While Murder, Inc. mainly revolves around the capture of gangster Lepke, the most compelling character is hit man Abe Reles, excellently played by Peter Falk in one of his earliest movie roles. He got an Oscar nomination as a result. Those who know him mostly as the calm Lt. Columbo will be very surprised by the intense rage Mr. Falk puts in his performance especially during his "take" speech he gives to a married couple who have no choice but to accept his offer of an apartment he gives them. Also noteworthy are Vincent Gardenia as his lawyer (loved his "I'd rather you were dead" aside before Reles-having overheard him-asked, "What did you mean by that?" "It was just a figure of speech,"comes the reply), May Britt as wife in aforementioned couple, Sarah Vaughan as a nightclub singer (in a musical interlude), and Morey Amsterdam as a comic who meets a tragic end in the beginning. Based on a true story but with, as always, some dramatization involved. One of the two directors was Stuart "Cool Hand Luke" Rosenberg. Well worth seeing for gangster movie fans.
