Brother Orchid (1940)

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Earl Baldwin (screen play)
Richard Connell (based on the story by: Collier's Magazine)
(more)

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 | Retirement | Runyonesque Characters | Flower Garden

Cast

Edward G. Robinson	...	Little John Sarto
Ann Sothern	...	Flo Addams
Humphrey Bogart	...	Jack Buck
Donald Crisp	...	Brother Superior
Ralph Bellamy	...	Clarence Fletcher
Allen Jenkins	...	Willie The Knife
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
Dick Wessel	...	Buffalo Burns (as Dick Wessell)
Granville Bates	...	Pattonsville Superintendent
Paul Phillips	...	French Frank
Don Rowan	...	Al Muller
Nanette Vallon	...	Fifi
Tim Ryan	...	Turkey Malone
Joe Caits	...	Handsome Harry (as Joe Caites)
Pat Gleason	...	Dopey Perkins
Tommy Baker	...	Joseph
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jimmy Aye	...	Gangster (uncredited)
Sidney Bracey	...	Steward Bringing Briefcase (uncredited)
Harlan Briggs	...	Thomas A. Bailey - Acme Paving (uncredited)
Louise Carter	...	Scrub Woman at End (uncredited)
Charles Coleman	...	English Diamond Salesman (uncredited)
G. Pat Collins	...	Tim O'Hara (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Artist (uncredited)
Jean Del Val	...	Frenchman (uncredited)
Frank Faylen	...	Parkway Biltmore Desk Clerk (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Parking Attendant at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited)
Mary Gordon	...	Mrs. Sweeney - Flo's Landlady (uncredited)
Creighton Hale	...	Reporter #3 (uncredited)
George Haywood	...	Reporter #1 (uncredited)
Max Hoffman Jr.	...	Policeman #2 (uncredited)
William Hopper	...	2nd Reporter on Return Ship (uncredited)
Armand Kaliz	...	Frenchman (uncredited)
Jack Kenny	...	Acquaintance (uncredited)
Sam McDaniel	...	Janitor Tripping Fire Alarms (uncredited)
Edward McWade	...	Aged Brother (uncredited)
Frank Moran	...	Louie the Lug (uncredited)
Leonard Mudie	...	English Diamond Salesman (uncredited)
Louis Natheaux	...	Gangster (uncredited)
Terry Nibert	...	Girl (uncredited)
Edgar Norton	...	Meadows - London Butler (uncredited)
Frank Orth	...	Waiter at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	1st Policeman at Buck's Hideout (uncredited)
Paul Porcasi	...	Warehouse Manager (uncredited)
Georges Renavent	...	Cable Office Clerk (uncredited)
George Sorel	...	Casino Attendant (uncredited)
Claude Wisberg	...	Albert - Bellboy with Dogs (uncredited)

Directed by
Lloyd Bacon

Writing credits
Earl Baldwin		(screen play)
Richard Connell		(based on the story by: Collier's Magazine)
Richard Macaulay		uncredited
Jerry Wald		uncredited

Produced by
Mark Hellinger	....	associate producer
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Heinz Roemheld

Cinematography by
Tony Gaudio		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
William Holmes		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Max Parker

Costume Design by
Howard Shoup		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack L. Warner	....	in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Maybery	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
C.A. Riggs	....	sound

Special Effects by
Byron Haskin	....	special effects
Willard Van Enger	....	special effects
Edwin B. DuPar	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Duke Green	....	stunt double: Edward G. Robinson (uncredited)
Allen Pomeroy	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Woody	....	stunts (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Robert Burks	....	montage (uncredited)
Don Siegel	....	montage (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Ray Heindorf	....	orchestral arrangements
Max Steiner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Hugh Cummings	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents) (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.) (A Warner Bros.-First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Video (198?) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Included in "Warner Bros. Gangsters Collection: Vol. 3")

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  DVD package design
• Turner Entertainment  VHS package design
• Warner Bros. Entertainment  DVD package design

Also Known As:

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

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:You know, to such a guy like me... love is like a scratch on the back. Sometimes feels good. But a guy can't go along all his life with an itch.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Footsteps in the Dark (1941)

Soundtrack:

Devil May Care

A Versatile Robinson, An Irrelevant Bogart

Worth renting or catching on late night TV, "Brother Orchid" is a 1940 hybrid, a film that uneasily coasts between comedy and drama. With both Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart capturing theater marquees with both violent crime and some serious drama roles this film is sort of a detour but it's a good one.

Robinson plays a gangster chief who quits the mob to undertake a long and financially ruinous Grand Tour of Europe. Returning to the U.S. he is astounded to discover that he can't pick up the reins he once held firmly and that his former underboss, Bogart, wants him out of the way - permanently. Bogart's talent is not very much on display in this movie.

Robinson winds up hiding in a friary populated by gentle souls and, of course, his condition is gentled under their patient ministration.

Ann Sothern is terrific as his "fiancee," a gang moll waiting long and patiently for the march to the altar. Ralph Bellamy is amusing as a Western rancher who exudes a patience and understanding more often associated with saints than cowboys.

For those who enjoy the pre-World War II Hollywood crime films this one is just different enough from the formula, and very violent, ones.