Brother Orchid (1940)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Richard Connell (story)
Earl Baldwin (writer)

Release Date:

8 June 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

We'd like youse to meet Brother Orchid!

Plot:

When retired racket boss John Sarto tries to reclaim his place and former friends try to kill him, he finds solace in a monastery and reinvents himself as a pious monk.

Plot Keywords:

Monastery | Monk | Zinnia | Cattleman | Haircut

Cast

Edward G. Robinson	...	Little John T. 'Johnny' Sarto
Ann Sothern	...	Florence 'Flo' Addams
Humphrey Bogart	...	Jack Buck
Donald Crisp	...	Brother Superior
Ralph Bellamy	...	Clarence P. Fletcher
Allen Jenkins	...	Willie 'The Knife' Corson
Charles D. Brown	...	Brother Wren
Cecil Kellaway	...	Brother Goodwin
Morgan Conway	...	Philadelphia Powell
Richard Lane	...	Mugsy O'Day
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Red Martin
John Ridgely	...	Texas Pearson
Joseph Crehan	...	Brother MacEwen
Wilfred Lucas	...	Brother MacDonald
Tom Tyler	...	Curley Matthews

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6203)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Of the five films that Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart made together, this is the only one in which neither is killed.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Edward G. Robinson returns to Ann Sothern's former rooming house and the landlady tell him she's moved, the boom mic is visible in the door's glass panel.

Quotes:

Brother Superior: When the hear speaks, Brother Orchid, other hearts must listen.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bullets Over Hollywood (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Frühlingslied (Spring Song)

Brother Johnny Sarto

This is a delightful comedy with film noir overtones, directed with great assurance by Lloyd Bacon. Viewing it after 64 years since it's original release, it still brings great satisfaction to anyone who is looking for a movie without pretensions, but one with a powerful message about how we get sidetracked in the pursuit of accomplishment, acceptance and being decent to everyone we encounter.

The great Edward G. Robinson makes this picture come alive. He was an actor whose presence overshadowed everything else around him. His Johnny Sarto, a man who is into rackets, has had it and decides to go straight and to things that he considers will give him "class". Alas, he discovers in the process that what he takes for class and polish his nothing of what he thought it would be.

Johnny discovers, perhaps too late, that whatever he was aiming for doesn't give him any satisfaction. Being drawn into the monastery, for the wrong reasons, he learns from the monks a thing, or two, about humility, charity and fulfillment. It is at this point when Johnny realizes he has finally achieved the class he was looking for in the wrong places.

Excellent appearances in the film by Ann Sothern, Ralph Bellamy, Donald Crisp and Allen Jenkins make this gem of a movie worth watching. Humphrey Bogart plays a minor role.