JohnHowardReid Copyright 8 June 1940 by Warner Bros Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Strand: 7 June 1940. U.S. release: 8 June 1940. Australian release: 15 August 1940. 91 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Racket chieftain Little John Sarto, after a trip to Europe in search of "class," returns to find his mob taken over by his former associate, Jack Buck. Sarto organizes a new gang and muscles into his old territory. His girl friend, Flo Addams, attempting to promote peace between the rival factions, inadvertently sends Sarto into a trap. NOTES: In 1940, Edward G. Robinson held 4th place to Errol Flynn, James Cagney and Bette Davis as the most popular Warner Bros stars at foreign ticket-windows. TO SUM UP: Good idea, but disappointing. COMMENT: Tired gangster pic. The familiar ingredients are all here but so familiar and so jaded has the formula become that neither the director nor the scriptwriter can make up his mind whether to play it straight or for laughs. The players were obviously told to play it safe on a sort of middle ground where they are not tongue-in-cheek enough to be funny nor sufficiently straight to be taken too seriously. The only players unaffected by this are Jenkins and Bellamy, both of whom give their usual comic performances (though even Bellamy is more serious than usual). Bogart's role is small and though he is supposed to be the villain of the piece, he doesn't play with all stops out as usual, but gives a rather half-hearted portrayal. The main burden of the film falls on Sothern and Robinson. It is obvious that most of their scenes together should be played for comedy, but they are both so heavy-handed the laughs don't come.Significantly enough, Bacon's direction is only worthy of note in the one sequence that is played perfectly straight - Robinson fleeing from Buck's hired gunmen, the camera tracking with him through the undergrowth until he stumbles across the courtyard of the monastery, the sequence concluding with an elaborate crane shot. Even the climactic fight confrontation, with its comic caretaker ringing the cops, does not seem meant to be taken seriously (why do the cops arrest Bogart and his gang - they weren't the ones who were breaking the law?). Elsewhere the direction is routine.Credits display the usual brand of Warner Bros craftsmanship but production values are moderate.OTHER VIEWS: Ably photographed, but a good cast is wasted on a piece of hokum that steers a disconcertingly uncertain course between straight melodrama and outright burlesque. - JHR writing as George Addison.

utgard14 Gangster Little John Sarto (Edward G. Robinson) retires from the racket to "get some class." After that flops he tries to reclaim his old mob, which is now run by Jack Buck (Humphrey Bogart). After nearly being rubbed out and believing his girlfriend (Ann Sothern) set him up, Little John joins a monastery! Entertaining Warner Bros. gangster comedy is helped by fun dialogue and solid cast. Robinson, Bogart, and Sothern are all great. Support from the likes of Ralph Bellamy, Allen Jenkins, Cecil Kellaway, and Donald Crisp. Doesn't launch into the monastery part of the film until about halfway through. It's a fairly routine gangster story for the first half. Although with this cast, fairly routine is still pretty enjoyable to watch.

secondtake 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.

MartinHafer This is one of the weirder gangster films of its era, as the last half of the film goes in one of the oddest directions I have ever seen--and I've seen practically every film made by Edward G. Robinson and the rest of the "Warner regulars" who made these type of films.The first half or so is pretty conventional, as Robinson is the head of a mob (no big surprise) and after he retires, he gets the itch to once again return to a life of crime. So far, so good. However, after the hoods he left him in control try to rub him out, he hides out in a monastery! And, he re-names himself "Brother Orchid" and sees these gentle souls as a bunch of chumps! Now that, and the particularly exciting finale all make this a definite departure from the norm. While not 100% successful (it did seem a bit preachy and very tough to believe), I admire the studio for at least trying to take a chance and create something unique. Plus, good acting, a light and fun mood and brisk direction by Lloyd Bacon make this a film well worth seeing.