The Brothers Rico (1957) User Reviews

Pretty good crime drama...with a weak/unbelievable/predictable ending

[nomoons11 · 7/10 · 27 January 2013]

This one I didn't have a clue what it was about when I decided to watch it. Being that Richard Conte was in it I expected more of the same with him. Lo and behold, he finally gets a role that's a little different from his usual bad guy/scumbag roles.

Eddie Rico runs and owns a laundry service in Florida and does really well for himself. He and his wife can't have kids so they decide to adopt but something in the way of and old acquaintance needs a favor derails his plans. His wife demands he doesn't do what they want but he has no choice...he's a former account for the mob. He still believes his old connections are "OK" so he tells her not to worry. His old friend from years back wouldn't steer him wrong. Turns out his brothers were involved in a killing and their bosses think one of them is going to squeal so they disappear. He's ordered to find them under the guise of they just wanna make sure "they're safe" under wraps. Eddie doesn't realize he's being used to find his brothers so his old connections can kill his brothers.

I will say that right up until the end this is a pretty good little film. For the lack of cast it had they really picked some decent B grade actors to make this believable. The tension and watching Conte play this clueless ex mob guy railroad his brothers to their death is sad. He thinks you really can be left alone when you leave the mob, but in reality, you can't. He's naive in this regard.

Richard Conte has always played the scumbag roles but this one is a tad different. He's an old mob accountant who really has no violent or bad guy tendencies. The real down point of this film is the end. It's beyond unrealistic. It just about wastes the entire film's effectiveness. Throughout you realize that this guy is not gonna get revenge through violence for them killing his brothers and he would turns states evidence instead. It's a pretty transparent conclusion throughout but the real "yeah right" in this is turning states evidence and his life in the end resumes to normal. This wouldn't happen lol. I've read enough news stories and books in my life to know that would never happen. He would have been relocated somewhere else with a new name. Not in this. Keeping up with every things ends up alright theme of Hollywood in the 50's, they just about give it a "G" rating ending.

Outside of the ending this is a really decent film. Not a great cast but it was well written and solidly acted without a doubt. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for someone to see. Well worth the time.

gangster noir

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 7 September 2013]

Richard Conte stars in "The Brothers Rico," a 1957 noir with James Darren, Larry Gates, Kathryn Grant, and Dianne Foster.

Conte is Eddie Rico, a former mob accountant, now in the laundry business in Florida and quite successful. The first few scenes are filled with sexual innuendo and show a loving, romantic couple who hope to adopt a baby soon. Then Eddie gets a call from his old boss, Kubik (Gates) who wants to see him on an urgent matter. Considering his boss as "Uncle Sid," he goes to New York against his wife's (Foster) wishes.

Eddie is approached by his brother Gino - he claims the mob wants him to go to St. Louis, and he's sure they plan to rub him out as he was part of a hit and the others who were involved are dead. Eddie advises him to go to St. Louis, that Sid wants him to lay low and would never hurt him. Kubik is grateful to their mother (Argentina Brunetti) who once stopped a bullet meant for him, so Eddie knows he will protect his brothers.

When Eddie meets with Kubik, he learns that his brother Johnny is married and no one has heard from him. However, his wife's (Grant) brother has been talking to the DA about a mob witness. Eddie assures Sid it can't be Johnny. Kubik wants Eddie to find his brother and talk to him. Eddie does, not realizing that they just want to find Eddie and kill him. He realizes his mistake too late.

This was a very good, edge of your seat noir, low on violence though suspenseful. It was on Empire's list of 500 greatest movies, so I wanted to check it out.

Richard Conte does a great job as Eddie, who trusts the wrong people. This was his kind of role, playing the tough son of an immigrant, mixed up with the wrong people, but with a good heart. James Darren, now 67, hasn't changed much except in recent years he's let his hair go gray.

One more point. Someone mentioned that the casting was ridiculous because there was a 26-year difference between Conte and Darren. Back in the '20s and '30s especially, women had children that died at birth or were stillborn - my grandmother had nine children and three lived. There is quiet a gap between the oldest and youngest in that family. That was not unusual.

Everyone is very good in this film, and as a point of interest, the woman playing Argentina Brunetti's mother was, in fact, her real-life mother. Recommended.

Pre-Godfather mobster violence with less theater and more grit

[secondtake · 8/10 · 23 April 2011]

The Brothers Rico (1957)

With Richard Conte's role of a lifetime, and a harrowing mobster scene that presages the Godfather in its casual viciousness, this is one heck of a movie. It sometimes lacks good old fashioned drama with the lighting and the camera-work, and some people might find Conte a bit reserved for the leading man under the gun, but the writing is really solid, the story well constructed, and the movie as a whole feels believable and tragic.

At the core is a situation is Conte as Eddie Rico, formerly an accountant in a ruthless mob, now running a legit business in Florida and about to adopt a kid with his charming and playful wife. But right in scene one he gets a call from an old mob crony. They need his help. Or they say they do, at least, and a thug shows up to "work" at the business. Eddie's two brothers are still in the mob, and have been part of a hit, and there is an investigation closing in on them all unless Eddie can help get his brothers out of harms way. He takes this to mean out of the country, but it becomes clear to everyone else, and eventually to Eddie, that they mean to kill at least one of the two brothers.

So with the clock ticking over an adoption ready that very day, and with Conte flying all over the country in a desperate bid to sort this out, we see a growing menace in thug after thug, place after place, from Florida to New York, where Mama and grandmother live, to a ranch in Southern California where one brother is hiding with his pregnant wife. What makes it hold to together especially is how sympathetic the brothers are as characters, and how evil the main mob man is even though he insists he loves the Ricos, and loves their mother like his own mother, and he wants only the best.

In fact, the one long speech from this thug, played by Lamont Johnson, is a precursor to Brando's role in "The Godfather," with a chilling mixture of honorable love and threatening obligation and accountability. Eddie is at first taken by the honorable part, the love part, and events have to show him the brutal truth.

And who is director Phil Karlson? An underrated master of these kinds of gritty, and not quite film noirish, crime and mob films in the 1950s ("Kansas City Confidential" and "The Phenix City Story"). I say not quite noir only in the sense that his films lack the over-the-top dialog and punchy lines of classic noir, and the filming is not as theatrical with angles, shadows, and dark night scenes. And if you like me prefer those noirish noirs, you have to step back and say wow, this is something really convincing and powerful, too. Some of Karlson's films are, in fact, film noirs at the core, but late noirs, no longer dealing with the loner finding his footing in an alien America, but still with a man against the world, as Eddie Rico is here. And the cinematographer here is Burnett Guffey, who would later shoot "Birdman from Alcatraz" and the legendary "Bonnie and Clyde."

This is a seriously interesting film. Flawed, yes, sometimes obvious and clichéd, yes, but at its best it's penetrating.

nope

[treywillwest · 7/10 · 22 September 2017]

This is part of the fantastic series put out by Columbia Pictures of "Film Noir Classics"- '50s B-movies from the studio's vault. The B's of the '50s took far more chances than the major Hollywood pictures of the era. If the headlining film appealed to the audiences of the time's need for a reassurance that the hope manifested in the emerging suburban phantasmagoria was real and true, the B-movie that preceded it gave space to the fears aroused by memories of the war, the revelation of the Nazi's atrocities, and the specter of nuclear war. The Brothers Rico feels quite distinctive even among the edgy Bs of the era. It gives an unusually honest depiction of a family's history and travails throughout the country. The son of Italian immigrants grew up in NYC and got involved in organized crime, moved down to Florida to realize the suburban ideal, while his younger siblings head west to California to escape the family's criminal legacy. The frank depiction of Italian-American culture surely endeared the film to Martin Scorsese. A road-movie as well as a Noir, with an acute sense of location, one can easily imagine it a favorite of Wim Wenders. This would be a near-great film except for one thing. Like Nightfall, another film unearthed from Columbia's vaults, Brothers Rico has, for its time, startlingly visceral depictions of sadism and cruelty. (The only thing akin in Hollywood A-films of the era would be those directed by Anthony Mann, but Mann's work offered depictions of the suffering of the violated, not so much of the perpetuation of suffering.) Both Brothers Rico and Nightfall offer as a condolence to the audience tacked on, artificial and utterly tone-deaf happy endings. In this way, they serve the functions of both A and B pictures. Give catharsis to those fearing the darkness, but assure them that the light at the end of the tunnel is real.

Good, But Not first-Rate

[dougdoepke · 9 May 2011]

Former gangland auditor is persuaded to locate missing brother before mob is compelled to kill him.

For a crime drama, that lengthy opening scene is a surprise. It's marital bliss all the way as Eddie (Conte) and wife Alice (Foster) cuddle up, providing a ton of promotional material for the censored 1950's. But more importantly, all the lovey-dovey defines Eddie's truly reformed character, plus Alice as a wife you'd want to come back to.

For a Karlson crime drama, however, the violence is oddly played down by a director who knew how to make the audience shudder. Instead, paranoia mounts as Eddie sees suspicious characters wherever he goes in search of brother Johnny (Darren). When Johnny is finally confronted by the mob, Karlson oddly passes over the potential of a centerpiece violent scene. I suspect that's because of censorship concerns given Johnny's youth and the emotional buildup preceding it. Also, note how abruptly the final shootout is handled, as if they're suddenly running out of film.

That early scene between Eddie and Kubik (Gates) is a minor masterpiece of treachery that carries through the rest of the film. As the oily family friend, Gates is simply superb. Excellent too is Harry Bellaver's smooth-talking local chieftain, who keeps appealing to Eddie's sense of survival.

As a whole, however, the movie is more a collection of good scenes rather than overall impact. Maybe because there's a curious lack of intensity to heighten the dramatic narrative. Whatever the reason, it's a good crime drama without being first-rate.

But Eddie you got even bigger troubles. You going to live.

[hitchcockthelegend · 6/10 · 12 July 2012]

The Brothers Rico is directed by Phil Karlson and adapted to screenplay by Lewis Meltzer, Ben Perry and Dalton Trumbo from a story written by Georges Simenon. It stars Richard Conte, Dianne Foster, Kathryn Crosby, Larry Gates and James Darren. Music is scored by George Duning and cinematography by Burnett Guffey.

Retired from the mob and happy in his new found family life, Eddie Rico (Conte) is pulled back into the underworld when word comes that his two brothers, who are still working for the syndicate, are wanted men.

Coming at the end of the film noir cycle, The Brothers Rico sits somewhere in between noir and pure crime drama. Conte's character is a classic noir protagonist, a man who is unable to shake of his past and gets drawn into the dark underworld by family ties. Waiting there for him is a surprise, and not a good one at that. The script is very well written, which in Karlson's hands paints a sinister mob underworld operating right under the noses of everyday folk. There's much talking and very little action for most of the running time, but the dialogue is strong, always imbuing the narrative with a sense of menace, background characters are always a threat and violence implied looms over proceedings.

However, in spite of it being well written and acted with great skill by Conte, Gates and the support cast, it's a dull visual experience and crowned off by a ridiculous "aint life grand epilogue". Top cinematographer Burnett Guffey is wasted here, the film is very minimalist in production, with the film often feeling like an episode of some TV cop show. There's a brief glimpse in the last five minutes of what Guffey could do, but that's it. Conte's character provides the ticket to the noir universe, but ultimately this represents the changing of the guard, a winding down of true film noir. From a viewpoint of the film being a crime drama that provides an observation of a crime syndicate as a real presence, Karlson's movie scores a more than safe 7/10. As a film noir, though, it barely registers and noir fans should expect a flat 5/10 movie. Rounded out I make it 6/10.

An entertaining story on the pawn players of a gang syndicate

[lokko53 · 7/10 · 24 July 2015]

An entertaining film noir as the genre was nearing its end. Here we had a look at the gangster-mob life from a different perspective. Richard Conte plays Eddie Rico who worked for his uncle Kubik. The film begins with an ominous phone call as Eddie is told he needs to take in a mob member who is hiding from the justice. Eddie complies although he wishes to not get involved. He is currently trying to adopt a child with his wife.

Eddie is called out by Kubik to find their missing brother Johnny. When Eddie runs into his brothers Gino and Johnny, he tells them to trust the mob and follow their instructions. Eddie believes that fidelity is still a virtue among the mob bosses. He is committed to the cause and will do anything to make sure his brothers continue to survive. As a noir, it moves from Florida to New York to Phoenix and California, becoming one of the few national noirs (there is none I can think of right now).

The film is shot in a minimalist fashion. Most of the sound is diegetic based on the scenes on screen. On several occasions, melodramatic music plays which actually tones down the suspense, but clearly it is a tool used by the director to deprive the viewer of expected non-diegetic music. Richard Conte and his wife are very playful in the early scenes and risqué for the period as they engage playfully in the bathroom. As a mob movie with an Italian background, it continues the early gangster movies but takes the angle of the people down the line who are at the mercy of those at the top.

The Brothers Rico is worthwhile as an entertaining movie if you enjoy film-noir and tracing the developments of gangster films.

CONTE AS THE BROTHER WHO HAS IT ALL...OR DOES HE...?

[masonfisk · 7/10 · 26 May 2021]

Phil Karlson's (Walking Tall/Ben) 1957 crime thriller starring Richard Conte. Conte is a successful businessman in Florida w/a happy home life (his wife however is infertile but they are in the process of adoption) & all of this is interrupted by a cryptic phone call summoning him to Arizona for a one on one conference. He goes & meets w/a man who has been pulling his strings for the majority of his & his family's life. It turns out Conte has been tied to the mob for some time & even though his current business concerns are legitimate, his brother (who's part of this capo's crew & has gone into hiding) has committed murder & the boss fearing if caught, will spill to the authorities decides to rub him out w/Conte's help. At first hoping his familial loyalty will convince him of turning over his brother (he actually believes him at this point), Conte instead flies out to California to warn a third brother to run away (even though his own wife is expecting) but all along as much as Conte tries to keep his movements close to his vest, the mob boss's minions are on him every step of the way. A demoralizing hero's journey is taken whereby the cold waters of reality wash over him in the worst possible way w/blood being the price to be paid. Conte is excellent here & his trek to the unknown plays like a travelogue of the worst kind as he city skips his way to a bitter truth. Co-starring James Darren (I remember him from TJ Hooker growing up) as one of Conte's brothers.

Let down by the ending but otherwise a fine fifties gangster film.

[MOscarbradley · 7/10 · 18 March 2022]

Phil Karlson may not be one of the 'great' American directors but he was a very fine genre director, specializing in tough, gritty gangster thrillers of which "The Brothers Rico" is just one. Richard Conte is the retired mob accountant who finds himself drawn back to his criminal past when one of his former associates asks him for a favour on the same day his brother confesses to carrying out a hit and Larry Gates is excellent as the mob boss who drags him back in. Others in a decent cast include Dianne Foster as Conte's wife, James Darren as the younger brother whose actions set the plot in motion, Kathryn Grant as Darren's wife and later director Lamont Johnson as one of the few 'good' guys.

The source material was a story by none other than Georges Simenon though you probably would never guess it. This is a good, old-fashioned mob movie, the kind that would sit nicely on a double-bill with either Siegel's "The Killers" or Boorman's "Point Blank". Conte spends most of the movie chasing after Darren while Gates' heavies close in and until the end action is kept to a minimum. You could say this is an American gangster film reflected through a European art-house lens. With a better actor than Conte in the lead it might have been a classic but even with Conte it still exerts a grip while the excellent black and white cinematography was the work of the great Burnett Guffey.

Takes The Word On Face Value

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 25 September 2009]

Towards the end of the noir cycle director Phil Karlsen came up with a really good crime drama about three brothers all involved to a greater and lesser degree with organized crime. The oldest, Richard Conte, was at one time the syndicate accountant. But he's retired now, running a laundry the boys have set him up with. His biggest problem now is that he and wife Dianne Foster are trying to adopt a child.

But brothers Paul Picerni and James Darren are still very much involved and at the dirty end of it. Picerni's a contract killer who just made a major hit and Darren drove the car. Darren's gotten married and disappeared and the syndicate heads are worried he'll turn state's evidence. His brother-in-law Lamont Johnson's already been to the District Attorney.

Conte has faith and trusts in the big boss Larry Gates who's been close to the whole family Rico, including their mother Argentina Brunetti who took a bullet meant for Gates way back when. So when Gates tells him to find Darren, Conte takes it on face value.

Of course it's all not that simple and it becomes a tragedy for The Brothers Rico all around.

The Brothers Rico made in the Fifties as it was could have been an anti-Communist film. The syndicate seems to be really well organized, from Little Italy in New York, to Phoenix Arizona, to Miami, Florida, they've got Conte's movements all tracked. Karlson really builds the tension up as Conte seems to keep running into old acquaintances, but just keeps going on trust.

Larry Gates who usually plays upright moral types on screen has that persona work for him as the syndicate boss who's just pulling the strings from coast to coast. His is the best performance in the film, followed closely by Harry Bellaver an amiable underboss in Phoenix who's just following orders.

Kathryn Grant is in this film as Darren's bride. This year that The Brothers Rico came out, she became Mrs. Bing Crosby. She'd keep working a few more years, but after that retired to raise the Old Groaner's second family. She registers well in her role as a pregnant bride in love.

The Brothers Rico is a gripping noir film, not one for the paranoid minded among us.

Mob going corporate is subject of crime flick from Karlson, Conte

[bmacv · 6/10 · 10 September 2001]

It's a long way from the Little Caesars, Public Enemies and Scarfaces of the earliest sound movies to the Godfathers, Goodfellas and Scarfaces Miami-style of more recent decades. Along the way, there were intermediate stages, and director Phil Karlson (99 River Street, Kansas City Confidential) tries his hand at one -- oddly enough, working from material by venerable French pulp-writer Georges Simenon. Richard Conte runs a commercial laundry and, with his new wife, is trying to adopt a child; after a tarnished youth, he's gone straight. The younger males in his family, it so happens, have not, and a syndicate kingpin sends Conte off to smoke out his youngest brother, in hiding, supposedly to save his life; the young squirt is played by 50s recording heart-throb Bobby Darrin. But Conte is just being used as bait.... The Brothers Rico introduces us to an all-American, corporate, impersonal view of organized crime, ranging from New York's Mulberry Street to palm-fanned Florida to the mobbed-up sunbelt of Phoenix -- and to a world where the terms "family" has lost all of its many meanings. Only the bottom line now counts.

bros rico

[mossgrymk · 8/10 · 29 May 2021]

Despite a horrible happy ending that still leaves a bad taste in the ol noir mouth and some really crappy acting from Kathryn Grant and Dianne Foster director Phil Karlson, as per usual, manages to snatch steak tartar from the jaws of Hollywood sausage. I'm especially impressed at how this fine action director can create an atmosphere of tension and menace without resorting to undue amounts of physical violence. In the first two thirds of the film, other than a very brief scene of one of the Rico boys being beaten, most of the mayhem is of the psychological variety as we see the slow, painful education of Eddie Rico into his naivete regarding the ways and means of organized crime that he had foolishly thought he'd left behind. Ably dramatizing this inner conflict is Richard Conte, one of the giants of the noir and crime genres. From an eager desire to believe that crime boss "Uncle" Sid has his best interests at heart to his sagging realization that the opposite is the case, Conte gives us a believable and powerful study in the dangers of self delusion. Ably assisting are three fine but too often overlooked late 50s/early 60s character actors; Larry Gates, who usually plays avuncular professors and DAs, chillingly effective as Sid, "Naked City" regular Harry Bellaver as a corrupt big fish in a small Calif. Desert town pond, and Rudy Bond as his none too bright flunky. So even though the denouement sucks and I would have liked more exploration of the very sick Sid/Eddie relationship I think even Georges Simenon, upon whose novel this film is based, would not have minded watching. Give it a B. PS...Great moody, black and white cinematography from Burnett Guffey of "Bonnie/Clyde" fame. I like how he renders Coronado Calif. Into Miami.

Wheeeeer's Johnny!

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 28 September 2009]

***SPOILER ALERT*** Being the local Miami Mob's top book-keeper for some twenty years Eddie Rico, Richard Conte, decided to go legit and open up a laundry business in Bay Shore Florida.

It's when things were going great for Eddie and his wife Alice, Dianne Foster, that a call came in from Miami to the Rico house from an old friend Miami Mafia under-boss Sid Kubic, Larry Gates. Kubik having his stooge Phil,Paul Dubov, do the talking for him whats Eddie to finds his kid brother Johnny, James Darren, so he can have a heart-to-heart talk with him. It seems that Johnny was the wheel-man in a Mafia sponsored hit on this hood Carmini with his older brother Gino, Paul Picerni, being the hit-man! Kubik the big hearted and understanding guy that he is now want's Eddie to track his little brother down and get johnny to leave the country before his fellow mobsters have him iced!

The word has been going around in mob circles, in both Miami and New York, that Johnny facing indictment for murder is ready to turn states evidence against his boss Kubik for a lighter sentence! The reason that Kubik isn't at all interested in Eddie's other brother Gino is that, unknown to Eddie, he's already got him and is about to have his brains blown out! Eddie who should have known better then to trust Kubik goes along with his plan to find and then get Johnny who's now married, with his wife Norah (Kathryn Grant) expecting any moment, out of the country only to lead Kubik, or his hit-men, straight to him!

***SPOILER***A tale of brotherly love gone astray with Eddie Rico in an effort to save his brothers in fact ends up having them murdered with him being unknowingly used, by Kubik, to track them down by their killers! It was Eddie's mom Moma Rico, Argentina Brunetti, who saw through Kubik's sinister plan and warned Eddie not to go through with it!

Very effective confrontation between Moma Rico and Kubik at the end of the movie. Eddie finally seeing the light in him having set his brothers up was on his way to the D.A's office to spill the beans, with his inside knowledge of Kubik's organization, on Kubik. It's then that Kubik and his hoods showed up at Moma Rico's apartment to do a job,or hit,on Eddie. As things turned out it was Moma, who once save Kubik's life by taking a bullet meant for him, not Eddie who was the one who put Kubik's life of crime and murder to a sudden and surprising end!

You dirty rotten stinking animal

[Ed-Shullivan · 5/10 · 25 June 2021]

"You dirty rotten stinking animal", these were the harsh words actor Richard Conte who plays the bookkeeper Eddie Rico blandly expresses to a Mr. Rogers type of mob boss Sid Kubik, played by character actor Larry Gates. This is a black and white 1957 film which softens the film's gritty under story which is that you don't mess with the mob. Some of the bad guys in this film were miscast and they could have been playing children's ice cream truck drivers rather than rough and tough hit men.

Yes, there is a plot in the film, but I wouldn't say that it was very suspenseful and I won't be putting it on my DVD film noir purchase list.

I give it a barely passable 5 out of 10 IMDB rating.

The Ricos

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 24 May 2022]

Except for some studio publicity shots, the three Rico brothers do not appear together. About eighty percent of the scenes feature Richard Conte as the oldest brother. His domestic life is depicted with a wife (Dianne Foster) who's eager to adopt a child; his work life is shown so that we know he runs a clean business, literally since he owns a laundry company; and his connections to an avuncular mob boss (Larry Gates) are downplayed, because he hasn't worked for the guy in ages.

However, his two brothers are still working for Gates. Both are now in trouble with the law as well as the syndicate. When Conte gets a call that something is up, he begins to worry.

Soon he meets up with the middle brother (Paul Picerni) who admits to killing someone and that their kid brother (James Darren) drove the getaway car. Darren scrammed to parts unknown, while Picerni has become a punching bag for some goons since Gates the kingpin is no longer happy with him.

Conte flies to Miami to meet with Gates to try and solve his brothers' problems. But this only creates problems for Conte. He is told that he needs to track down Darren, whom Gates fears will take a deal with the feds. Gates acts as if he just wants Conte to talk some sense into the younger brother. But he's really using Conte to hunt Darren down, so he can get rid of the kid.

In the next part Conte heads to New York and meets a man (Lamont Johnson) whose sister (Kathryn Grant) recently married the youngest brother and is now pregnant. Conte also stops by a candy shop run by his mother (Argentina Brunetti) who lives above the place with grandma (Mimi Aguglia, Brunetti's real-life mother).

Conte is told by mama that Darren contacted her awhile ago from California. Conte decides to hop a plane to Phoenix, where he will get a connector flight to El Camino.

The New York-based scenes reveal how close the Ricos are, even though they are in different regions of the country. There's a moment when mama realizes the extreme danger her boys are in and begs Conte to be careful. She prays before a statue of the Virgin Mary and tears seem to effortlessly stream down her face. Conte's interactions with her are very genuine.

This is followed by the sequence where Conte arrives in the southwest. He quickly drives to a remote area and locates his little brother.

They talk about the syndicate and how much trouble Darren has gotten himself into with Gates. At this point in the story Conte is still a bit naive, thinking he can fix everything...not quite figuring out that his brother is going to die soon.

Their discussion is interrupted by the wife (Grant) who has taken an instant dislike towards Conte. She becomes hysterical and goes into labor. Conte is forced to return to a local motel to wait for news. When he gets back to the motel, Conte has to deal with two of Gates' men (Harry Bellaver and Rudy Bond) who reveal that it's time for Darren to face the music. And if he doesn't, then Conte's days will also be numbered.

There's a powerful scene where Conte calls Darren and learns the baby was just born-- a boy that will be named after their late father. Only Darren's joy will be short lived. He must leave the house and walk out to meet some men who are going to kill him. If he doesn't go, then the wife and the baby, and the other people they are staying with, will also be murdered.

Mercifully, this death scene occurs off-camera. Though I think if it were remade today, we would definitely have it included where he walks off to his doom. We'd probably see his brutal killing play out on screen. Since the story is filmed without the death happening on camera, we have to rely on Conte's emotional reactions to fill the void.

There is a follow-up scene with Conte and Bond on their way back east, where Bond tells Conte that the other brother, played by Paul Picerni, was also killed. In that case, it was because he tried to double-cross the mob. This information is a turning point for Conte who decides that with both his brothers now dead, he has to take matters into his own hands to defeat Gates.

Instead of returning to Florida, Conte calls his wife and says he plans to head back to New York. He is going to meet with Grant's brother and cooperate with the feds. Conte's wife is now in danger and she must fly to New York as well. They meet up in a hotel room, where Conte outlines his plans to get money from the bank for her, his mother and his infant nephew.

While this is occurring, Gates gets wind of what's going on by a mob informant. He rushes to New York to confront Conte inside the mother's candy shop. There is a violent shoot-out which leaves no doubt that Gates has now been brought down.

Director Phil Karlson makes the most of these scenes, and there is not one wasted moment in this film. We get the requisite happy ending with Conte and Foster arriving at an orphanage to pick up the child they're adopting. As they step forward, they leave behind the old life they knew.

Good Film Noir With A Goofy Ending

[Mike_Yike · 6/10 · 26 May 2021]

I watched The Brothers Rico on TCM recently. From early on, specifically when Eddie Rico (Richard Conte) playfully tried to pull his wife into the shower with him it came across as a fairly contemporary movie. The bad guys who reenter the life of ex-gangster Eddie were not those Cagney-like fast-talking crooks that were seen in early 30s gangster films. These guys had a modern look to them in that they were cool and calm. When Eddie's brothers tried to exit mob life, they were ticketed for execution by the mob boss. One of the brothers was a new father.

With minutes left in the movie, mob kingpin (well played by Larry Gates) and Eddie meet. There is a shoot-out. Eddie is wounded but the mob boss gets his full comeuppance. Apparently there was no second-in-command or any thought of gangland retaliation because the last scene has Eddie, fully recovered from the bullet wound, and his wife happily entering an orphanage to adopt a child, something the couple were seen planning in the movie's first reel.

If the movie had a better ending free of Hollywood sugar, I would have given The Brothers Rico a solid 7. Apparently that was not in the cards, at least not in 1957. Still, not a bad film noir.

Hunted men

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 27 July 2022]

The idea of the film sounds rather generic and not much different from other lower budget films of the genre. It also though sounded interesting, and was looking forward to seeing Richard Conte atypically cast, or at least at the time, and in a role that isn't support or co-lead. The biggest draw into seeing 'The Brothers Rico' was director Phil Karlson, have seen some of his films overtime and have been impressed (while not considering him a favourite). 'Gunman's Walk' and '99 River Street' being standouts.

1957's 'The Brothers Rico' is not in the same league as those two, nowhere near, but it is a most watchable film in its own way. It is not a great film by any stretch and another film of the films seen recently that is a case of a tale of two halves (one great, the other ehh). A lot of elements however are done very solidly in 'The Brothers Rico', with the interest points not disappointing, and the film generally is recommended, but not in a wildly enthusiastic way.

Am going to begin with the good things. Some of the photography is slick and suitably moody and while with nothing extraordinary Karlson amps up the tension quite well. The music doesn't distract and at least fits. The script has many moments where it is taut and thought-provoking.

Did think that the first half was great and very intriguing, with some nice suspense. It's well acted with Conte excelling against type, James Darren suitably gritty (despite his character's decision making being frustrating) and Kathryn Grant making the most of little. Did like the chemistry between Conte and Darren, despite them not being believable enough as brothers due to the age difference, instead it is more of a partners in crime sort of partnership.

However, 'The Brothers Rico' could have been better. The second half is less good, suffering from a serious lack of suspense, truly illogical and stupid decision making (especially Johnny's) and too many over convenient and less than plausible coincidences that are too relied upon.

Furthermore, the skimpy budget does show in some less than tight editing and cheap sets and rear projection. The female roles are very underwritten and come to think of it not particularly necessary. The ending felt rushed and doesn't make enough sense.

Overall, uneven but worth seeing. 6/10.

characters need to be smarter

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 23 May 2021]

Eddie Rico (Richard Conte) receives a call from Phil in the middle of the night. He used to be an accountant for a crime syndicate. He's now out of the racket but Phil is demanding a favor. Phil wants a job from Eddie for Joe Wesson who turns out to be a real gangster. Eddie's brother Gino is desperate to escape to Cuba after doing a hit. Their other brother Johnny was the getaway driver and has since disappeared. Eddie tries to save his younger brothers while his wife is desperate to adopt a child.

Richard Conte is great for this role. I like this movie except for Johnny. I can accept the distrust but I can't accept the illogical thinking. They go crazy with bad reasoning. Eddie should be able to convince him to do something. I can't stand stupid people doing stupid things. Eddie isn't smart either. He should know better. He can't be that naive. I like the general premise but the specific writing leaves these characters looking stupid.

There's one nefarious nest of nattering nabobs . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 27 May 2021]

. . . which has bedeviled America since 1492, and it emanates from Italy. THE BROTHERS RICO document how these Italian Murder Hornets have horned in upon our American Homeland, contaminating everything that they touch. Italy is known primarily for its earthquakes, volcano-ravaged cities, political assassinations, low-life "friends" (such as The Fuhrer), pernicious poisonings and a godless narrow-minded sects cult which tries to lord it over the rest of the planet with mindless superstitious malarkey masquerading as "religion." These losers have always glorified and ritualized mass use of the "Death Penalty" (the more cruel and unusual the better), as THE BROTHERS RICO reveal. Nowadays no one can seriously argue that the USA is "better off" because of Chris Columbus, Al Capone or Lucky Luciano, and others of their ilk. "Operatic" screeching about forced marriages and demon barbers, nude paintings and sculptures or leaning towers and crumbling coliseums do NOT constitute "contributions" to Civilization!

Missed Opportunity for a Classic - The Brothers Rico

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 14 January 2022]

How do you change a gangster classic into a silly Hollywood fantasy written by someone who does not have a clue how organized crime works? Just ask the writers of this film. Just the description of the main character will give you an idea of their naive notions. A "retired" accountant for the mob? A former member of the mob who has gone straight? Please. You are either all the way in, or you are all the way out. There is no "retirement". This film is built on the premise that you can "go straight" after you have been an insider with the mob. Anyone who believes that should buy a bridge that is for sale in Brooklyn. Richard Conte does a great job with material he is given, as does Kathryn Grant and the supporting cast. But the ending of the film has absolutely no relationship to reality; not that Hollywood has to be real, but this one would have been far more impactful had the real ending been rendered, and I think that anyone with half a brain knows what that ending would have been. Sometimes, a realistic ending is far more powerful than some Hollywood fantasy.

First class Script

[sswren1 · 8/10 · 16 January 2022]

Way before "The Counsellor" this movie proved that there's no substitute for class, subtlety, a good script and flow to get a message across.

Not a four letter word in earshot no a disembowelled corpse in sight yet we knew we were dealing with ruthless people.

Those were the days.

Engaging Story, Deceptive Conclusion

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 11 May 2023]

In Miami, the former mafia accountant Eddie Rico (Richard Conte) is happily married with Alice Rico (Dianne Foster) and runs a legit laundry shop business. They are trying to adopt a child but, out of the blue, Eddie is contacted by phone in the middle of the night by the mobster Phil (Paul Dubov) that asks him to hire a man to work in his laundry. Then his brother Gino Rico (Paul Picerni) meets him on the street and tells him that he has killed a powerful mobster and their brother Johnny Rico (James Darren) has driven the getaway car. Eddie tells Gino to travel to St. Lois as ordered by the mafia, instead of traveling abroad as he wished to go. He receives another phone call from Phil that asks him to travel to Miami to meet the mob boss Sid Kubik (Larry Gates) that wants to see him. He travels and meets "uncle" Sid, who was saved by Eddie's mother in the past from a bullet and is considered as a member of his family. Sid tells him that the organization bosses are looking for Johnny, who got married with Norah Malaks (Kathryn Grant) and vanished. Nora's brother Peter Malaks (Lamont Johnson) went to the D. A. office many times and the bosses are concerned that he is cutting a deal to Johnny betray them. Sid gives money and a plane ticket to New York expecting that Eddie meets his brother and asks him to travel to Mexico. Eddie travels to New York to search Johnny, but finds betrayal and the truth about uncle Sid's real intention.

"The Brothers Rico" is a film-noir with an engaging story but a very deceptive conclusion. Eddie is an honest businessman and family man with his past connected to the mafia that finds the truth about the powerful Sid Kubik, who is considered a member of his own family. He leaves his beloved wife to save the life of his young brother but her discovers that he was used as a "sniffer dog" to locate Johnny. Unfortunately, the unrealistic and commercial conclusion with happy end is totally disappointing. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Irmãos Rico" ("The Brothers Rico")

I'm glad this was finally on

[laurmartin · 10/10 · 26 September 2009]

I had requested it for almost two years over on TCM's suggest a movie site. It's also being released to DVD as part of a film noir collection due out in November. Being a big fan of James Darren, he was the biggest reason for my interest in this film but it's also a pretty good film. Richard Conte is a good lead with Dianne Foster as his worried wife. Kathryn Grant and James Darren would play a couple a year later in Gunman's Walk also directed by Karlson. James Darren's two scenes as the youngest brother make you wish they had continued casting him in these types of roles, although I like the first two Gidget movies. Anyway Thank you TCM for showing this.

Once in the mob, only death can get you out.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 30 September 2023]

No matter how legit someone previously connected to a syndicate has become, once that past is sealed, there's no dissolving it off your record. One time mob bookkeeper Richard Conte has gotten into the legitimate laundry business, but no amount of soap can wash his hands of his past, or his family's. Brothers James Darren and Paul Picerni are still connected but have somehow vanished, and mob boss Larry Gates (another one with a clean public image) wants to smoke them out. Conte is contacted by Gates and later on Harry Bellaver, tightening the noise, and that's where the aspect of film noir comes in, threatening to spiral Conte's life out of control.

I rank noir on a darkness scale in addition to the overall quality, and as noir, this gets a C rating, while as a film overall, it's a B. At the start, it's your typical gangster melodrama (a genre often misidentified as noir), but as the darkness grows, so does the noir quotient. The men get better parts than the women here whom I found whiny and uninteresting, especially mother Rico (Argentina Brunetti) whose grasping personality is all the more marked by her shrill voice. Dianne Foster and Kathryn Grant dissolve in the background and Conte and Darren's wives. Gates and Bellaver are chilling as syndicate leaders. Overall not bad but pretty much formula.

Slow moving drama

[maxcih · 4/10 · 12 May 2019]

This really didn't feel like Film Noir. The plot wasn't that interesting, and there was little suspense or action.. Perhaps in 1957 it was novel to see someone flying from city to city, but most of the scenes are indoors anyways. Richard Conte does a good job acting his part, but the part given to him is a bit hard to believe.