Pay or Die Reviews

Director Wilson had just come off a hit movie, CAPONE, for Allied Artists and went right back to the same Italian gangster territory for this film about the man who headed the "Italian Squad" for the New York Police Department. PAY OR DIE covers three years in the life of Joe Petrosino, the cop who tried to show the link between the Sicilian Mafia and its American counterpart. His story was also told in the MGM picture THE BLACK HAND, which starred J. Carrol Naish. Although neither film adheres strictly to the facts, both do a fine job of presenting the tale. The setting is New York's "Little Italy," later the backdrop for MEAN STREETS and several other films. Borgnine leads a squad of loyal police officers who attempt to get the neighborhood out of the grip of the secret society that provides "protection" for the local denizens. Borgnine is married to Lampert (making an impressive movie debut), but he doesn't have much time for a domestic life because he is so dedicated to erasing the power of the Mafia and to restoring the good name of Italian immigrants. Borgnine prevents Caine (playing Enrico Caruso) from being killed, but the policeman is saddened when several young Italian girls die in the bombing of a jewelry store. The city pays for Borgnine to travel to Palermo to uncover some evidence, but he is assassinated by unknown killers. PAY OR DIE features some especially good character work from Barbi, Marley, and Scotti.