- Phil Karlson's The Brothers Rico is a surprisingly compelling drama that, along with Kansas City Confidential, 99 River Street, and The Phenix City Story, has helped me to appreciate Karlson as one of the more underrated film noir directors. Although Rico brothers Johnny (James Darren) and Gino (Paul Picerni) both play significant roles in the film, this is really the story of Eddie Rico (Richard Conte), a happily married businessman who learns the hard way that you can't leave the mob life behind. On the very same day that he and his adoring wife Alice (Dianne Foster) intend to adopt a child, Eddie is warned by his brother Gino that Johnny is under suspicion of informing to the FBI. Soon after, Eddie finds himself whisked away to Miami by "Uncle" Sid Kubik (Larry Gates), a friend of the family who also runs the local crime syndicate.
- As we soon learn, Kubik and the Ricos go way back to when the emotive Mrs. Rico (Argentina Brunetti) took a bullet for Kubik. As such, Eddie assumes that good old Uncle Sid really does want to help Johnny and his pregnant wife (Kathryn Grant) flee the country, which would spare further trouble for both the newlyweds and any gangsters concerned about Johnny's loyalty. A quick glimpse of Gino tied to a chair, however, quickly proves that Kubik is not nearly as loving an uncle as he claims to be. As a result, the audience realizes that Uncle Sid is out to kill Johnny long before the thought ever occurs to Eddie.
- The great thing about The Brothers Rico is that Eddie can't walk ten feet without running into one suspicious character or another. The first goon (William Phipps) shows up at Eddie's laundry company looking to hide out. Another suspicious fellow (Richard Bakalyan) serendipitously runs into Eddie outside of his brother-in-law's (Lamont Johnson) apartment. A glad-handing restauranteur (George Cisar) encounters Eddie at the airport, and a motel owner (Harry Bellaver) and his hired gun (Rudy Bond) await Eddie in his room. The exact plot details, particularly those involving the film's generally helpless and child-fixated women, end up being considerably less interesting than just watching Eddie navigate a confusing maze of sketchy characters, all of whom try to sound casual when asking about Johnny. Although the total number of brothers Rico is diminished considerably by the film's end, at least Eddie makes it out in one piece.
