Pay or Die! (1960)

Pay Or Die is the story of Police Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino and his struggle against the infamous Black Hand who has moved over from the old country in Sicily and is terrorizing the new Italian immigrants just trying to make it in a new country. The Black Hand is sad to say an unhappy reminder of what they left.During the course of the film at one point Ernest Borgnine and Zohra Lampert as Mrs. Petrosino drink a toast to President Theodore Roosevelt. It's not just an idle toast. Not told in the film is the fact that as Police Commissioner, Roosevelt recognized the talent in Petrosino and made him a personal protégé and started his climb up the NYPD promotion ladder.What attracted TR to Petrosino is the no nonsense way he dealt with criminals. Petrosino was not a guy who believed in civil liberties and rights for criminals. He'd be lost in a world of Miranda. But he was as he saw it representing the forces of law and order against a completely ruthless enemy. Just the guy you need to fight a war on terror.His life and tragic death are dealt with in a way that makes Petrosino terribly human. Zohra Lampert's character who marries Petrosino survived him by decades, dying in 1957. She and Borgnine make a perfect couple on screen. In the supporting cast Robert Ellenstein stands out as an Italian shyster lawyer who gets a really tragic comeuppance.Pay Or Die is a well constructed albeit B picture without any frills. It holds up well for today and should be in the ranks of great gangster films.

This movie stars Ernest Borgnine in a straight dramatic role, and he pulls it off quite well. Set in New York City in 1906, newly arrived Italian immigrants are preyed upon by the Black Hand (La Mana Nera), which eventually became the Mafia. Borgnine plays lieutenant Petrosino, an immigrant himself, who realizes that the new immigrants will not cooperate with the police because the police in Italy were corrupt, and they expect the same in their new country. Petrosino realizes that he needs a squad of men - immigrants themselves - who speak the language, and can convince the people that things are different here. The Police Comissioner - who happens to be Teddy Roosevelt - agrees with him, and he gets his Italian Squad. Some violence ensues, as the Squad goes about breaking the power of the Black Hand, including a plot to kill Enrico Caruso, the greatest tenor of his time. Zhora Lampert plays the role of Petrosino's girlfriend, and later wife with excellent restraint, and the final scenes (this is a true story) are wrenching.

Great historical mafia movie. Terrific depiction of the early infiltration of the "Black Hand" in America. From its earliest beginning, to its deepest & darkest connections back to its Italian roots, the film delivers an in-depth incite into the powers and horrors of organized crime. The storyline and depiction could easily have been a inspiration for the "Godfather". This is a great film in which the cinematography, the acting, the art direction, and the script all coming together to create a seamless masterpiece. Ernest Borgnine as police Lt. Petrosino delivers an inspiring performance. This film is a lost classic that needs to be released in DVD.

In the early 1900's police detective Lieut. Joseph Petrosino (Ernest Borgnine) forms a special squard to combat the menacing Black Hand in New York City in this tough and convincing drama based on actual events. Hardworking store keepers are threatened with torture, death and destruction if they don't come across with "protection" money. Other than Borgnine's fine performance there's good support from Zohra Lampert (an actress who should have risen to the top), Al Austin, John Duke, Renata Vanni and John Marley (Hollywood mogul Woltz in "The Godfather"). The essence of the period is captured with the stunning black and white photography.