Brother Orchid

After a life of leading rackets you retire, intent on broadening horizons rising higher, in the world of upper classes, you'll reside above the masses, until the day that all is spent and you require; so a trip back to the guys to reassert, leaves you running through the hills, shot through, in dirt, double crossed, misled, betrayed, on the brink of your own grave, found and rescued, then encouraged to wear skirt; it takes some time til buds and shoots start to appear, in this world that's rather plain, somewhat austere, a deviation then side-tracks, as you curtail with vengeful axe, to return to those blessed hands, and volunteer.

Ann Sothern is great.

Edward G. Robinson becomes "Brother Orchid" in this 1940 film directed by Lloyd Bacon and also starring Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sothern, Ralph Bellamy, and Allen Jenkins. Robinson plays a mobster, Johnny Sarto, who works protection.

Johnny quits the business, turning it over to his right hand man, Jack Buck (Bogart) and spends five years touring the world in search of class. He comes back home broke from bad investments (the Borgia's bed was made in Grand Rapids) and wants back in.

Jack Buck, however, doesn't want to give up his position. When Johnny's airhead girlfriend Flo (Sothern) speaks with Jack about reconciling with Johnny, she reminds him that Johnny witnessed Jack murder someone.

Jack pretends to go along with the reconciliation, but in reality, he plans on killing Johnny. Johnny escapes the hit men and, believing Flo set him up, realizes he has no one to turn to. He passes out in front of a monastery and winds up donning the monastic robe and raising flowers.

Very funny and warm film with wonderful performances. Robinson always played comedy very seriously, making his sinister gangster seem even funnier here. Beautiful Ann Sothern is great as the ditsy girlfriend who loves Johnny but can't get a commitment out of him.

Bogart is still portraying crooks at this point, and he does an excellent job as the dangerous Johnny Buck. Donald Woods and Cecil Kellaway are two of the monks Johnny encounters.

Director Bacon did a lot of gangster films at Warners, and he really knew how to pace them.

Very enjoyable.

Like many, I picked up Brother Orchid because it was a Bogie film. I have this plan to watch every Bogie movie out there, because I am a huge fan. This was one of his earliest works wherein he played negative characters. Looking charming and cool, Bogie leaves his mark as usual but it is EGR who steals the show here. What a fantastic actor. I loved how his character Little Johnny Sarto evolves through the film. One of the best character development arcs I have seen for comedy/crime genre at the time. He makes us laugh our guts out, then makes us think and empathize with Johnny. EGR is brilliant in every scene he's in. If you enjoy classic comedy/crime genre - you are sure to have a good time watching this one as I did. Watch out the background of the title "Brother Orchid", its an interesting premise. Excellent movie. 8/10.

Likable gangster comedy-drama surprises with an unusual, amusing premise and takes it to an uplifting ending; with a superb star cast of the time, but it's mainly the Robinson/Bogart confrontation that livens up the show.

Brother Orchid (1940)

Edward G. Robinson plays first fiddle here, a mob boss jaded with the business and leaving it in Humphrey Bogart's hands while he goes to Europe. For five years. He comes back broke, and he's surprised he isn't boss anymore. Ha. That's just the first twenty minutes. There are more mob doings, and then it takes an odd couple of twists that give the movie its distinction.

"Brother Orchid" is fast, it's classic mobster stuff, and yet it's never hard edged and mean, as if it knows by 1940 the genre is old and people watching it have a bit of of nostalgia for it. (This isn't really true, however, as Cagney's most polished and possibly best gangster movie was White Heat in 1949. By the way, Cagney was originally slated for Robinson's role.) It is a light comedy around the edges, and Ralph Bellamy is the one truly comic character. But Ann Southern as the lead girl plays a lighthearted moll.

The mood here is to entertain. The title is odd from outside the theater but it makes sense after seeing it, and it's this second half of the movie that makes it all a little too starry eyed, even if it's also tongue-in-cheek. But most of all, it's totally enjoyable. Bogart, who appears really for just a couple minutes of screen time total, is restrained and not the classic Bogart just emerging ("The Maltese Falcon" and "High Sierra" are both 1941). But Robinson is in usual top form, subtle, peculiar, convincing, sympathetic. He even delivers some very sentimental lines with such earthy conviction you can believe him. Almost.