The central character in this story rather reminds me of Twain's story of "The Prince and the Pauper". In that story, a prince and a pauper changed identities for a while to see how the other lived. In the present story, Eddie Robinson's character suddenly changes from a gang leader to a monk. This transformation was partly accidental and partly voluntary. That is, the monks found Eddie near death on their doorstep, having been shot in a gangland attempted assassination, wandering through an obscure woods until reaching the monastery. That is the accidental part. He volunteered to stay on as a trial monk in a probational period. Since neither the monks nor Eddie had any money for him to be treated at a hospital, the monks took care of him as best they could. He recovered enough strength to soon become the most productive worker in the monastery. So, he was on the way to reinventing himself as a productive worker, self-supporting in most basic necessities, along with the rest of his brotherhood. Because one of his main jobs was to grow flowers for sale in the city, he decided that he should be referred to as Brother Orchid. However, he's almost thrown out, because he committed a transgression. After a defensive speech, it was decided to retain him. Although Brother Superior said the monastery never received newspapers, somehow Jimmy got a hold of one with an article about his ex?-girlfriend, Flo(Ann Southern), getting married to Clarence(Ralph Bellamy): from a western cattle ranch(I still don't understand what he is doing in the East?). Eddie knows Clarence, but is miffed that Flo would marry so soon after his reported apparent death, without a body. True, she's been strung along by him for 10 years without a marriage proposal, serving as the moll for his old gang, then waiting for 5 years for his return from a European tour to absorb some elite "class" into his personality. He should have married her and taken her along on his trip if he expected her to stand by him. As it was, his European tour was a financial disaster, returning broke after buying too many expensive artifacts and gambling away his money. He didn't seem to have any more "class" than when he started. He tried to resume his old position as chief of his old gang, but most of them weren't going to stand for that. Only Flo and Willie "the Knife" stood loyal to him. He started to raise a new gang, to be competitors of his old gang, headed by Jack(Humphrey Bogart). Flo wanted to try to get the two back together. She arranged a meeting between Eddie and Bogie in a rural tavern. Clarence was supposed to be there to help protect Eddie, in case Bogie had an unwanted surprise, but Clarence was knocked out before he got there. Eddie was "taken for a ride" by several of Bogie's men, and set to walking through the woods with a gun in his back. He got ahead and ducked into the underbrush, running to who knew where. He was wounded by a bullet or two, but managed to hide well enough, then fortuitously made his way to the monastery. When the flowers that Eddie was tending were ready for market, he saw his chance to contact Flo, by riding along in the truck to town. While Brother Superior went to sell them, he went to the most likely place for Flo to be. She fainted when she saw him, thinking him dead. He asked her why she double-crossed him setting up the nearly lethal meeting with Bogie. She replied that she didn't think Bogie would pull that stunt. He also questioned her about her imminent marriage to Clarence, saying he wanted it cancelled, as he was quitting the monastery and would be available for her to marry. Meanwhile, Brother Superior was unable to sell any flowers, because he had not paid protection money to Bogie's gang. I leave the rest of the story for you to see.Ann Southern made a beautiful moll, but her character had a weak personality. When Eddie went to Europe for 5 years, she should have demanded to he marry her then or forget about her in the future, since she had an alternative suitor not with a criminal record. Being a monk was somewhat like being in a prison. Evidently, Eddie had experienced some time in prison, as he once called Brother Superior "the warden" by mistake. So, perhaps being a monk wasn't quite as novel for him as we might think.The Warners were enthusiastic anti-Nazis. I wonder if we could equate the destructive parasitism of criminal gangs with that of the Nazis(who were essentially an extreme example of a criminal gang). The monks would then represent the average person, who performed legitimate services or made goods for sale or personal consumption. Economically, they were self sufficient, whether or not they were monks who raised much of their own food.At first, Eddie called the monks the biggest chumps he knew. Later, he revised his opinion of then to the people with the most "class" he had discovered. If we define "class" as having the most appropriate ethos, and most desirable lifestyle, Eddie changed his idea of "class" from aping the mannerisms of the wealthy and influential to serving others, presumably including God, as much as possible.

Brother Orchid (1940)Edward G. Robinson plays first fiddle here, a mob boss jaded with the business and leaving it in Humphrey Bogart's hands while he goes to Europe. For five years. He comes back broke, and he's surprised he isn't boss anymore. Ha. That's just the first twenty minutes. There are more mob doings, and then it takes an odd couple of twists that give the movie its distinction. "Brother Orchid" is fast, it's classic mobster stuff, and yet it's never hard edged and mean, as if it knows by 1940 the genre is old and people watching it have a bit of of nostalgia for it. (This isn't really true, however, as Cagney's most polished and possibly best gangster movie was White Heat in 1949. By the way, Cagney was originally slated for Robinson's role.) It is a light comedy around the edges, and Ralph Bellamy is the one truly comic character. But Ann Southern as the lead girl plays a lighthearted moll. The mood here is to entertain. The title is odd from outside the theater but it makes sense after seeing it, and it's this second half of the movie that makes it all a little too starry eyed, even if it's also tongue-in-cheek. But most of all, it's totally enjoyable. Bogart, who appears really for just a couple minutes of screen time total, is restrained and not the classic Bogart just emerging ("The Maltese Falcon" and "High Sierra" are both 1941). But Robinson is in usual top form, subtle, peculiar, convincing, sympathetic. He even delivers some very sentimental lines with such earthy conviction you can believe him. Almost.

Brother Orchid (1940) *** (out of 4) Gangster Little John Sarto (Edward G. Robinson) decides to take a break from his gang so he travels across the country for a trip. When he returns he expects to jump right back in but the new guy (Humphrey Bogart) throws him out on his face. Sarto ends up at a monastery where he begins a new outlook on life. This Warner film contains both laughs and gangster drama and the terrific cast makes it a must see for film buffs. Not only do we have Robinson and Bogart playing gangsters but we have Ann Sothern as Robinson's love interest, Ralph Bellamy playing a rival, redneck, Allen Jenkins as comic relief and Donald Crisp as the head of the monastery. D.W. Griffith fans will also find Wilfred Lucas in a small role as one of the brothers. The performances by all makes this a must see with Robinson leading the way in his typical tough guy role. He has no problem playing the big shot and neither does Bogart when he gets the shine. Seeing the two men acting together is always great fun even if we know what's going to happen in the end. I was also very impressed with Crisp and his calm performance. Bellamy clearly steals the film each time he's in a scene as that dumb, lovable redneck character he plays is so dead-on believable that you can't help but smile. The comic moments really aren't as funny as one would hope but that doesn't hurt the film too bad as the film is very fast-paced and full of nice drama. Again, the main reason to see this is for Robinson and Bogart so fans will certainly eat this up.

I admit that I am no expert but I do love old movies. Maybe it was the other things I had been watching recently but I really appreciated this movie. I certainly got a kick out of the fight between Robinson and Bogart.The plot has been reasonably well explained here so I won't repeat it yet again. I will say in summary that it is the story of a good person in a bad business and his voyage of discovery of himself. It is not really a gangster movie, that is just the package it is contained in and really not the key to enjoying the movie. One of the things that struck me during the movie was how much it helped me to appreciate Edward G. Robinson as an actor.In this movie he spouts about every cliché that was ever associated with his gangster roles. In fact if someone came up to you and wanted to know what all the fuss about Eddie G. was throwing this movie at them would give them a pretty solid understanding. Yet somehow he manages to communicate how much more depth and potential there is to the character as a person than what you see and hear. Given that he was a well educated guy in real life and the silliness of some of the things he has to say that is quite an accomplishment. His mannerisms and reactions are perfect and I found myself understanding the character better because of what he emoted than what he said.Though most of the plot is formulaic there are a couple of fairly humorous scenes with lively dialog. In fact there are a few that if you don't listen closely you will miss the joke. Another positive is that the humor lends to the plot rather than distracting from it. Something recent comedy-drama films could stand to remember.I will disagree with a couple of posters who said this movie was less than it could of been. I think that is pretty harsh and feel the exact opposite. Given the time, the quality of the script, etc. it is quite well done. People, myself included, always complain that 30's-40's morality plays are always very heavy handed and leave nothing to subtlety or the viewers imagination. Brother Orchid is one that, for me anyway, stayed with me and the message of the film is somewhat open to interpretation: For example: themes of being open to change, accepting where life takes you, you can't always get what you want, understanding yourself, etc. The other thing that someone stated was that Robinson's character was a moron for a)leaving Ann Southern behind, b) leaving the business to Bogie and expecting to get it back. I think they missed something, the character is a self-absorbed man searching and he just doesn't realize it. He leaves Ann Southern because though he cares for her that isn't the life for him. He can't commit. There are several oblique references to this through out the movie.If you are thinking of watching this for Bogie, don't expect much as he is little used but if you are looking for an under appreciated classic I think this is indeed one. I watch five to six old movies a week and this one stood out above the rest. Everyone has their own opinion but for me this was well worth the time and effort. A cut above most films of the period.