The Brotherhood

Director: Martin Ritt Martin Ritt

Overview

In Martin Ritt's The Brotherhood, Kirk Douglas plays Frank Ginetta, an old-line Mafioso who resents the newer policies encouraged by his younger brother Vince (Alex Cord). Frank resists all attempts at modernizing his operation, whereupon Vince cajoles his father-in-law Dominick Bertolo (Luther Adler) to spearhead an inter-mob rebellion. Summing up Bertolo as a rat and a liar, Frank has the man murdered in a graphically brutal fashion. It is up to Vince to exact retribution by killing his own brother. Lewis John Carlino's screenplay includes many of the elements that would gain legendary status upon the release of The Godfather, including the dreaded "kiss of death." Star Kirk Douglas also served as producer.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/16/2021
UPC:	0032429351067
Original Release:	1968
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Language:	English
Time:	1:36:00
Sales rank:	48,646

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kirk Douglas	Actor
Alex Cord	Actor
Irene Papas	Actor
Luther Adler	Actor
Susan Strasberg	Emma Ginetta
Murray Hamilton	Jim Egan
Eduardo Ciannelli	Don Peppino
Joe De Santis	Pietro Rizzi
Connie Scott	Carmelo Ginetta
Val Avery	Jake Rotherman
Val Bisoglio	Cheech
Alan Hewitt	Sol Levin
Barry Primus	Vido
Michele Cimarosa	Toto
Louis Badolati	Don Turridu
Lalo Schifrin	Composer

Technical Credits

Lewis John Carlino

Kirk Douglas	Producer
Martin Ritt	Director
Lewis John Carlino	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Although its reputation can't help but pale in comparison to the cultural juggernaut that is The Godfather, this earlier mafia film infuses a simpler tale with similar moral complexity. Kirk Douglas and Alex Cord turn in fine performances as Frank and Vince, a pair of orphaned Mafia princes who find themselves on opposite sides of an internecine struggle with modernization. Like many gangster movies, The Brotherhood serves as an extended metaphor of the immigrant experience. Frank, with his long-suffering Italian wife (an impressive Irene Papas), represents the first generation while Vince, with his deliberately bland American bride (Susan Strasberg), embodies the second. Vince may immerse himself in an increasingly scientific approach to white-collar crime while Frank retreats to his Sicilian homeland, but their conflict inevitably gets settled the old-fashioned way. With its flashback structure, Lewis John Carlino's script extracts an air of escalating tension even from the film's opening scenes. The violence, when it occurs, is unsettling precisely because of its scarcity and intensity. The cinematography, by Amerigo Gengarelli and Boris Kaufman, may seem downright cheerful by today's post-Coppola, post-Sopranos standards. But by thrusting his film's abrupt denouement into the sun-kissed merriment of a family celebration, director Martin Ritt underscores the simultaneous pull and powerlessness of tradition.

All Movie Guide - Brian J. Dillard