Brother Orchid (1940)

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:

Little Johnny Sarto: [riding with Flo in Clarence's back seat] What's that whistlin' I hear?
Flo Addams: That's Clarence makin' birdcalls. He's awful good.
Clarence P. Fletcher: [makes a hooting sound]
Flo Addams: Want him to impersonate a robin?
Little Johnny Sarto: What'll he do? Eat a worm?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Footsteps in the Dark (1941)

Soundtrack:

Largo al factotum

Lightweight Gangster Comedy Saved by Edward G's presence

Cute little gangster dramedy about a racketeer (Edward G) who finds "real class" in a monastery while on the lam from rival gangsters led by Bogie. Bogie himself (in, thankfully, one of his last supporting roles before stardom) has little presence in the film. Ann Sothern as Edward G's girlfriend steals the movie in whatever scene she's in.

Could've been real dull without the presence of both Robinson and Sothern. As it is, it's alright for a rainy day viewing.