calvinnme This is a Mafia drama about, among other things, conflict between some heads of the organization wanting to behave on the surface like a respectable modern business, as opposed to another who is ready to resort on occasion to "the old ways" of brutality and violence with opponents.This film died a quick death at the 1968 box office, becoming enough of a concern that some Paramount executives were worried about spending the big bucks on a film adaption of Puzo's The Godfather a few years later. The Francis Ford Coppola film, of course, was a huge hit which has gone on to become a film legend, while The Brotherhood is pretty much forgotten today.But this earlier Martin Ritt directed Mafia exploration, while lacking the drama and epic quality of the Coppola film, still has some things to recommend it. Kirk Douglas is solid as one of the heads of a Mafia syndicate in conflict with other heads of that organization as to how to deal with "finks," as Douglas calls them. The other heads want to stay out of the headlines as much as possible. They also want to expand the business in ways that the more cautious Douglas doesn't like.The Brotherhood precedes The Godfather by having a big marriage sequence in which all members of the family and old members of the Mafia gather for a festive occasion. Douglas plays the gracious host, and is full of ebullience and charm. At one point, though, he takes a few seconds to talk to two torpedoes who have just returned from having Douglas that is the highlight of the production. For reasons of plot giveaways I can't reveal the contents of this tense sequence. Suffice it to say, if the film had had one or two other scenes as potent as this one The Brotherhood might be better remembered today.A minor crime drama, in the final analysis, one distinguished by some good performances, and that gripping scene between Douglas and Adler. made a hit for him. Reassured from them that all went well, Douglas is immediately back to the smiles and charm as party host.Cast in the role of Douglas's younger brother who wants into the organization is Alex Cord. I'm tempted to call him Alex Cord of Wood because that would best sum up his performance. If ever there was a contrast in what is and is not charismatic on screen it would be a comparison between Cord and Douglas.Irene Papas, playing Douglas's wife, is largely wasted in the film, I'm sorry to say. However, playing an old time Mafioso big boss that Douglas respects is Hollywood veteran Eduardo Ciannelli, and Ciannelli is terrific in his part, with one scene that is quite riveting. It's nice to see the character actor with an opportunity to still strut his stuff in a role that was ideal casting for him (you might regard it as the character that he had played in 1937's Marked Woman thirty years before).Also impressive in this drama is Luther Adler as one of the heads of the Mafia. Luther will play a very strong scene in this film with Douglas that is the highlight of the production. For reasons of plot giveaways I can't reveal the contents of this tense sequence. Suffice it to say, if the film had had one or two other scenes as potent as this one The Brotherhood might be better remembered today.In the final analysis, this is a minor crime drama, one distinguished by some good performances, and that gripping scene between Douglas and Adler.

zardoz-13 You cannot truly enjoy Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" with Marlon Brando and Al Pacino unless you've seen Martin Ritt's "The Brotherhood" with Kirk Douglas and Alex Cord. Ritt's saga about La Cosa Nostra lacks the scope and spectacle of "The Godfather," but it touches all the traditional bases for an Italian crime thriller. Kirk Douglas is an old-fashioned Mafioso named Frank Ginetta and he refuses to change with the times. Alex Cord plays Kirk's brother Vince who has survived a tour of Vietnam with the U.S. Army. Unlike Al Pacino ex-G.I., Vince knows he must get into the family business. He explains that he is too old and it's been too long since his college days. He wants into the business and Frank couldn't be happier. Initially, all Vince does is review business deals. Eventually, Frank finds out that the board that he is a part of plans to expand. Frank worries about this change. He worries about the repercussions of the deal and he fears the government. Frank is traditional and likes to hang out with the old mafia types. These types were the company that his father kept. Frank discovers that one of the board member is a canary. Earlier, in the first display of violence, Frank ordered the murder of a canary. Moreover, Frank learns that this canary was responsible for the death of his dad. Later, Vince questions Frank's decision about these new interests. As it turns out, Vince's father-in-law is a member of the board on which Frank serves with other business-minded people. When the feces hits the fan, everybody is into conflict, and blood isn't thicker than business.Despite several similarities, "The Brotherhood" differs. Whereas Brando refused to traffic in narcotics, Douglas doesn't want anything to do with electronics. Whereas Pacino didn't want to be in the business, Cord asks to be in the business. "The Godfather" cannot match the climax when brother turns on brother. Nevertheless, "The Godfather" boasts more violence and characters in a narrative that occurs over decades. "The Brotherhood" is really the last reel in "The Godfather." Vince commits an unpardonable crime against the board and flees to the safety of Sicily. Frank knows it is only a matter of time before the board dispatches somebody to ice him. When his brother Vince shows up in the old country to visit Frank, Frank welcomes him with open arms and assure everybody, including his suspicious wife that Vince isn't going to kill him. Kirk Douglas makes a convincing mafia don, and Alex Cord looks like he could be Douglas' kin. Director Martin Ritt takes the subject matter of Louis John Carlino's screenplay with sobriety. The body count of "The Brotherhood" amounts to three. The canary dies in an isolated field. Later, Douglas kills more out of revenge. Finally, his younger brother Vincent carries out an underworld rite of passage. Basically, "The Brotherhood" doesn't wallow in one bloodbath after another. Ritt puts his first-rate through the paces in 94 minutes without let-up, but half of the time nothing exciting happens. The dialogue is largely forgettable, but the situations are genre conventions. Unfortunately, too much talking takes place when more shooting should have rung out. Ritt treats the subject matter as if he were making a crime version of "Death of a Salesman." Lalo Schifrin contributes a fine orchestral score. Part of the action is told in flashback. "The Brotherhood" is a dignified crime drama without a surfeit of violence.

jotix100 Vince, the younger brother of exiled mafioso, Frank Ginetta, comes to visit his sibling in Sicily, where he has been hiding. Vince has come on a mission although we must wait until much later because we are taken back to get to know Frank's involvement in crime in New York.In flashbacks we are taken to Vince's wedding to Emma Bertolo, the daughter of a prominent mafia bigwig in Brooklyn, where Frank controls the criminal operations. Vince, a man that has gone into the US army and has studied, is also drawn into the illegal activities by loyalty to his brother. Family, among these men matters more than anything else. Vince, who grows disillusioned with Frank, is given the ultimate mission anyone in the organized crime can get.No one can accuse Lewis John Carlino, the screenplay writer, with copying the more famous "The Godfather", which came out later. The film, directed by Martin Ritt, is uneven, at best. The story is about power more than gore and shootouts. Kirk Douglas, the star, produced the film as well as appeared as Frank.Mr. Ritt got the atmosphere right, although the Sicilian locations are just a passing thought. Alex Cord, who made a career on television, is impressive in his take of Vince. Irene Pappas and Susan Strasberg have nothing to do. Luther Adler, Murray Hamilton, Eduardo Cianelli, are among the supporting players.

John T. Ryan PREDATING the Mario Puzo tale of Mafiosi in immediate Post World War II NYC by over four years, THE BROTHERHOOD (The Brotherhood Company/Paramount Pictures Company, 1968) was a great example of the underworld life, every bit bas good as THE GODFATHER (Paramount Pictures, 1972) It did not compare to the latter in respect to its stature and epic standards, but nonetheless it has the proper spirit and twisting storyline to make it ever so engaging.TOLD in flashback from the point of view of Frank Ginetta (Kirk Douglas), the elder and prominent Underworld Mob Boss and Vince Ginetta (Alex Cord) the younger and much less criminally involved of the family. Frank has returned to the land of his ancestors, being in Sicily in current times; being 1968, when the film was made.BOLDLY the scene returns to NYC several years earlier, where Frank Ginetta is celebrating at the Wedding of his younger brother, Vince. Shortly thereafter, he is confronted by a couple of old line Mafiosi or "Mustached Joes"; being Sicilian born, transplanted to the New World. The two men, Don Peppino (Eduardo Cianelli) and Pietro Rizzi (Joe DeSantis) have information about certain now High-Ranking Mafia Bosses had been instrumental in having many a Sicilian born mobster killed years earlier.* One of the victims was the Ginetta Boys Father.Further complicating matters is the revelation that the main informant was the now Mob Boss, Dominic Bertolo (Luther Adler), who's Daughter, Emma (Susan Strasberg) has just married Vince Ginetta (Alex Cord) in a sort of Royal Underworld Wedding and a securing a veritable political alliance at the same time.BEING a highly traditional type, Frank knows that it is his Sacred Duty to avenge this foul deed; so with Pietro Rizzi (Joe De Santis, again) acting as his chauffeur, Frank lures Dominic into a trap. Following an impromptu luncheon, Frank relates some amusing "war stories" from the "Old Days"; after which he confronted him with being the informer of those long days ago. With the help of Pietro Rizzi, he binds the hands of Bertolo and rig a neck to feet over the back rope, which slowly strangles the victim as his strength is ebbed away with his impossibly successful struggling.AS the doomed Bertolo lies struggling, unquestionably facing the eventual fate that Frank has decreed him, the elder Ginetta reads the names of the slain who the bound and gagged gangster-chieftain had condemned.MAKING the traditionalist Ginetta the obviously prime suspect is the fact that he uses so many of the old-line signs and symbols of intentional "hits"; such as his favourite of shoving a dead canary into the mouth of the "fink", leaving no doubt as to the reason for the murder.FLEEING to Sicily, among many relatives, Frank and Mrs. Ida Ginetta (Irene Pappas) are in a seemingly endless Mediterranean vacation, when Brother Vince suddenly shows up in Sicily. The revelation doesn't upset Frank any, but it obvious that there's some major event by the expression on Ida's countenance.MEETING the younger Brother and Junior Partner in their Construction Company at the Palermo Airport, Frank takes Vince to lodging among relatives and talks of tradition and its relevancy to today's world. Drinking Wine together and walking out into the Sicilian hills, Frank hands a Sicilian shotgun to his younger brother; imploring him to shoot, saying' "Go ahead, shoot! They got you by the throat!" THE 'they' referred to in Frank Ginetta's dying declaration were the modern day Crime Syndicate's Bosses, who demand that the Bertolo Slaying must be avenged by the younger Ginetta Brother.THE BROTHERHOOD in addition to being a work of fictional gangs and mobsters, is maybe the first to emphasize the multi-ethnic make-up of the modern American Underworld. Gangsters of Irish Ancestry such as Jim Egan (Murray Hamilton), Jewish like Jake Rotherman (Val Avery) and others are present and prominent from the earliest of scenes in the Picture; emphatically underscoring that the Italian Mobster is far from being alone in the Nation's Underworld.MAKING the one point crystal clear, that the make-up of the Crime Syndicate in modern days is far from being populated strictly with Italian hoods; but rather it is a sort of League of Nations. It is one that has a large number of ethnicities on its long list; being an ever growing roster of organized crime.NOTE: * This event of many multiple executions of the "old line" gangsters is referred to in Urban Legend as "the Night of the Sicilian Vespers." There are two sides to the argument, with both great numbers of believers and just as many detractors who believe that the Sicilian Vespers never occurred.POODLE SCHNITZ!!