The Brothers Rico

"Three hunted men and their desperate women..."

1957 1h 32m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 40

Crime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Eddie Rico, the erstwhile bookkeeper for a big Mafia boss, is now making a living as an honest merchant in Florida with his family. Things go sour when the police start a search for his syndicate-linked brothers who are on the lam after a big hit, forcing Eddie to get involved with the Mafia again.

“Three hunted men and their desperate women...”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Richard Conte
Eddie Rico
Dianne Foster
Alice Rico
Kathryn Grant
Norah Malaks Rico
Larry Gates
Sid Kubik
James Darren
Johnny Rico
Argentina Brunetti
Mrs. Rico
Lamont Johnson
Peter Malaks
Harry Bellaver
Mike Lamotta

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Phil Karlson
Writers: Lewis Meltzer, Ben Perry, Dalton Trumbo
Languages: Italian, English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

69 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Phil Karlson, shot by Burnett Guffey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by George Duning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Charles Nelson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Richard Conte and Dianne Foster and Kathryn Grant carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Three hunted men and their desperate women...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0050213 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Phil Karlson directs. Burnett Guffey behind the camera. George Duning scores. Charles Nelson cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Italian, English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

169 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, English, Spanish.
3Directed by Phil Karlson, shot by Burnett Guffey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by George Duning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Charles Nelson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Richard Conte and Dianne Foster and Kathryn Grant carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Three hunted men and their desperate women...".
8IMDB entry: tt0050213 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 40 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Original score: George Duning
Editing: Charles Nelson
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Brothers Rico (1957)

Also by

Phil Karlson

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-04-14
★ 6/10
But Eddie you got even bigger troubles. You going to live. 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 off 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.

Production companies