The Brotherhood

1968: Martin Ritt, director; starring Kirk Douglas, Irene Papas, Alex Cord. A straightforward treatment of a fictionalized national syndicate, with Douglas as the old-school mobster who doesn’t want to go in on the Mob’s plans to compromise national security, resulting in the Mob’s revenge on their recalcitrant colleague. Notable for some scenes shot in Sicily, it was a box-office flop and scared studio Paramount away from other Mob-centric movies for four years, until the studio released a little movie called The Godfather.