IMDb >
Brother Orchid (1940)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsBrother Orchid (1940) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 8 | slideshow) |
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
8 June 1940 (USA)
more
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. full summary | add synopsis
User Comments:
Searching For Class
more (14 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
88 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Of the five films that Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart made together, this is the only one in which neither is killed.
more
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.
more
Quotes:
Flo Addams:
Johnny, wait a minute. I want you to carry this with you.
Little Johnny Sarto: What is it?
Flo Addams: It's a rabbit's foot. A lucky charm. My uncle wore it for 32 years.
Little Johnny Sarto: A lucky charm, eh? Where'd you get it?
Flo Addams: From my mother. With her own hand she took it off of my uncle after they hung him.
more
Little Johnny Sarto: What is it?
Flo Addams: It's a rabbit's foot. A lucky charm. My uncle wore it for 32 years.
Little Johnny Sarto: A lucky charm, eh? Where'd you get it?
Flo Addams: From my mother. With her own hand she took it off of my uncle after they hung him.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Bullets Over Hollywood (2005) (TV)
more
Soundtrack:
My Little Buckaroo
more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (14 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Brother Orchid (1940)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Drama-comedy has a certain charm | suel41452 |
| 'Ya See' or 'See' | andywho2002 |
| DVD Release-- March 25, 2008 | dnscal |
Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Woman in Distress | Bonnie and Clyde | Paradise Express | The Boss of Big Town | King of Chinatown |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Comedy section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |








Brother Orchid is one strange movie that could have been a lot better. I've a feeling some key scenes were left on the cutting room floor and the writers could not have made their minds up about Ann Sothern's character.
Pretty standard stuff for Warner Brothers at first. Edward G. Robinson is a gang leader who runs a protection racket, but he's getting bored with it and just up and quits and leaves the whole shebang to his number two guy Humphrey Bogart. He takes his bundle and tours the world in search of 'class'.
Robinson's his usual tough guy, but what a fathead as well. He should have insisted on Ann Sothern going with him, did he really think she wasn't going to stray, especially with rich western rancher Ralph Bellamy panting after her. And of course Humphrey Bogart was simply going to step aside and let him resume after he told everyone he was through. As Bugs Bunny would say, what a maroon.
So when Robinson puts together a new mob and starts warring on Bogart, he shouldn't have been surprised when Bogart takes him for that last ride. And when Sothern is the one who sets him up, what's there to say.
That's the first half, the second half deals with a group of monks who find a half dead Robinson who wandered to their door and they nurse him back to health. Naturally he's grateful to Donald Crisp and the rest of the brothers. And Robinson gets a way to show that gratitude in the end.
Someone really screwed up though with Ann Sothern's character. We're first made to think she's pulling the doublecross of all time. And then later we're supposed to think she was duped by Bogart as well. I'm still trying to figure it out. It was one incredibly bad piece of writing.
Robinson and Bogart are always great when they get together. This was the last of four films they did at Warner Brothers where Robinson was the good guy. When they did their last joint film, Key Largo they had changed places in the firmament of shimmering stars. Bogey of course was the good guy in that classic.
Brother Orchid is the weakest of the five films that Robinson and Bogart did together, but the fans of both men will probably like it.