie believe in the girl's mysterious talent. They are terrified that she will lead the authorities to the woman's corpse. The brother stops the girl, then pays off the cabbie for the murder. Unfortunately, the police witness the pay-off. A high-speed chase ensues and the avaricious brother crashes his car. He then confesses. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) heads to Boston to locate the source for the bootleg champagne that is flooding into Chicago's speakeasies. Ness is convinced that Ira Bauer (Richard Conte), a blind fishing magnate who enjoys such "exercises of the mind" as reading, playing chess, and outwitting the Feds, is the mastermind behind the illegal booze. But how does Bauer manage to ship out his product without arousing suspicion? The answer turns out to be a chilling one--in every sense of the word. This Season Four episode was originally filmed for Untouchables' third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Retired professional assassin Frank Burns (Richard Conte) has told his new wife, Loretta (Sara Shane), that he used to be an engineer. Unfortunately, a man named Cullen (Stacy Harris) knows the truth about Burns, and he threatens to tell all unless he is paid off. Not one to be threatened, Frank briefly comes out of retirement to deal with Cullen -- which proves to be, shall we say, a fatal error. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Though set in the 1930s, this episode is clearly based on the infamous Appalachin Mafia conference of 1957. Gangsters Al Seeger (Richard Conte) and Joe "The Teacher" Kulak (Oscar Beregi) call a summit meeting to establish a consolidation of all organized crime in the U.S., the better to take over the enterprises of the Capone mob. Though Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) would love to bust this meeting and arrest everyone, he has no evidence to back him up. All this changes when Seegar orders the ice-house murder of Maxie Schramm (Milton Selzer), the "turncoat" husband of Seegar's mistress Roxie (Susan Oliver). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
During a Los Angeles Christmas, a group of 82nd Airborne vets assembles under the leadership of gamblin' man Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) to rip off four Las Vegas casinos just after the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. Playboy Jimmy Foster (Peter Lawford) joins in the scheme because he's sick of needing his oft-married mother's money, especially now that she's about to wed Duke Santos (Cesar Romero), a self-made man with all sorts of underworld ties. After he receives the news that he could die at any time, newly released convict Anthony Bergdorf (Richard Conte) reluctantly agrees to participate so he can leave some money to his estranged wife and young son. Ocean's own wife, Beatrice (Angie Dickinson), doesn't think much of her husband's promise of a big score to come, but her quiet protests don't dissuade him. With Las Vegas garbage man and fellow vet Josh Howard (Sammy Davis Jr.) and several casino employees among their number, the titular band of thieves have just a few days to get ready for their caper. When Duke Santos, Jimmy's mother, and one of Ocean's discarded paramours all show up in Sin City at the same time as the veterans, the crew's perfect plans face some serious hurdles. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, (more)
- 1959
Originally telecast November 27, 1959, "Perchance to Dream" was writer Charles Beaumont's first contribution to The Twilight Zone. Richard Conte stars as Edward Hall, a man who lives in mortal fear of falling asleep. Visiting a psychiatrst (John Larch), Hall explains that he has a weak heart, and that his recurring dream of a beautiful woman (Suzanne Lloyd) luring him to his doom will surely result in a fatal coronary. Alas, the psychiatrist's nurse is the spitting image of the woman in Hall's nightmares. Superbly directed by Robert Florey and boasting an eerie musical score by Nathan Van Cleave, "Perchance to Dream" is enough to give anyone nightmares. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Conte, John Larch, (more)
Gary Cooper stars in one of his final roles in They Came To Cordura, Robert Rossen's moody study of the thin dividing line between heroism and cowardice. Cooper plays Major Thomas Thorn, a U.S. Army officer in the expedition into Mexico against Pancho Villa. Because he hesitated during a moment of decision in a battle, he has been labeled a coward. His commanding officer, Colonel Rogers (Robert Keith), orders Thorn to recommend five men for nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery in the battle against Villa. Angered that Thorn did not nominate him for the Medal of Honor, Rogers charges Thorn with transporting the men through a broiling and dangerous desert to the rear area of Cordura. They begin the trek accompanied by Adelaide Geary (Rita Hayworth), the daughter of a dishonored U.S. Senator, who is accused of treason since she owned the hacienda where Villa's men stayed. As they travel across the desert expanse, Thorn ponders why these men are considered heroes while he is labeled a coward. As their journey continues, the heroes turn into a mutinous rabble, with Thorn reduced to holding the group at bay with a loaded gun. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Rita Hayworth, (more)
- 1957
One last duel is expected of a retired gunfighter as brash, young gunfighters tempt him back onto the streets. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1957
An overbearing woman is determined to force her two kids to turn her struggling rice plantation into a success. Unfortunately, it is located on the Indochinese coast and is being threatened by rough seas; all that stands between the paddies and the ocean is a small seawall. More trouble comes in the form of a government agent who tries to get them to abandon the land. After falling in love with the beautiful daughter, the agent abandons his mission. But then her brother tires of his mother's constant harping and flees to Bangkok and this leads to more problems. Featuring an international cast, much of the film was shot on location in Thailand. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Perkins, Silvana Mangano, (more)
- 1957
The Rico brothers are mobsters in the employ of syndicate head Sid Kubick. Richard Conte plays the one Rico brother who has forsaken crime. But the other Ricos (James Darren and Paul Picerni) haven't yet seen the light, causing a deep rift in the brothers' family bonds. Conte gets word that his brothers have been marked for murder, and tries to warn them. What he doesn't know, at least until the last sweat-inducing moments of the film, is that the syndicate boss himself is the man who has ordered the Rico boys wiped out. The Brothers Rico, adapted from a novel by French detective-story specialist George Simenon, is an interesting thriller deeply rooted in the post-noir style of police thrillers like The Line-Up, with its overt emphasis on crude violence and a dull, almost flat visual style. The strong performance by Richard Conte, as a man out of step with the rest of society, is lost in this film which is in essence a simple thriller, lacking any real noir ambience. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Conte, Dianne Foster, (more)
- 1956
When Emily Rocco (Judy Holliday) waddles into view at the beginning of Full of Life, her appearance marked a cinematic breakthrough; seldom had so pregnant a leading lady ever appeared on an American movie screen. With her baby's birthdate only a month away, Emily and her husband Nick (Richard Conte) prepare for first-time parenthood. What they aren't prepared for is Nick's Italian-bricklayer father (Salvatore Baccaloni) who descends upon their humble household with the intention of ruling the roost. Most of all, Papa wants Nick and Emily to go through a proper Catholic wedding, since he doesn't consider their civil ceremony valid. This situation is good for a few laughs, but far funnier is the all-too-typical erratic behavior of expectant mother Emily. Adapted by John Fante from his own novel, Full of Life effortlessly runs the gamut from warm family comedy to outrageous slapstick and back again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Holliday, Richard Conte, (more)
- 1955
New York Confidential is based on the Jack Lait-Lee Mortimer bestseller of the same name. Richard Conte plays Nick Magellan, a "torpedo" for Manhattan crime boss Charlie Lupo (Broderick Crawford). Pleased with Magellan's work, Charlie promotes him to the topmost rungs of the Syndicate. He regrets this act of largesse when the powers-that-be demand that Lupo be rubbed out. . .by good old Magellan. The most fascinating aspect of New York Confidential is that there isn't a sympathetic character in the bunch; even Anne Bancroft as Lupo's maladjusted daughter is a bit on the obnoxious side. The original Lait-Mortimer book was later adapted into a 1958 TV series, starring Lee Tracy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, (more)
- 1955
Less than a month after the release of 20th Century-Fox's The Racers, Lippert Productions picked up the American distribution rights for the British A Race for Life. Richard Conte stars as Peter Wells, a onetime champion race-car driver whose career was interrupted by the war. Linking up with an Italian racing team, Wells hope to stage a comeback, while his wife Pat (Mari Aldon) wishes that he'd give up his dangerous profession. Pat finally walks out on her husband, but has a change of heart when he enters the prestigious Grand Prix. Much of A Race for Life is comprised of thrilling genuine race-car footage, culled from various English and European newsreels and documentaries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Conte, Mari Aldon, (more)
- 1955
Someone is knocking off top atomic scientists in England. Scotland Yard is summoned to stem the carnage and find the killer. The solution involves the activities of Communist agents operating with the ranks of the scientists. American actor Richard Conte is top-billed, primarily as a means to get the film into US theatres--a box office strategy frequently employed by director Ken Hughes. The original British title of this fast-paced whodunit was Little Red Monkey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Conte, Rona Anderson, (more)
Susan Hayward pulls out all the stops, and then some, in this cinemadaptation of singer Lillian Roth's autobiography I'll Cry Tomorrow. In as harshly realistic a manner as possible in the still censor-dominated Hollywood of 1955, the film recounts Roth's rise to fame, her precipitous fall and her tearful comeback. The fact that Roth loves not wisely but too well is only part of the problem (only two of her eight husbands are portrayed in the film); contributing factors to her self-destruction also included her witchlike "stage mother" (Jo Van Fleet) and the pressures of fame and fortune. The principal reason for Roth's fall from the height of fame to the depths of squalor and despair is booze -- at least until she begins to pull herself together with the help of Alcoholics-Anonymous representative Burt McGuire (Eddie Albert). The story concludes with a testimonial staged in Roth's honor on the TV series This is Your Life (the original of which still exists in kinescope form). Having been personally coached by the real Lillian Roth, Susan Hayward does an excellent job of copying the singer's unique style. Though Hayward did not win an Oscar for her performance, she did cop the "Best Actress" prize at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, (more)
- 1955
Richard Conte plays the obligatory Man With a Past in RKO's Bengazi. Joining up with disreputable Irishman Victor McLaglen and army deserter Richard Erdman, Conte heads into the African desert in search of hidden Arab gold. They in turn are pursued by British police inspector Richard Carlson and by McLaglen's daughter Mala Powers. When the raffish trio find the gold, they must defend themselves against hostile Arab tribesmen. The remainder of the film evolves into a reworking of the 1934 RKO film The Lost Patrol, which also costarred Victor McLaglen. Bengazi was filmed almost entirely out-of-doors, on location in Arizona's Yuma Desert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Conte, Victor McLaglen, (more)
- 1955
A TV telethon is the "gimmick" in Allied Artists' The Big Tipoff. Richard Conte plays two-bit newspaper columnist Johnny Denton, who gains notoreity by printing tips on upcoming gangland activities. Denton heightens his fame by refusing to reveal the source of his information; the audience knows, however, that Denton's tip-off man is crime kingpin Bob Gilmore (Bruce Bennett), who is in the process of staging a phony telethon to scam the public. This plot element is mainly an excuse to offer a series of unrelated variety acts featuring such LA TV personalities as Spade Cooley, April Stevens, Chuy Reyes, and Ginny Jackson. The two male protagonists are given a chance for redemption through the auspices of Sister Joan (Cathy Downs), but an apparent murder muddies the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Conte, Constance Smith, (more)
- 1955
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde) is criticized by his superior Capt. Peterson (Robert Middleton) for his obsessive but fruitless investigation of organized crime boss Mr. Brown (Richard Conte). Peterson calls it a waste of the taxpayers' money motivated by Diamond's love for Brown's girlfriend Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace). Watched at all times by henchmen Mingo (Earl Holliman) and Fante (Lee Van Cleef), and masochistically drawn to Brown, Susan is unable to walk away from him. She overdoses on pills in a suicide attempt and, in her delirium, utters the name "Alicia." Diamond follows up on that new lead, and as he gets closer to defeating his adversary, the arrogant and sadistic Brown retaliates by capturing and torturing Diamond. Meanwhile Brown's former boss but now humiliated underling, Joe McClure (Brian Donlevy), believing that Brown has gone too far in his personal vendetta against Diamond, tries to enlist Mingo and Fante in overthrowing him. However, they remain loyal, and, in a chillingly silent scene visually punctuated by flashes of gunfire, they shoot the deaf McClure after Brown removes his hearing aid. Though superficially a story of good vs. evil, Joseph H. Lewis's film noir presents a complex world, visually captured by John Alton's stark photography, in which the lines between good/evil and love/hate are not always clear. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, (more)
- 1955
Apparently as a reward for his excellent performance in the 1954 western Drum Beat, Charles Bronson was given a leading role in this Warner Bros. programmer. The action takes place during the Korean War: a melting-pot unit of American soldiers, together with three British troopers, find themselves trapped behind enemy lines. Making their way to a hilltop that is under United Nations control, these squabbling stragglers discover that the defending soldiers have been wiped out by the Enemy. Ordered to hold the hill under reinforcements arrive, the soldiers, under the command of Lt. Flagler (Richard Conte) and Sgt. Gaspari (Charles Bronson), endeavor to do their duty without getting picked off themselves. As tension mounts, the Americans and the Brits get on each other's nerves, but it's "all for one, one for all" when it really counts. Future TV producer Aaron Spelling shows up in a bit part. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Conte, Peggie Castle, (more)
- 1954
Highway Dragnet is best known to modern movie buffs as the first film to carry Roger Corman's name in the credits. Corman was one of six screenwriters contributing to this location-filmed suspense melodrama, which stars Richard Conte as an ex-Marine on the lam from a murder charge. Conte hitches a ride from glamour-magazine photographer Joan Bennett, who is travelling cross-country with her principal model, Wanda Hendrix. True to audience expectations, the murderer will at one time or another be an occupant of Bennett's car, though it won't be the person whom the police are looking for. The tense climax takes place in a flooded tract house, with the killer stalking the next potential victim. Criticized for its low production values at the time of its release, Highway Dragnet actually stands up pretty well when seen today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Conte, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1953
In this romantic desert adventure a handsome, Foreign Legionnaire survives a surprise attack and becomes the ward of a beautiful princess who takes him back to her splendiferous city in the remote mountains. After he heals, she begs his assistance, but still weakened from his injuries, he passes out. When he awakens, he is back in his fort. Though he tells everyone about his strange experience, no one believes him. Later the enigmatic princess gets a message to him. Teaming up with a fellow soldier, the two sneak out of the fort and follow the courier back to the magical city and meet the man in charge, another ex-Legionnaire. He is a good fellow, and worries that an evil sheik will succeed in his campaign. The brave hero does all he can to prevent that from happening while simultaneously falling in love with the beautiful princess. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Richard Conte, (more)
After learning that her boyfriend, a GI in Korea, has found someone else, Norah Larkin (Anne Baxter) impulsively agrees to meet womanizer Harry Prebble (Raymond Burr) for dinner. Norah allows herself to get drunk and accept Prebble's invitation to his apartment. When he tries to force himself on her, she hits him with a poker. Unfortunately, Prebble is found dead the next morning, and Norah, not even remembering how she got home, thinks that she killed him. Meanwhile, newspaperman Casey Mayo (Richard Conte), looking for an angle, invites the "Blue Gardenia Murderess" to turn herself in to him. The high point of the film is the interplay between the vulnerable Baxter and Burr at his smarmiest. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, (more)
- 1953
Producer Sam Katzman once more rummages through stock footage from the 1953 Columbia costumer Salome and comes up with another "instant epic." Slaves of Babylon stars Richard Conte as Nahum, the muscular young representative of Hebrew leader Daniel (Maurice Schwartz). On behalf of his master, Nahum pulls strings so that Cyrus the Persian (Terence Kilburn) can reclaim Babylon from usurpers Balthasar (Michael Ansara) and Nebuchadnezzar (Leslie E. Bradley). Several Biblical incidents are thrown into the stew, with the added ingredient of a romance between Nahum and one "Princess Panthea" (Linda Christian). For another viewpoint of the historical events offered herein, the reader is referred to D. W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Conte, Linda Christian, (more)
- 1952
It's always a pleasure to see ace western director Leslie Selander in action, and Riders of Vengeance is no exception. Originally released as The Raiders, this Universal programmer stars Richard Conte as a miner who leads an expedition of his compatriots to the California Gold Rush. Crooked Morris Ankrum sets about to cheat Conte and his friends out of their claims. The good guys stage a counteroffensive with the help of Mexican miner Richard Martin. Viveca Lindfors once more brings intelligence and charm to a two-dimensional role. Watch for future Gunsmoke star Dennis Weaver as "Logan". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Conte, Viveca Lindfors, (more)
