Gangster icons Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart square off as rivals in the classic film “Brother Orchid” during a one-time showing Friday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. in the Harold B. Lee Library auditorium on level one as part of the Brigham Young University Motion Picture Archive Film Series.
Admission is free, but seating is limited. Doors open at 6 p.m. Children ages 8 and older are welcome. No food or drink is permitted in the auditorium.
Ann Sothern, Allen Jenkins and Donald Crisp are also featured in this Warner Bros. classic that the New York Mirror judged “one of the lightest and funniest pictures of the year.” The New York Sun called "Brother Orchid" a “top-notch picture of its kind, with all the laughs an audience can stand, an experienced melodrama, cast and director, and a story with an original twist to it.”
James D’Arc, curator of BYU’s Motion Picture Archive, will introduce “Brother Orchid” and provide behind-the-scenes commentary prior to the film in which Robinson forsakes the protection racket and uses a monastery as a hideout, with surprising results.
“This 1940 drama is a delightful mixture of comic send-up of the gangster genre and is also a story that will put a lump in your throat,” D’Arc said.
The BYU Motion Picture Archive Film Series is sponsored by the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, friends of the Harold B. Lee Library and Dennis and Linda Gibson.
For more information about the BYU Motion Picture Archive Film Series and its schedule, visit sc.lib.byu.edu or contact James D’Arc, (801) 422-6371, james_darc@byu.edu.
Writer: Hwa Lee
