The Brotherhood

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.

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.

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 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.

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.