***SPOILERS*** A Pre-Frankenstein Boris Karloff plays notorious New York City mob boss Tony Ricca who's involved in a bloody turf war with rival mobster Mike Plamero, Leo Carrillo, that soon got out of hand. With two infants, one in a baby carriage, getting killed in a cross-fire between the Ricca and Palmero gang it's decided by mob boss Palermaro to skip town and head down to Miami Florida until the heat blows off.
In Miami Palmero tries to go legit and clean up his image as well as that of his his pretty daughter Maria, Constance Cummings, who's only crime is in her being related to him. Unknown to the Pamero Clan Ricca's son Marco, now calling himself John Smith, played by Robert Young is also in Miami to do a job, not of the criminal nature, for a friend of his in constructing a new luxury hotel in the outskirts of town. It's when John is invited by his employer to a party thrown for Parmero's daughter Maria that he soon finds out that his past of being the successor to the Ricca Mob Empire, which he tried like hell to avoid, would never leave him. Not that John was that interested in becoming a mob boss but that his life will always be in danger in him being related to one.
With the mob war still going on up north in NYC between the Ricca and Palmero gangs it soon hits home with Tony Ricca's brother Benedicto, Elliott Rothe, is gunned down in a mob ambush by the Palmero Gang. Ricca seeking revenge has Palmero's party going son Joe, Leslie Fenton, killed in a car accident when he tried to escape being hit by Ricca's goons. Unknown to both Plamero and Ricca their children, John & Maria, had fallen in love and were now planning to get married regardless of what their blood feuding parents thought about it! What was once a well kept secret about John Smith's real identity became known to the late Joe Palmero who's hired detectives found out, through foreign newspapers clippings, that he in fact was non other that Tony Ricca's boy Marco! It was that vital information that Joe Palmero spurted out, just before he expired, to his dad's men who were at the scene of his fatal accident!
It's when Mike Palmero finds out the "good news" about his daughters marriage, that happened just an half hour before he found out about it, to John Smith aka Marco Ricca he coolly planned to knock of his new son-in-law before he ever goes on his honeymoon-in Havana Cuba-with his daughter.
***SPOILERS*** Things don't exactly go the way that Palmero planned it with his top henchman Jerry Baxter, Murray Kinnell, refusing to set the innocent, in Joe Plamero's death, John Smith up and allowing John, together with himself, to make a clean getaway from the Ricca compound.
***MAJOR SPOILER*** The worst-far far worst-was yet to come for the now angry as hell, in Baxter not following his orders, Palmero in that his mom Mrs. Nina Palmero, Emma Dunn, who by now just about had it with her sons criminal activities in feeling that this time he was going too far. It was Mama Palmero who finally put an end to her son Mike along with them before he was able to get John Smith knocked off !
In Miami Palmero tries to go legit and clean up his image as well as that of his his pretty daughter Maria, Constance Cummings, who's only crime is in her being related to him. Unknown to the Pamero Clan Ricca's son Marco, now calling himself John Smith, played by Robert Young is also in Miami to do a job, not of the criminal nature, for a friend of his in constructing a new luxury hotel in the outskirts of town. It's when John is invited by his employer to a party thrown for Parmero's daughter Maria that he soon finds out that his past of being the successor to the Ricca Mob Empire, which he tried like hell to avoid, would never leave him. Not that John was that interested in becoming a mob boss but that his life will always be in danger in him being related to one.
With the mob war still going on up north in NYC between the Ricca and Palmero gangs it soon hits home with Tony Ricca's brother Benedicto, Elliott Rothe, is gunned down in a mob ambush by the Palmero Gang. Ricca seeking revenge has Palmero's party going son Joe, Leslie Fenton, killed in a car accident when he tried to escape being hit by Ricca's goons. Unknown to both Plamero and Ricca their children, John & Maria, had fallen in love and were now planning to get married regardless of what their blood feuding parents thought about it! What was once a well kept secret about John Smith's real identity became known to the late Joe Palmero who's hired detectives found out, through foreign newspapers clippings, that he in fact was non other that Tony Ricca's boy Marco! It was that vital information that Joe Palmero spurted out, just before he expired, to his dad's men who were at the scene of his fatal accident!
It's when Mike Palmero finds out the "good news" about his daughters marriage, that happened just an half hour before he found out about it, to John Smith aka Marco Ricca he coolly planned to knock of his new son-in-law before he ever goes on his honeymoon-in Havana Cuba-with his daughter.
***SPOILERS*** Things don't exactly go the way that Palmero planned it with his top henchman Jerry Baxter, Murray Kinnell, refusing to set the innocent, in Joe Plamero's death, John Smith up and allowing John, together with himself, to make a clean getaway from the Ricca compound.
***MAJOR SPOILER*** The worst-far far worst-was yet to come for the now angry as hell, in Baxter not following his orders, Palmero in that his mom Mrs. Nina Palmero, Emma Dunn, who by now just about had it with her sons criminal activities in feeling that this time he was going too far. It was Mama Palmero who finally put an end to her son Mike along with them before he was able to get John Smith knocked off !