User reviews

The Brotherhood as a title has a double meaning. It's not just about that Italian fraternal order of criminals that so many films and books have been made and written about. It's about two brothers also, the Ginettas, Frank and Vince.

Kirk Douglas is Frank Ginetta a made man, high up in the councils and his younger brother Vince played by Alex Cord who's just back from the Army like Michael Corleone was. But Michael married an outsider while Vince Ginetta is marrying the daughter of another Mafia capo, Luther Adler.

Though he's younger than Adler, Douglas is a guy who likes to do things the old fashioned way, the way his dad who was a button man back in the day did them. He also loves hanging around with the ancient survivors of the old Mafia wars among them Eduardo Ciannelli. Adler and Douglas get to be at loggerheads over Cord and the role he should take in the business.

The old guys learn something and give Douglas a contract that's going to cause him considerable problems, personal and organizational. What's a good Mafia guy to do when you get a contract. Then Alex Cord is given a contract to make his bones so to speak.

The main difference between the Godfather films and this is that the Brotherhood is set in the present, whereas the Godfather films are rooted in the past. By 1968 organized crime at the highest levels was hardly an Italian only concern. You don't see hardly any non-Italians in the first Godfather film and in the second the alliance is pretty wary. The non-Italians dominate the high councils in New York, Val Avery, Alan Hewitt and Murray Hamilton together with Luther Adler outvote Douglas all the time.

Martin Ritt shot a whole lot of this film in New York and many of the sites are recognizable to a native New Yorker. Still it's not one of his better films and it took Francis Ford Coppola to do the modern gangster film right.

One thing though, Douglas certainly did NOT heed Vito Corleone's advice about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Not that the higher ups wouldn't have found out at some point anyway, but when you watch The Brotherhood you'll know that Douglas was the obvious suspect when he makes that fateful hit.

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.

Brotherhood, The (1968)

*** (out of 4)

Calm but effective tale of Mafia boss Frank Ginetta (Kirk Douglas) who welcomes his younger brother Vince (Alex Cord) into the "family" but soon the two are at odds. Frank, being of an old school, wants to keep old traditions while Vince wants to move ahead and try new things. Soon Frank starts to battle the heads of the other families trying to get his way. THE BROTHERHOOD was apparently a disaster when it was first released and legend has it that this is the film that made Paramount nervous about giving money for THE GODFATHER. Whether or not that legend is true is beyond me but I think it's fair to say that had THE GODFATHER not been a hit and become known as one of the greatest films ever made then perhaps this 1968 movie might have gained a cult following over time. As it is, THE BROTHERHOOD has pretty much been forgotten over time and that's a shame because it's actually a pretty good movie. I think the film's weakest parts are the opening thirty-minutes or so as we get a few flashbacks and at times they don't make too much since. I think director Martin Ritt loses the story at times and a lot of this is due to some rather silly moments where we're being introduced to the mob and the lifestyle. These early scenes really don't add up to much and I think the screenplay also suffers at building up Frank's character. It's never quite clear what type of leader he is and it's never made clear whether we're supposed to be with him or against him. This changes once the real story kicks into place and that's pretty much your typical brother vs. brother thing that we've seen countless times in the past. This aspect of the story is probably the most unoriginal but it's where all the drama comes from and at times this drama is very high. I thought the second half of the film is where Douglas really came to life as well. Once he character starts to crack under all the pressure is when things really started to heat up and this includes Douglas who finally becomes very menacing. I really loved the way Douglas played the old tradition while being at odds with the new stuff in the family. Cord is also very good in his supporting role as is Murray Hamilton, Susan Strasberg, Luther Adler and Irene Papas. While watching the film you can't help but see a minor influence on the Coppola film but also there are a few bits and pieces in Martin Scorsese's GOODFELLAS. There are a couple extremely memorable moments including a "joke" that Douglas tells before carrying out a hit. Then, when we see this hit, it's quite disturbing to watch and even more shocking is that it's done without gore, blood or even much violence. The ending, which you'll see coming, is also done in a very nice way as there's an added twist that is very effective. THE BROTHERHOOD has many flaws but it's still worth viewing and even if you find it starting pretty slow, just stick in there and you'll be rewarded.

I do not rate Martin Ritt one of the great American directors, but I cannot deny that he is responsible for some great films, including HUD, NORMA RAE and THE LONG HOT SUMMER.

THE BROTHERHOOD is nothing like any of those films. Set in Sicily, it stars a then 52 years old Kirk Douglas, who lived to nearly double that age and still looked quite lithe and young, playing Frank Ginetta, a Mafia man about to become godfather who is given a most unenviable task, that of icing his brother Axel's father in law for blabbing, thereby ensuring the deaths of 41 Mafia members.

I feel that the film's first half carries too much unnecessary talk, despite helping to situate relations - especially the love between Frank and his wife Ida, well played by Irene Pappas.

The film carries an obvious but highly moral lesson: if you are involved in crime you end up a criminal and sooner or later there is a price to pay. Usually your life. In this case, Frank's father passed his knowledge to his son who now wants to bring his brother into the fold - all stays in the family, but nothing is wholesome.

In many ways, THE BROTHERHOOD is a forerunner to THE GODFATHER, which would come out three years later and would become one of the greatest films in cinema history.

Thus, it is definitely worth watching. 7/10.

Hard to believe it, but Kirk is 102 years old and has been married over 65 years as of today (10/07/2019). Anyway, he is pretty good in this role. "The Godfather" came out 7 years after this film. He does look a little odd with all that jet-black hair, however. Give it a go.

Of all the actors who were hurt, angry, and resentful that they weren't cast as Don Corleone in The Godfather, I feel particularly sorry for Kirk Douglas. Unlike Anthony Quinn, Lee J. Cobb, and all the others, Kirk had acted in a precursor to The Godfather with an incredibly similar plot. It's a Sicilian family business with double-crosses, takeovers, and blood loyalty at the forefront. Violent, dramatic, and menacing, there's no reason why The Brotherhood was a bomb and The Godfather was a hit. Even more tragic, The Brotherhood was such a bomb, Hollywood said, "I guess mafia movies are out," and purposely didn't make another one for four years. It must have been a very eventful four years for audiences to suddenly change their minds.

Kirk Douglas is, obviously, the head of the family. His younger brother, Alex Cord, is just getting out of the service and returning to the family, but he doesn't fall in line with Kirk's plans. He does at first, but when he finds out through hearsay that Kirk was responsible for a family member's murder, his mindset changes. And if you're Sicilian, we all know you have a hard time with forgiveness.

In this movie, you'll see a big, Italian wedding. You'll see lots of family meetings discussing whose loyalties have shifted, who needs to be cut out, and who can get elevated in power. There's the classic "kiss of death" that everyone incorrectly thinks Al Pacino invented, two feuding brothers, and a powerful patriarch who does favors and expects more than just loyalty in return. Besides excessive blood, animal cruelty, and sex scenes, what did The Godfather have that this movie didn't have first?

This movie might not be anywhere near as good as The Godfather, but Gus Russo, who wrote the definitive biography of the mob (Supermob) writes that Sidney Korshak (mob lawyer and fixer) told Douglas that the real underworld bosses were impressed with the picture. "They felt it captured the spirit of their organization," Douglas wrote in his autobiography, The Ragman's Son. "They particularly liked my portrayal of a Mafia don. They wanted to meet me."

So the film may not rate high but it's an interesting study of how the mob really works.

BTW, Kirk Douglas' real name, according to Russo, was Issur Danielovich Demsky.

Ever Since the "Invention" of the Movies as Story-Telling Organized Crime (Mafioso), was a Vibrant Part of the Experience Loved by Film-Makers and Equally Film-Fans.

In 1968 this Film was Conceived by Super-Star and Producer Kirk Douglas and Director Martin Ritt,

Bringing to the Screen State-of-the-Art Film-Making about an Insider Story of a "Generation-Gap" with its Disputes and Repercussions.

Douglas is an "Old-School-Button-Man" that Finds His College Educated Son (Alex Cord) with Many "Outside" Opportunities, Choosing to Join "The Brotherhood" and His Real Older Brother in "The Life".

New Blood, New Ideas, that Coincide with the Now Multi-Ethnic Leaders.

Douglas is Vehemently Opposed to the Ventures and Therein Lies this Fictional Story.

Douglas is Oddly Cast but Uses His Overarching Style to Bully the Audience on His Own Choice and He has the Last-Word as Producer.

"The Godfather" (1972) Rode Coppola's "Fever-Dream" to Glory and is Often Sighted as the "Best Movie Ever".

While "The Brotherhood" will Never Receive a Single Vote as Best Anything.

It's a Straight-Forward Melodrama with No Intentions of Breaking any New Ground in the Genre.

Solid, Well-Played, a Critical and Box-Office Bomb. No Champagne Corks, just Back to the "Drawing-Board".

There You will Find Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo. The Rest is One of Movie History's Great Success Stories.

It's hard to say if "The Brotherhood" would work in a decent way if we weren't all blown away by Coppola/Puzo saga "The Godfather" and the whole Mafia imaginarium that we accostumed over the years. It sets such a high bar that any other film with a similar premise pale by comparison, with some notable exceptions and all made after the trilogy. Sadly and painfully, this flick didn't ammount to much as nothing is convincing, nor appealing and if there are lessons to be learned it all relates in how not to compose a story.

This one by Martin Ritt ("Hud", "Norma Rae") and written by Lewis John Carlino ("Seconds", "The Great Santini") was done by before Coppola's film and released by the very same studio. It tells the messy drama of the Ginetta brothers, a Mafia family fallen on hard times after the Don's death, and it's up to the sons to continue the legacy and tradition while conducting business in the late 1960's. Kirk Douglas is the one in charge of everything, trying to keep up with tradition, but he has to embrace baby brother Alex Cord and welcome to the business as he's more in tune with the world of computers of which the family is trying to make some money.

Obviously that there's a game in play involving the other families, a huge set-up destined to make the rise of Cord character and the downfall of Douglas character. The tragedy is that the whole thing is not interesting to follow, it's amazingly confusing with all those old ghouls-like planning scheme after scheme in between fake smiles and direct confrontations. The whole intelligence brought up by a well-constructed thread by Puzo & Coppola is missing here.

Sicilian and Napolitan mobsters are hot-blooded through intentions, the inner side, and seldom face to face unless when really needed, last consequences.

Can you imagine Vito Corleone and Don Barzini screaming at each other during families meeting or throwing shades at one another? The characters here do exactly that, in a shameless manner.

Both films deal with the notion of different times and different generations that are trapped in evolving with time and preserving old habits that made them who they are. While I believe everything done in the classic trilogy, this one was pitiful whenever treating the case, specially when new in the business, collegue graduate and military veteran brother challenges the current Don played by Douglas, criticising his reasons for speaking Italian. And truth is that both men are a behavior mix between Sonny, Fredo and a little twist of Michael, added with lots of excessive emotions and poor reasoning. And the story is so absurd that even the Don commits a murder at one point (best scene in the show since it's the only with heightened tension, well written for its action but not who's performing).

Without the comparison, we still have a weak movie with almost nothing to show. It's an almost dream-like idea of mobsters where the brutality of it all it's in some distant horizon and most of the time the family have happy, tender moments always disrupted by some mistrust. Mr. Ritt was an amazing actors director but here it's hard to tell if anyone was saved or worth seeing. Irene Papas (as Douglas wife) and Murray Hamilton (as a mob rival) made it okay with the little screentime they have; but it's hard to accept Ukranian-born Kirk being a Sicilian don (but he learned well his Italian), and Cord is lifeless just as the whole movie is, and it's not just a script problem that transforms his character out of nowhere. Truly weak and unnecessary film.

When this movie first came out it was unfairly shunned by critics and the movie industry. But now 31 years later The Brotherhood can now fully be enjoyed by fans as an excellent precursor to the Godfather. Kirk Douglas heads an all-star cast in this excellently written, excellently acted,and most of all excellently made picture.

I found it fascinating that ethnicity was seen here as an obstacle to progress. Four years later, after ROOTS and GODFATHER, the tone had changed drastically. Seeing this in 2002, I was struck by how carefully the feeling of an ethnic enclave was portrayed. The story goes over many of the themes that are now cliches, but were not at all in 1968.

Not only is this film's story-telling sort of like in a filmed stage play (just people talking all along), but its looks (images and set design) are quite second-rate, like in a low-budget ready-for-TV movie. The acting is extremely poor, over-acting everywhere (compare this with "The Godfather" and its brilliant cast, and its excellent cinematography by Gordon Willis), and Kirk Douglas looks about as Italian as I appear Chinese. All in all, a major disappointment.

I forget how I learned of this movie, but once I did I just had to see it. I've never encountered it on tv or in video stores, so I ordered it through Movies Unlimited. Having seen it, I am mystified as to its neglect. The casting alone is first-rate - Kirk Douglas, Luther Adler, and Irene Pappas, as well as a host of great character actors such as Murray Hamilton and Eduardo Ciannelli. The story is engrossing, the script is excellent, and the direction keeps things moving nicely.

Many others have commented on the foreshadowing of elements of the Godfather movies: refusals of business deals, sojourns to Sicily, fratricide. I am at a loss to explain these foreshadows, but they are almost eery.

One observation: Coppola's use of a muted color pallete, leaning toward brown, in The Godfather, has accustomed us to expect this tone in stories like this. The brilliant colors and high production values of the Technicolor process are almost startling here.

Do not pass up the chance to see this flick should the opportunity arise. The phrase "hidden gem" is being thrown around too much nowadays, but this film is certainly an exemplar.

This Martin Ritt work,which is not among his best (Hombre,Hud,etc) ,features a prologue and an epilogue,which take place in Sicily(but a studio Sicily as the final cast and credits says);two short bits which frame an endless flashback which explains(?) why Vince (Cord) must(!) kill brother Kirk.This long hour features the de rigueur mafioso -the good(?) and the bad ones-,the obligatory wedding scene ,proud family chronicles ,etc etc etc:plus ça change..

It's too bad Ritt did not focus his story on Sicily ,a Sicily he should have filmed on location instead .The only good scenes are the final ones ,and Irene Papas could have added a Greek tragedy touch ,hadn't her part been so underwritten.

Some will find here roots of "the godfather" ,but I would go as far as saying that it questions the hitherto excellence of the Coppola movie.Its eternal triumph (with an obnoxious subject) leaves me with a bitter taste in the mouth.

As for Martin Ritt,there are plenty of estimable works to choose.Avoid this.

This Kirk Douglas production was not a blockbuster. The poster of two male stars giving the kiss of death, a Sicilian symbol not familiar to most audiences, probably confused potential moviegoers about the subject matter. Its poor box office was cited as a factor in Paramount Pictures' initial reluctance to allocate a big budget to "The Godfather." Similarities between the two are obvious to us now: Sicilian locales in addition to New York City spots; a mixed style of gaudy house furnishings and decor; an educated brother just returned from the Army; an Italian-American wedding reception early on; an underworld meeting that follows; a top don objecting to new ventures.

Kirk may not be as flashy as Brando, but he certainly studied Italian mannerisms and sayings, giving a believable performance. Unlike 'Godfather,' there is very little violence; only two on camera.