The Bloody Brood (1959)

The Worst Film Ever

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

A drug-peddling gangster supplying the local Beatnik scene, gets bored of partying and comes up with a plan to commit a "perfect" murder. He gets his sycophantic sidekick to give a glass-laden burger to a delivery boy, who soon dies of his internal wounds. The inept local police department's enquiries quickly run dry so the victim's determined brother decides to continue investigating privately. He eventually uncovers the plot, and the culprits and tracks them down to meet out justice.Some of the cast give very pedestrian performances, but Peter Falk alone manages to rescue this otherwise average murder mystery and fully explores the dark depths of his character in every scene. He is thoroughly convincing as a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing Beatnik gangster, looking out of place among his Beatnik disciples but influencing them with his intellectual nihilism. The movie, although poorly written and directed feels quite atmospheric reminiscent of older Film Noir. The Beatnik theme of the movie doesn't go too far - this has a darker feel than other such films; Corman's "A Bucket Of Blood" for instance which is a more parodic portrayal of The Beat generation.

I haven't seen this film until now because, like the recent Hunger Games, the premise seemed repulsive to me. Since most of the key events were off screen I managed to plow through it. First, the basic story is ridiculous. Why would a telegram boy or anyone eat a sandwich with broken glass in it? Second, the $80,000 budget is too much when we see the phony quality of the sets, always indoors, and an alleyway that doesn't even have a real-looking car that can move without a tow chain. I could've made a more realistic film using a super 8 camera and giving all the parts to my friends and relatives. This was a lot of money back in 1959. Peter Falk is fine in the lead part, Nico, a gangster who uses his beatnik friends to commit the perfect unsolvable crime. I suppose the money ran out after he and Barbara Lord collected their salaries.

Upon watching a review of this film I instantly became curious about it. A juvenile delinquency film staring Peter Falk as a murderous counter culture member? Count me in.My preconceived notion about this film was that it was going to be another cheesy 1950s scare flick, somewhat in the vein of Ed Wood's 'The Violent Years.' What I got, however was a very well acted, well put together and memorable film which even my friends who are not into '50s B-movies seem to enjoy.The film focuses on two characters, the murderous thug Nico (Peter Falk) and Cliff (Jack Betts) the brother of one of Nico's victims. Nico is an implied drug dealer and popular member of the local counter culture, who becomes obsessed with watching people die after witnessing a man have a heart attack. Eventually, he decides he wants to see another person die, so he and a friend kill a delivery boy by feeding him a laced hamburger.The police are unable to solve the murder due to the lack of evidence which is generally involved in motiveless crimes, so Cliff decides to take matters into his own hands.I commonly regard this as one of the best B-Movies the 50s has to offer for reasons other than, 'so bad it's good.' The characters are interesting and well played; I really cannot think of a single actor who played their role poorly. I find the character of Nico's friend Francis to be one of the best acted. Francis was one of the murderers and was instantly paranoid upon witnessing the death of the delivery boy. His paranoia and anxiety is well played by the actor. It almost makes this film a case study in human behavior when at risk of being caught for a crime.Nico is interesting too, as a murderer he has a calm confidence about him, right up until his end. He is sly and cunning, and seems to understand the human condition well. Peter Falk does a wonderful job demonstrating his acting ability, making Nico a character the viewer loves to hate.I highly recommend this film to essentially anyone, it's available to view freely online and I recommend that you take a look. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Highly recommended.

Along with the much superior Bucket of Blood, this is another example of late 50's beatsploitation. Despite its horror title, The Bloody Brood is a crime-drama set in a Beatnik cellar bar. Similar to Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, this movie has two bored intellectuals deciding that they would like to kill someone just for kicks. This they duly do by feeding a message boy a hamburger laced with broken glass. Yech!Sadly, there is not a lot in The Bloody Brood to recommend. Peter Falk is good in a very early role, while the Beatnik vibe is mostly quite amusing. Other than these two factors though, this isn't very good at all. While it's mercifully short, nothing much of interest actually happens. It isn't really directed with much impetus and the whole plot line about the brother seeking vengeance for his brother's death is pretty tedious. Not too hip nowadays daddy-oh.