But when a gangland snitch secretly tips off the cops, Frank's drug deal results in a violent gun battle.

There, it is decided that Frank, still too young to take over for his dead father, will instead learn the business under the wing of his dad's lifelong friend, Don Angelo.

A.H. Weiler of The New York Times was positive: "Expertise, if not imagination, is evident in the explosive, action-oriented direction of Richard Fleischer...

Among these are Forrest, as the brainly hood who attempts to escape the racket, but winds up a don, Al Lettieri, as his roughhewn, dependent, ill-fated brother, and Forster, as the rising, vengeful muscleman who is eventually cut down.

As the embattled don who is finally felled by a stroke, not a gun, Quinn is moodily menacing and as polished and relaxed as a professional long familiar with this sort of role.