Les frères Rico

Phil Karlson may not be one of the 'great' American directors but he was a very fine genre director, specializing in tough, gritty gangster thrillers of which "The Brothers Rico" is just one. Richard Conte is the retired mob accountant who finds himself drawn back to his criminal past when one of his former associates asks him for a favour on the same day his brother confesses to carrying out a hit and Larry Gates is excellent as the mob boss who drags him back in. Others in a decent cast include Dianne Foster as Conte's wife, James Darren as the younger brother whose actions set the plot in motion, Kathryn Grant as Darren's wife and later director Lamont Johnson as one of the few 'good' guys.

The source material was a story by none other than Georges Simenon though you probably would never guess it. This is a good, old-fashioned mob movie, the kind that would sit nicely on a double-bill with either Siegel's "The Killers" or Boorman's "Point Blank". Conte spends most of the movie chasing after Darren while Gates' heavies close in and until the end action is kept to a minimum. You could say this is an American gangster film reflected through a European art-house lens. With a better actor than Conte in the lead it might have been a classic but even with Conte it still exerts a grip while the excellent black and white cinematography was the work of the great Burnett Guffey.

Richard Conte stars in "The Brothers Rico," a 1957 noir with James Darren, Larry Gates, Kathryn Grant, and Dianne Foster.

Conte is Eddie Rico, a former mob accountant, now in the laundry business in Florida and quite successful. The first few scenes are filled with sexual innuendo and show a loving, romantic couple who hope to adopt a baby soon. Then Eddie gets a call from his old boss, Kubik (Gates) who wants to see him on an urgent matter. Considering his boss as "Uncle Sid," he goes to New York against his wife's (Foster) wishes.

Eddie is approached by his brother Gino - he claims the mob wants him to go to St. Louis, and he's sure they plan to rub him out as he was part of a hit and the others who were involved are dead. Eddie advises him to go to St. Louis, that Sid wants him to lay low and would never hurt him. Kubik is grateful to their mother (Argentina Brunetti) who once stopped a bullet meant for him, so Eddie knows he will protect his brothers.

When Eddie meets with Kubik, he learns that his brother Johnny is married and no one has heard from him. However, his wife's (Grant) brother has been talking to the DA about a mob witness. Eddie assures Sid it can't be Johnny. Kubik wants Eddie to find his brother and talk to him. Eddie does, not realizing that they just want to find Eddie and kill him. He realizes his mistake too late.

This was a very good, edge of your seat noir, low on violence though suspenseful. It was on Empire's list of 500 greatest movies, so I wanted to check it out.

Richard Conte does a great job as Eddie, who trusts the wrong people. This was his kind of role, playing the tough son of an immigrant, mixed up with the wrong people, but with a good heart. James Darren, now 67, hasn't changed much except in recent years he's let his hair go gray.

One more point. Someone mentioned that the casting was ridiculous because there was a 26-year difference between Conte and Darren. Back in the '20s and '30s especially, women had children that died at birth or were stillborn - my grandmother had nine children and three lived. There is quiet a gap between the oldest and youngest in that family. That was not unusual.

Everyone is very good in this film, and as a point of interest, the woman playing Argentina Brunetti's mother was, in fact, her real-life mother. Recommended.

The Brothers Rico is directed by Phil Karlson and adapted to screenplay by Lewis Meltzer, Ben Perry and Dalton Trumbo from a story written by Georges Simenon. It stars Richard Conte, Dianne Foster, Kathryn Crosby, Larry Gates and James Darren. Music is scored by George Duning and cinematography by Burnett Guffey.

Retired from the mob and happy in his new found family life, Eddie Rico (Conte) is pulled back into the underworld when word comes that his two brothers, who are still working for the syndicate, are wanted men.

Coming at the end of the film noir cycle, The Brothers Rico sits somewhere in between noir and pure crime drama. Conte's character is a classic noir protagonist, a man who is unable to shake of his past and gets drawn into the dark underworld by family ties. Waiting there for him is a surprise, and not a good one at that. The script is very well written, which in Karlson's hands paints a sinister mob underworld operating right under the noses of everyday folk. There's much talking and very little action for most of the running time, but the dialogue is strong, always imbuing the narrative with a sense of menace, background characters are always a threat and violence implied looms over proceedings.

However, in spite of it being well written and acted with great skill by Conte, Gates and the support cast, it's a dull visual experience and crowned off by a ridiculous "aint life grand epilogue". Top cinematographer Burnett Guffey is wasted here, the film is very minimalist in production, with the film often feeling like an episode of some TV cop show. There's a brief glimpse in the last five minutes of what Guffey could do, but that's it. Conte's character provides the ticket to the noir universe, but ultimately this represents the changing of the guard, a winding down of true film noir. From a viewpoint of the film being a crime drama that provides an observation of a crime syndicate as a real presence, Karlson's movie scores a more than safe 7/10. As a film noir, though, it barely registers and noir fans should expect a flat 5/10 movie. Rounded out I make it 6/10.

An entertaining film noir as the genre was nearing its end. Here we had a look at the gangster-mob life from a different perspective. Richard Conte plays Eddie Rico who worked for his uncle Kubik. The film begins with an ominous phone call as Eddie is told he needs to take in a mob member who is hiding from the justice. Eddie complies although he wishes to not get involved. He is currently trying to adopt a child with his wife.

Eddie is called out by Kubik to find their missing brother Johnny. When Eddie runs into his brothers Gino and Johnny, he tells them to trust the mob and follow their instructions. Eddie believes that fidelity is still a virtue among the mob bosses. He is committed to the cause and will do anything to make sure his brothers continue to survive. As a noir, it moves from Florida to New York to Phoenix and California, becoming one of the few national noirs (there is none I can think of right now).

The film is shot in a minimalist fashion. Most of the sound is diegetic based on the scenes on screen. On several occasions, melodramatic music plays which actually tones down the suspense, but clearly it is a tool used by the director to deprive the viewer of expected non-diegetic music. Richard Conte and his wife are very playful in the early scenes and risqué for the period as they engage playfully in the bathroom. As a mob movie with an Italian background, it continues the early gangster movies but takes the angle of the people down the line who are at the mercy of those at the top.

The Brothers Rico is worthwhile as an entertaining movie if you enjoy film-noir and tracing the developments of gangster films.

Despite a horrible happy ending that still leaves a bad taste in the ol noir mouth and some really crappy acting from Kathryn Grant and Dianne Foster director Phil Karlson, as per usual, manages to snatch steak tartar from the jaws of Hollywood sausage. I'm especially impressed at how this fine action director can create an atmosphere of tension and menace without resorting to undue amounts of physical violence. In the first two thirds of the film, other than a very brief scene of one of the Rico boys being beaten, most of the mayhem is of the psychological variety as we see the slow, painful education of Eddie Rico into his naivete regarding the ways and means of organized crime that he had foolishly thought he'd left behind. Ably dramatizing this inner conflict is Richard Conte, one of the giants of the noir and crime genres. From an eager desire to believe that crime boss "Uncle" Sid has his best interests at heart to his sagging realization that the opposite is the case, Conte gives us a believable and powerful study in the dangers of self delusion. Ably assisting are three fine but too often overlooked late 50s/early 60s character actors; Larry Gates, who usually plays avuncular professors and DAs, chillingly effective as Sid, "Naked City" regular Harry Bellaver as a corrupt big fish in a small Calif. Desert town pond, and Rudy Bond as his none too bright flunky. So even though the denouement sucks and I would have liked more exploration of the very sick Sid/Eddie relationship I think even Georges Simenon, upon whose novel this film is based, would not have minded watching. Give it a B. PS...Great moody, black and white cinematography from Burnett Guffey of "Bonnie/Clyde" fame. I like how he renders Coronado Calif. Into Miami.