A major crime boss named "Little John Sarto" (Edward G. Robinson) wants to call it quits and decides to travel to Europe and have a good time. He leaves his girlfriend, "Flora Addams" (Ann Sothern) behind and lets "Jack Buck" (Humphrey Bogart) take control of the mob. He squanders all of his money and decides to return after 5 years abroad only to find that Jack has no intention of surrendering control back to him. At any rate, rather than divulge what happens next and risk spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that it's at this point that things begin to happen. To that end I thought Edward G. Robinson put on a good performance all around. Likewise, I thought Humphrey Bogart was excellent in the one-dimensional role as a crime boss. Additionally, Ann Sothern was definitely attractive and played her part in an adequate manner. Unfortunately, while there is some humor in this film there is also quite a bit of drama, to the point that it doesn't seem like the director or writers were sure of what they wanted to produce. Because of that, I have rated this movie as average even though it certainly had the talent to be much better. On a side note, I also believe that a modern remake should definitely be considered if for no other reason than to resolve any ambiguity about what kind of movie this film ought to be.
Review of Brother Orchid
