The Brotherhood

The Brotherhood is a 1968 Technicolor mafia crime film, directed by Martin Ritt. It stars Kirk Douglas, Irene Papas, Alex Cord, and Luther Adler. The script was by Lewis John Carlino. Released by Paramount Pictures, while the film received mixed to positive reviews, the film bombed at the box office, with Paramount deciding not to produce another gangster film until it made The Godfather four years later. Plot A young American man arrives in Palermo by plane. A taxi driver at the airport immediately gets word to Frank Ginetta (Kirk Douglas), who hides, armed with a gun, until he realizes that the visitor he's been warned about is actually his younger brother Vinnie (Alex Cord). Frank happily welcomes his brother and takes him home, catching up on old times. But his wife, Ida (Irene Papas), reminds him that "they're going to send someone," suggesting that perhaps Vinnie is the one. In a flashback, Frank recalls better times in New York City, beginning with Vinnie's homecoming from military service and subsequent marriage to Emma Bertolo (Susan Strasberg). The father of the bride, Dominick Bertolo (Luther Adler) is a Mafia don, as is the groom's brother, Frank. And among those paying their respects as guests at the wedding are mob leaders like Egan (Murray Hamilton), Rotherman (Val Avery) and Levin (Alan Hewitt), who are the equals of Frank and Dominick in the New York region's organized crime.