The Brotherhood

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 ...more

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 ...more