The Brotherhood

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.

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.

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.

The son of a powerful Organized Crime -Mafia- don comes home from his army service in Vietnam and wishes to lead his own life. This is a young man called Vince Ginetta (Alex Cord) that his older brother Frank Ginetta (Kirk Douglas) raised with selfless devotion, following the family tradition. As intrigues and powerplays involving his older brother dictate otherwise, and he finds himself being slowly drawn back into that world. But Frank Ginetta is a veteran member of the mafia who refuses to accept the new principles of his brother Vince. Things go wrong when the Mafia high council (Luther Adler, Val Avery, Alan Hewitt and Murray Hamilton) in New York, together with outvote Frank Ginetta all the time. And Vince executes orders of the council, while Frank refusal to follow the higher dictates, it leads both to a confrontation, emulating Cain and Abel, resulting in sad consequences. Honor, Loyalty, Betrayal !.

The central theme of the film is the confrontation between two hot-headed brothers from a Mafia syndicate, who clash over old and new methods and the changing of the guard in the Family. In this film, Kirk Douglas, dressed up with a drooping mustache and dyed hair, excels in his role as a New York syndicate board member who has nostalgic memories of how much better things were done in the old Mafia days. Not surprisingly, he turns on the syndicate and runs off to retire to Sicily. The picture is passable and acceptable enough, but not remarkable. Martin Ritt can't do much with the chest-beating that accompanies this tale of brotherly love, self-sacrifice and providing a far-fetched as well as failed notion of believably portraying the physical aesthetic and singular temperament of Sicilians. So he slowly and stolidly makes his way through the bitter and the new, stopping for a few interesting and exciting scenes. Kirk Douglas gives the best performance with his usually over-the-top style allowing him to liven things up; far below is newcomer Alex Cord, who gives an inferior and weak interpretation compared to that of the Hollywood towering Kirk Douglas. Much of the movie's failure was attributed to lack of chemistry between Kirk Douglas and Alex Cord. While normally fine Greek actress Irene Papas is really wasted and Luther Adler briefly steals the show as a plump, greasy, rather likeable snitch who becomes respectable. Joining these superior actors are a host of well-known supporting actors, such as: Susan Strasberg, Murray Hamilton, Eduardo Ciannelli, Joe De Santis, Connie Scott, Val Avery, Alan Hewitt, Barry Primus, and look for very brief appearances from Hal Holbrook, and even Paul Reubens.

In the film there is also a historical remark when the role played by the old mafia boss Eduardo Ciannelli explains that it is necessary to carry out a bloody revenge for some events of the past, thus he refers to notorious kingpin Lucky Luciano and about the person to be killed, a stool pigeon who told Lucky the people to murder. Luciano was one of the bosses of the Mafia and leader of Cosa Nostra or Mafia, and soon became a chief in the Reina Family during the height of the Castellammarese War. Subsequently, taking place a Mafian War between Salvatore Maranzano, who eventually defeated the faction headed by rival Joseph Masseria . After Masseria's murder , this position was short-lived, as Maranzano himself was murdered in 1931. Then , the family is headed by Charles "Lucky" Luciano , eventually known as the Genovese Family. He orders the slaughter of 40 other responsible , a famous massacre nicknamed Sicilian Vespers, therefore becoming the only boss.

The motion picture was professional but unevenly directed by Martin Ritt and it did not do very well at the box office. As a result, studios were reluctant to do more Mafia stories, that's why it almost convinced Paramount not to make The Godfather (1972). ¨Edge of the city¨(1957) resulted to be Martin Ritt's first directing assignment after being blacklisted in the 1950s and he went on to direct 25 more films, including some classics. Ritt was an expert on dramas such as ¨Stanley and Iris¨ , ¨Nut¨ , ¨Norma Rae¨ , ¨The front¨, ¨The Sound and the Fury¨ , ¨Black orchid¨ , though also directed films of all kind of genres such as : ¨The Spy Who Came in from the Cold¨ , ¨The Great White Hope¨ , and ¨Molly McGuire¨ . Martin Ritt worked with Paul Newman in two Westerns : ¨Hombre¨ and ¨Outrage¨ and two dramas : ¨Hud¨, ¨Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man ¨. ¨Mafia¨ rating : 6/10, a decent family thriller . It will appeal to drama enthusiasts and Kirk Douglas fans. Well worth watching, it's considered to be an adequate precedent to ¨The Godfather¨, although it is not one of Martin Ritt's best films.