Brother Orchid (1940)

Racket Boss John Sarto, tired of gang violence, quits and goes to Europe for "culture." His fortune soon dissipated by European swindlers, he returns to the old mob; but new boss Jack Burns finds him strictly superfluous. Narrowly escaping being rubbed out, Sarto is taken in by the monastery of the "Little Brothers of the Flower." His unique talents prove very useful to the monks...especially when Sarto's old mob forces them out of the flower market.

Brother Orchid

Edward G. Robinson is somewhat cast against type in this film. It has been years since I have seen this movie; it's never been one that has received much exposure via television. It's a real treat to see Robinson take a turn at comedy; something he didn't do often but he had the skills to do it. Brother Orchid was released in 1940 & was directed by Lloyd Bacon. It's presented in the full screen format (1.33:1) & is in black & white.

Little John Sarto (Edward G. Robinson) has had enough of the rackets after someone in his Protection Agency has knocked someone off. He decides to retire, go to Europe & get some real class. After five years & broke (he's made some incredibly bad investments), he decides to return to New York City & become the head of his Protection Agency again. His former pals welcome him with open arms but it's only a ploy. Jack Buck (Humphrey Bogart, who was still a couple of years away from superstardom) has him thrown out on his ear. Flo Addams (Ann Sothern in a hilarious role) is his long suffering girlfriend. She appeals to Buck that he & Sarto should make up & become partners again. Buck agrees but it's all a set up in order to eliminate Sarto. The hit fails but just barely. Sarto ends up at a monastery becoming Brother Orchid. Brother Superior (Donald Crisp) takes him on as a monk with some funny consequences, everything has an angle & a hustle to Sarto. After hiding in the monastery for a few months Sarto reads that Flo is going to marry a hick cowboy from Montana, Clarence Fletcher (Ralph Bellamy). Fletcher had already been in some scenes earlier in the movie. The scene where he's driving Flo & Sarto to the sanitarium to get Willie the Knife (Allen Jenkins) is a riot, he's doing bird calls while Flo & Sarto are in the backseat talking. Ralph Bellamy made a living out of playing the "other guy" who never gets the girl. I don't know for sure but this might be the only movie where Bellamy DID get the girl! I won't spoil the ending for you but it's really a change of pace for Eddie G.!

There are some bonus features on the disc. There's an audio commentary track & several short subjects: A vintage newsreel,"Henry Busse & His Orchestra" (musical short); two cartoons, "Busy Bakers" (color) & "Slap Happy Pappy" (b&w Porky Pig) & two trailers, one of Brother Orchid & one of It All Came True. The film restoration is excellent as is the audio track. September 1, 2008

Light-weight fun but poorly paced

After spending five years in Europe, trying to become "cultured", gangster John Sarto (Edward G. Robinson) returns home to discover that his crime syndicate has been taken over by Jack Buck (Humphrey Bogart) and that his girlfriend has become "friends" with, Clarence P. Fletcher (Ralph Bellamy), an alfalfa farmer who seems keen on marrying her. Realizing just how much Sarto knows about him, Buck decides to get rid of Sarto permanently, but Sarto manages to escape and hides out in a monastery of "Florician" monks as the titular Brother Orchid.

"Brother Orchid" has managed to hold up reasonably well over time. This is a light hearted film and although not hilariously funny, the jokes still bring a smile to my face in the more cynical 21st century. The biggest problem with this film is its pacing. It just takes too long for Sarto to get to the monastery (about 45 minutes into a 90 minute film) and too little time is spent there once he arrives (not to mention the fact that none of the monks are remotely three-dimensional in their characters). I feel that the writers missed many opportunities when writing this film, many of which were later explored in the similarly-themed "Sister Act". Given the pacing problems, I think that many younger viewers would probably lose interest in this film before Sarto even reaches the monastery. Nevertheless, my father, who saw this film for the first time as a child, thoroughly enjoyed rewatching it.

Overall, "Brother Orchid" is an entertaining movie, and I did like Belamy's character very much, but it's not a cinema classic. Both Robinson and Bogart have made many films that are more deserving of your time than this one.
April 20, 2008

Uneasy combination - comedy and drama

"Brother Orchid" is a 1940 Warner Brothers release starring Edward G Robinson as a gangster who hides out in a seminary which changes his life. As a comedy, it has the merit of the terrific Ann Sothern as Robinson's girlfriend. Sothern works miracles creating a 3 dimensional and delightful character from cardboard. There are many more excellent supporting players; Allen Jenkins as a henchman, Ralph Bellamy typecast as a hick and Donald Crisp as Brother Superior, head of the seminary, for example. The problem, however, is that the switch to the seminary, trying for cute, is simply dreary and completely unconvincing. Robinson does not look comfortable. There are a lot of amusing ideas which lead nowhere. The gags do not amount to anything.

The DVD has some good extras. There is a dull commentary shared between biographers of Robinson and Bogart. Eric Lax, in particular, is the master of biographical statistics and rattles off how many films each supporting player made etc which becomes very tedious. The cartoon is excellent with take offs of many characters of the period including Eddie Cantor, Jack Benny and Bing Crosby. The musical short has some entertaining swing from a long forgotten band and there is a trailer for the film and another more entertaining 1940 release, "It all Came True" which starred the tantalising Anne Sheridan.

The package is good value like all these Warner's DVDs but it is better as part of the Warner's Gangsters Collection Volume 3. April 11, 2008

Brother Orchid

Loved this movie...I am a huge Edward G Robinson fan...this is one of his best. January 21, 2008

EDWARD G. AND THE MONKS!

Edward G. Robinson is most well-known from his many crime dramas and playing gangsters but among his best roles were comedies where he often parodied his gangster roles and did so with incredible diversity and skill. He was vastly underrated as a comedic actor and unfortunately many of his films are not on DVD or even VHS. Brother orchid is and it's one of Robinson's best comedic performances and maybe one of his best performances period! This film combines so many genres typical of the late 30's and early 40's, with crime drama, film noir, and comedy elements.

Robinson is Little John Sarto a mobster who aspires to be a man of sophistication and elegance. He goes to Europe and takes part in things like polo and art collecting. While he's away Humphrey Bogart, as jack Buck, takes over running the 'protection' operation and doesn't want to give it up. Sarto recruits a new gang to try and muscle in on Buck's territory but his girlfriend Flo (Ann Southern) unwittingly sets Sarto up for a hit. Sarto survives the hit and eventually makes his way to a monastery where he is aided by the monks. Sarto soon finds himself enjoying the serene peace of the monastery and finds his mobster ways being stripped away by the pious monks who come to accept Sarto as one of their own. But when Buck tries to run the Monk's flower business under, it's time for him to settle the score.

Boy what a really enjoyable movie that his humorous and yet filled with hope and a moral, yet not overbearing message of peace. The film has an incredible supporting cast including Ann Southern, Ralph Bellamy and the aforementioned Bogart. Thankfully this one is on VHS and I can only hope someone will gives us a collection of Edward G. Robinson films in the very near future. April 20, 2005

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