Brother Orchid (1940)

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Richard Connell (story)
Earl Baldwin (writer)

Release Date:

8 June 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

We'd like youse to meet Brother Orchid!

Plot:

When retired racket boss John Sarto tries to reclaim his place and former friends try to kill him, he finds solace in a monastery and reinvents himself as a pious monk.

Plot Keywords:

Class Differences | Cleaning Lady | New Jersey | Gardening | Insane Asylum

Cast

Edward G. Robinson	...	Little John T. 'Johnny' Sarto
Ann Sothern	...	Florence 'Flo' Addams
Humphrey Bogart	...	Jack Buck
Donald Crisp	...	Brother Superior
Ralph Bellamy	...	Clarence P. Fletcher
Allen Jenkins	...	Willie 'The Knife' Corson
Charles D. Brown	...	Brother Wren
Cecil Kellaway	...	Brother Goodwin
Morgan Conway	...	Philadelphia Powell
Richard Lane	...	Mugsy O'Day
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Red Martin
John Ridgely	...	Texas Pearson
Joseph Crehan	...	Brother MacEwen
Wilfred Lucas	...	Brother MacDonald
Tom Tyler	...	Curley Matthews

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6203)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Of the five films that Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart made together, this is the only one in which neither is killed.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Edward G. Robinson returns to Ann Sothern's former rooming house and the landlady tell him she's moved, the boom mike is visible in the door's glass panel.

Quotes:

Little Johnny Sarto: What are you doing?
Brother Goodwin: Shaving your head.
Little Johnny Sarto: No. you don't!
[to Brother Superior]
Little Johnny Sarto: Do you have to?
Brother Superior: No, it's quite optional.
Little Johnny Sarto: [to Brother McEwan] Well, nothin' doin'. I got my looks to think about.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bullets Over Hollywood (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Frühlingslied (Spring Song)

A Versatile Robinson, An Irrelevant Bogart

Worth renting or catching on late night TV, "Brother Orchid" is a 1940 hybrid, a film that uneasily coasts between comedy and drama. With both Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart capturing theater marquees with both violent crime and some serious drama roles this film is sort of a detour but it's a good one.

Robinson plays a gangster chief who quits the mob to undertake a long and financially ruinous Grand Tour of Europe. Returning to the U.S. he is astounded to discover that he can't pick up the reins he once held firmly and that his former underboss, Bogart, wants him out of the way - permanently. Bogart's talent is not very much on display in this movie.

Robinson winds up hiding in a friary populated by gentle souls and, of course, his condition is gentled under their patient ministration.

Ann Sothern is terrific as his "fiancee," a gang moll waiting long and patiently for the march to the altar. Ralph Bellamy is amusing as a Western rancher who exudes a patience and understanding more often associated with saints than cowboys.

For those who enjoy the pre-World War II Hollywood crime films this one is just different enough from the formula, and very violent, ones.