A famous failure when it premiered, The Brotherhood is a prime example of how badly made gangster films were before Coppola's The Godfather. Populated by actors who are Jewish, Greek, Mexican--and whatever Murray Hamilton is, The Brotherhood has no feel for Italian culture, New York City (where it's primarily set) or how modern gangs are structured and operate. Director Martin Ritt is most famous for rural-based films or films of social conscience and is seriously out of his depth in a crime film. The acting, save for Kirk Douglas' shameless over-acting, is competently done. Douglas gives the kind of hammy, schmaltzy "ethnic" performance that blemished much of Anthony Quinn's later career. The other actors seem to know their lines and recite them clearly enough for the audience to hear. The script is a time-worn template: the older, hot tempered traditionalist brother vs. the younger, college-educated one as they struggle to run their business. The one potentially interesting sub-plot, a Senate investigation of the mob,is mentioned but never developed. Like most of the film, it's lost in a sluggish flow of clichéd brother vs. brother generational conflict. Finally though, The Brotherhood isn't a bad film, just a very dull one. Watch this only if it's late and you're home sick with the flu.
Review of The Brotherhood
