Murder, Inc. (1960)

51% of users liked it
(434 ratings)

This true crime story was hardly "ripped from today's headlines," since the events took place some 20 to 30 years before the movie was released. Still, Murder, Inc. is not afraid to name names, notably those of syndicate boss Louis "Lepke" Buchalter (David J. Stewart) and killer Abe Reles (Peter… More This true crime story was hardly "ripped from today's headlines," since the events took place some 20 to 30 years before the movie was released. Still, Murder, Inc. is not afraid to name names, notably those of syndicate boss Louis "Lepke" Buchalter (David J. Stewart) and killer Abe Reles (Peter Falk), who squeals on the Mob to earn immunity. The activities of Buchalter's murder-for-hire operation are played against a fictional story about a nightclub singer (Stuart Whitman) and a dancer (May Britt). Murder, Inc. has a queasy, unsettling quality, due in part to some offbeat casting: TV comedian Henry Morgan co-stars as a dead-serious federal agent, while "human joke machine" Morey Amsterdam shows up as a cabaret entertainer who is stabbed by the Mob. The film was a major boost for the career of Peter Falk, who very nearly managed to parlay his Murder, Inc. supporting role into an Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Burt Balaban, Stuart Rosenberg
Written By: Mel Barr, Sid Feder
Genres: Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

In Theaters: Jun 28, 1960 Limited
On DVD: May 23, 2006
Studio: 20th Century Fox

Critic Reviews

Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review
... Murder, Inc. is no masterpiece, and the DVD is pretty much a letdown ....
Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review
... the film mixes hard facts and Hollywood romanticism to create an entertaining, if somewhat trifling, piece of violent fluff.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The best thing about the film was Falk's tough-guy performance.