''The Vicious Years'' is a 1950 American film directed by

Robert Florey Robert Florey (14 September 1900 – 16 May 1979) was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor. Born as Robert Fuchs in Paris, he became an orphan at an early age and was then raised in Switzerland. In 1920 he worked a ...

. The screenplay concerns an orphan named Mario who witnesses Luca Rossi committing a murder, and blackmails Luca into taking him home as a member of his family.

Plot

Mario, an Italian war orphan, sees Luca Rossi commit a murder. Eager for a home and family life, Mario promises not to tell the police if Luca takes him into his household and family. Luca fears and hates Mario, but his father, mother and sister all come to love him. Afraid the Mario will reveal his secret, Luca attempts to kill him. Aware now, just as he has suspected, Emilio Rossi realizes that his son is no good and turns him over to the police. Mario is persuaded to stay with the family as an adopted son.

Cast

* Tommy Cook as Mario * Sybil Merritt as Dina Rossi *

Eduard Franz Eduard Franz Schmidt (October 31, 1902 – February 10, 1983) was an American actor of theatre, film and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film ''Sins of Jezebel'', Jethro in Cecil B. DeMille's ''The Ten ...

as Emilio Rossi * Gar Moore as Luca Rossi *

Anthony Ross Anthony Ross (born Rosenthal, February 23, 1909 – October 26, 1955) was an American character actor whose career extended to Broadway stage, television and film. Born in New York City, Ross was the son of Charles M. Rosenthal and Cora S. Rose ...

as Inspector Umberto Spezia *

Marjorie Eaton Marjorie Lee Eaton (February 5, 1901 – April 21, 1986) was an American painter, photographer and character actress best known for physically portraying Emperor Palpatine in the original release of ''The Empire Strikes Back'', though her face ...

as Zia Lola *

Russ Tamblyn Russell Irving Tamblyn, also known as Rusty Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934) is an American film and television actor and dancer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor f ...

as Tino *

Eve Miller Eve Miller (born Marilyn Miller; August 8, 1923 – August 17, 1973) was an American actress who appeared in 41 films between 1945 and 1961. She was born in Los Angeles, California, and died in Van Nuys, California. She died by suicide at ...

as Giulia * Lester Sharpe as Matteo *

John Doucette John Arthur Doucette (January 21, 1921 – August 16, 1994) was an American character actor who performed in more than 280 film and television productions between 1941 and 1987. A man of stocky build who possessed a deep, rich voice, he p ...

as Giorgio

External links

* 1950 films Films directed by Robert Florey 1950 crime drama films American crime drama films 1950s English-language films Film Classics films American black-and-white films 1950s American films {{1950s-crime-drama-film-stub