The Bloody Brood (1959) User Reviews

Thrill Kill Beatniks

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 18 April 2011]

The Bloody Brood would be a much forgotten film except for the presence of Peter Falk in his first big screen role. In his second big screen part that Abe Reles in Murder, Inc., Falk got an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. I have no doubt that his casting in The Bloody Brood led to the latter breakthrough part.

In this film Falk plays part hoodlum, part beatnik who when he sees an old man who delivered newspapers to the club he frequents die of a heart attack, he decides just for kicks to kill somebody. As has been pointed out before, echoes of Alfred Hitchcock's Rope and I also might add Compulsion which came out the same year as The Bloody Brood.

To satisfy his sick humor Falk feeds a telegraph messenger boy a hamburger with ground glass in it. The police are stymied in their investigation, but the kid's brother Jack Betts doesn't stop until he has the culprits identified and pulls a trick from the beatnik lifestyle to expose the culprits. I should also say that Falk's own greed has a lot to do with his eventual problems.

The Bloody Brood was an independent production shot in Canada and at that time Canadian production facilities weren't the greatest. Some of the noir stuff earlier in the decade had better values. Still Falk's performance is mesmerizing and gave a big clue as to what a great talent he developed into.

can your heart stand the shocking fact of BEATNIKS FROM TORONTO?

[jonathan-577 · 5/10 · 11 April 2007]

The first Canadian exploitation film ever made, with a way young Peter Falk playing a beatnik-gangster-mole who feeds a delivery boy 'a hamburger full of ground glass' - that phrase becomes a mantra as the Wonderbread protagonist-come-lately sleuths through the shocking and unseen world of the young bohemian! The beatniks are not shown as evil, they're just stupid dupes - that's nice. They're also viewed at a long arms-length via our virtuous heroes (there's also a girl, who is saved from an interesting life by mister blowdry). "The Mask" is later and greater Roffman, though it too depicts subcultural life as immoral and despicable while it cashes in on its allure. But why do ya think they call it 'exploitation'? It's got some energy, it's got Peter Falk, and it's competently shot when it's indoors. What's "Canadian" about this movie, I hear the tenured laggards inquire? Here's what's Canadian about it: it looks like Brits trying to look American only it's whiter than either.

Not a horrible film!

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 7 August 2008]

I gave the above summary because many might just assume that this low budget film stinks because it's included in the "50 Movie Pack--Chilling Classics" DVD set. This set and others by the same company are mostly films that slipped into the public domain because no one wanted them--they were THAT bad!! And, in most cases, the prints are just awful--often being dark, fuzzy or out of alignment. However, in the case of THE BLOODY BROOD, this film isn't bad at all--at least when you consider its rather low pedigree.

This film is a very low budget production that stars a familiar face (Peter Falk) as the bad guy. He's the unofficial leader of a group of beatnicks who generally don't look like beatnicks (especially Falk--though what can you expect from a counter-culture film made in Canada?). Everyone in the group comes to him for inspiration, leadership and it's implied that he's their drug connection (though oddly they NEVER said he was dealing drugs--I guess it could have been uranium or stolen lawn jockeys or whatever other illegal activity he was doing).

One evening, just for kicks, he gets the idea to kill someone for laughs and gets one of his flunkies to help. The unsuspecting victim is a poor delivery boy who is fed a sandwich laced with glass! When the kid dies, his brother vows to continue the investigation that the police don't seem all that interested in pursuing.

Generally, the acting is pretty good compared to other similarly budgeted films and the plot is pretty good as well. It's a nice variation on the famous Leopold and Loeb murder case that was dramatized in COMPULSION. While not as slickly produced and lacking the stars of COMPULSION, in some ways I preferred THE BLOODY BROOD since when the film ends there is an appropriate comeuppance--something that never really happened with Leopold and Loeb.

FYI--For a laugh, watch the scene where they show a close up of the Maynard G. Krebs lookalike as he plays the bongos. If you pay attention, you'll see that his hands and the music aren't even close to being in sync and the tune is significantly faster and different than the hands would indicate--now THAT'S talent!

Peter Falk as a cool beatnik psycho!?!

[Jens-28 · 7 August 1999]

As a kid I grew up watching Columbo, so seeing "The Bloody Brood" recently was an exciting experience. Falk plays Nico, a drug dealing thug, who hangs out at beatnik parties. Just like in "Rope", he talks about committing murder and getting away with it cuz he's bored with the scene, man! He feeds a hamburger laced with ground glass to kid who dies. The kid's brother starts to investigate the crime and infiltrates the beatnik scene.

The hip talk are priceless and Falk is brilliant and scary in his 2nd role - fans of Corman's horrorbeatnik epic "A Bucket Of Blood" (from the same year!) should be able to get their bongodrummin', poetryreadin' thrills! Not for squares, man!

I must not be cut out to be a beatnik

[manicgecko · 3/10 · 13 March 2006]

Nico, seller of dreams, off on an intellectual kick to give death a new meaning. OK nice premise but this movie is so SLOW. It makes me want to be square if this is what rebellion is like. There were some good parts, I can't believe I am saying this but I liked Peter Falk's character, the crime should have been perfect, and the over acting of Frances was even good for a few laughs. But I could never get into this movie. Maybe because the plot was so predictable Columbo could have figured it out without the "by the way" questioning. Perhaps I was expecting more gore since this was included in a Schlockfest movie pack called Gore and More. No, I think it is that I had to check my pulse repeatedly to make sure I was still alive, and had the snooze alarm set for every 4 minutes trying to keep me awake. I had to attempt 3 times to cover parts I slept through - Quite an accomplishment for an 1 hour movie. This is a completely forgettable movie - pass it over when you get the option.

Falk is good, but the film is kind of weak

[Bezenby · 5/10 · 9 February 2012]

Let's get one thing out of the way - I like Peter Falk. In this movie he's restrained, cold, and creepy. Shame the rest of the cast are rubbish.

Nico is a fireside philosopher to all the beatniks at the local hangout, giving them their kicks via parties and monologues about life in general, but he's also making his cash from selling them gear and has the mind of a lizard. He's down on the squares and after witnessing the natural death of a newspaper salesman, he plots to up the ante by murdering someone. Thing is, that someone has a brother who won't stop until he find's the murderer.

To put it simply - when Falk is on screen this film is a hoot. He's really playing a man without a soul who has to go to extremes to even feel anything (and even then there's doubt regarding whether or not that happens). He uses every single other character in the film and only looks vaguely surprised when it all backfires. However, a good half of the film is set around the victim's brother, and this makes the film slow to a crawl.

However - worth a look for Pre-Colombo Falk playing the bad guy, other than that, this film is for squares, daddy-o.

Sometimes it's hip to be square

[Red-Barracuda · 2/10 · 9 May 2011]

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.

I'm down with this scene Daddio!

[chaypher · 7/10 · 13 August 2013]

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.

It's a dreadful waste of time for viewer and actors alike.

[hitchcockthelegend · 2/10 · 4 March 2008]

Poorly acted, poorly scripted, choppy edited, and poorly transfered onto DVD, this film barely gets above sedate pulse rate mode. The plot promises much, man takes investigation of murder into his own hands due to ineptitude of investigating detective, well that last line I wrote is about as good as the film gets !. It would be nice if the villain of the piece was actually villainous, but sadly Peter Falk as Nico just doesn't instill any sort of menace and worse still is that he is surrounded by cartoonish followers who act like they are in a Bugs Bunny cartoon instead of the beatnik classic some seem to think this is.

There is no tension worth writing about, and the finale brings about cries of relief that it's over rather than the nod of approval I'm sure the makers were hoping for, I have no idea what the budget for the movie was, but if it was more than the price of a bacon sandwich then the makers should spend 52 weeks in the stocks whilst we throw rancid tomatoes at them.

I give it a generous 2/10 for the delightful Jazz beat score and the brave attempt from Barbara Lord to act with any sort of honest dignity in amongst the swamp of pain.

Pah.

Beatniks, bongos and boredom

[Zeegrade · 3/10 · 19 February 2010]

This film aged about as well as a used diaper at the bottom of a garbage can. The dopey hipster dialogue, complete with daddy-o's, "kicks", and nonsensical philosophizing gets old real quick. I understand this is a movie about the beatnik culture it's just the fact that it doesn't hold up very well in the twenty-first century. What's even more grating is the fact that I'm supposed to believe that Peter Falk as Nico is this Svengali-like stud whose every syllable is regarded as pure brilliance to these hapless dopes. After watching an old man die and doing nothing to help him except watch like a soulless goon, Nico gets the bright idea to kill somebody just for kicks as the kids like to say and when I say kids I mean adults who should know better. While racking up a huge long distance phone bill at somebody else's apartment Nico and his companion/possible love interest Francis discuss who their victim should be when a young telegram boy comes to the door. Telegram. Ha! Send a text message you cavemen! The messenger's name is Roy and he is invited into the swinging par-tay for a bite to eat by Nico. The next scene shows Roy calling his older brother Cliff complaining of a pain in his stomach until he finally collapses in death thanks to a burger laced with crushed glass that raptured his intestines. Wouldn't you know something was wrong after the first bite? Thinking they got away with an anonymous crime both of the thugs return to their too-cool-for-school lives like nothing happened. When Cliff hears the details about his brother's death he immediately suspects that he was murdered and begins his own investigation with the blessing of Detective McLeod who obviously has more important things to do. After checking Roy's last delivery list Cliff is brought to the apartment that the party took place at and the fact that it was Nico who was in charge there. While trying to infiltrate the world of these dolts he meets Ellie who pegs him for a square and wonders what his interest in Nico is. Once all the facts fall in to place it becomes apparent who was behind his brother's death. Cue the bongo solo.

Thankfully this was only sixty-eight minutes long as I don't know how much of this I could have handled. I spent my formative years in the eighties so I can understand if someone today watched a movie that constantly used "gnarly" and "radical" and "totally tubular" over and over again would eventually become sickened with what was considered cool way back in the day. Just try to imagine your grandfather chain smoking with his goofy chin beard and waxing poetic about nuclear war while banging inharmoniously on the bongos. Not a pretty sight? Well then spare yourself the agony of watching this. I get my kicks above the waistline sunshine.

Bloody, brooding, beatnik B flick.

[KennethEagleSpirit · 8/10 · 12 January 2007]

This movie is good. The beatnik scene, with its pseudo-intellectualism, is played to the hilt. The atmosphere brought to life via a knowledgeable use of black and white, with good sets and staging, helps a lot. Peter Falk ( and I'd never seen him play a role quit like THIS one before ) comes across as wonderful talent. Frankly, his portrayal of Nico has Oscar nominee written all over it. I've said it before and I say it here again ... Low budget doesn't mean no quality. This movie is good quality. Its a credit to the crime drama genre. And there is a sound psychology to both the plot line and the character development that I liked very much. Think: Peer pressure. The part I thought both funny and prophetic ... Heres the future Colombo with a detective on his tail. The name of the detective? McLeod.

I didn't feed him that hamburger.... You did!

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 2 March 2004]

******SPOILERS****** "The Bloody Brood" is a far better movie despite of how it's been packaged, something like "Psycho Beatnik Killers". It's a fairly good story about a thrill killing by two unstable as well as homicidal lunatics much like the infamous case back in Chicago in 1924 of Leopold & Loeb. The two thrill killers who murdered a young 14 year-old boy for kicks as well as trying to commit and get away with the perfect crime.

Nico, Peter Falk, is a small time hood who supplies drugs to clubs that are patronized by mostly Beatnik types. Nico at the same time likes to hang out in the clubs to talk wisdom and philosophy to an admiring group of Beatnik's. The Beatnik's think that Nico is not only super cool but a genius as well. Nico's sidekick Francis, Ron Hartmann, is a disgruntled director of commercials on TV who feels that the world doesn't see and appreciate his great talent as a film-maker. Francis feels that The only one who's hip enough to see his great cinematic skills is non-other then the ultra-cool and super intelligent Nico.

One evening at the club "The Diggs" as Nico was talking about the world situation and how screwed up it's because men like him aren't in charge old man Diogenis collapsed and fell dead. Nico is fascinated by Diogenis' death thinking that someone would die and then be totally forgotten like he never existed at all? All of a sudden an idea hit Nico about getting a real kick or high. Why not kill some nobody who'll never be missed!

Later that night at a party at a friends apartment a messenger boy Roy, Bill Kowalchuk, arrives with a package and Nico sees in the messenger boy the nobody that he was looking for. Nico invites Roy into the party and gives him a hamburger to munch on thats laced with ground. Later Roy later fell ill and died of internal bleeding. There's one thing about Roy that Nico's gargantuan brain overlooked, Roy had a brother Cliff, Jack Betts, and that would turn out to be Nico's undoing. Cliff would leave no stone unturned until he found and then brought those that murdered his kid brother Roy to justice.

What I liked about the movie is that it didn't put the Beatnik's in a bad light like you were led to believe by it's advertisements. Nico and his weak willed accomplice Francis were anything but Beatnik's but criminals and sick malcontents who used the unsuspecting as well as innocent Beatnik's for their own personal gains.

Jack Betts was very good as Roy's big brother getting to the bottom of the matter and finding out who killed him. Barbara Lord as Ellie more then personified the kind of young people who fell into the beat generation back in the 1950's because of their alienation from their families as well as from society. Also effective in the movie was Nico's two drug suppliers Studs, Bill Bryden, and Weasel, Mitchell Zenon, who got too greedy and had to be terminated by Nico's boss Mr. Stephanex, Rolf Golstan. In the end Studs and Weasel ended up terminating Nico.

But the best acting of all in the movie was that of Peter Falk. Falk at that time, 1959, in his career looked so much like one of todays top culinary stars of the Food Network Emeril Lagasse. If Emeril Lagasse were to kill someone with a hamburger it wouldn't be because he put ground glass in it, it would be because he packed it with too much salt and spices.

Amazingly dull and stupid film, running around 68 minutes, possibly of some interest to Peter Falk fans

[scsu1975 · 4/10 · 23 November 2022]

Falk plays Nico, who leads a gang of morons (we used to call them beatniks). An old geezer vapor locks in a bar. Falk waxes poetic over the body and remarks "no name, not even a number - that makes him a perfect square." No, that would be 1, 4, 9, 16, etc. Now Falk gets the brilliant idea that he can control death by deciding who and when somebody will die. So he invites a delivery boy into one of his wild parties and feeds him a burger containing ground glass. This sparks an immediate outcry in San Francisco, where the Town Council demands that fast food restaurants stop selling Happy Meals high in silicon. Since Ronald McDonald has an airtight alibi (he was in a motel room with Mayor McCheese), the police are stumped.

Enter Jack Betts, the very poor man's Clark Gable, who plays the victim's brother. In roughly ten minutes, he figures out where the crime took place. He tries to insinuate himself into Falk's inner circle, but stupidly carries his I. D. which is promptly lifted by some of Falk's gang. His cover being blown, along with his acting career, we see the obligatory beat down of Betts, which, oddly, makes him look even more like Gable. Meanwhile, in another part of town, the cops are shaking down the Wizard of Fries.

Eventually some of the gang turn on Falk and corner him in an alleyway. Is this the end of Nico?

Falk is okay, but early on, he acts like a robot (think of a cross between Al Gore and Vince Edwards). Even Edward Brophy had better neck movement. Betts is okay as well, but he's no Clark Gable. The few females in the cast are not worth mentioning.

I suppose if you like bongos and an occasional poem, you might enjoy this. Personally, I'd skip it and head to Burger King - but avoid the Whopper.

When Beatniks Attack...

[azathothpwiggins · 6 June 2022]

Nico (Peter Falk) is a nefarious smack dealer posing as the leader of a merry band of beatniks. He's also a psychopath who enjoys watching people die. One of Nico's victims has a brother named Cliff (Jack Betts) who becomes vengeful and delves into the dank underbelly of beatnik culture, looking for clues. He soon discovers that he's the only one, except for one woman (Barbara Lord), with a functioning conscience or brain.

THE BLOODY BROOD is packed with philosophical musings (aka: claptrap) about life, death, work, etc. There are classic quotes like: "Did he die, or was he murdered by life?" Wow! In addition, there are lots of wacky dance moves, important-looking goatees, bongo drums, and a sea of turtleneck sweaters!

Falk is sublime in his dastardly role, making us stare wide-eyed as he commands the stage!

So, pull up a throw-pillow, put on some sandals and Ray-Bans, and tune in to the scene...

The Beat Ain't All That Great

[Hitchcoc · 5/10 · 25 January 2007]

Sometimes things are so dated and out of the mainstream that they are hard to get into. While the acting was pretty good and the plot, like Hitchcock's rope, is OK., there is something really passe about this movie. I appreciated seeing a young Peter Falk. He has always been a favorite of mine. But the disjointed slangy dialogue and sort of insincere flattery doesn't work for me. On the other hand, we don't have much of a film history of the beat. That was interesting. It was the poets, mumbling semi-nonsensical verbiage; the bongo drums; all that. It is about the hanger's on. Maybe they were hangers on, even in the middle of it all. Oh well. It was interesting. As a caricature of the early fifties, it does OK.

Interesting Beatnicksploytation

[amosduncan_2000 · 7/10 · 3 June 2012]

I think this film is a cut above the general response on the board, and interesting beyond it being the cause of Peter Falk's first (and interesting) lead performance. Unlike the more playful "Bucket Of Blood" this movie is down on the beatnik scene (in the way it's presented here, which may well have never existed) and tacitly blames it for the cruel mayhem at the center of the plot.

The acting is fairly good overall. The plot contrivances bring the movie to a fast conclusion, but this is probably all for the best. Well worth seeking out by those who enjoy low budget films trying to work a little thoughtfulness into the mix.

A Good Crime Drama

[Rainey-Dawn · 7/10 · 20 October 2016]

This is pretty darn good crime-drama - Peter Falk is our beatnik psycho who deals drugs and likes to kill people. He throws neat-o parties complete with bongo drummers and dancing chicks. But his favorite thing murder - murdering in creative ways (you'll want to think twice before you eat a hamburger after seeing this film... I don't think ground glass is a good seasoning).

It's a pretty cool story, some neat cinematography in some scenes, swinging artsy fartsy beatniks, a bit of jazz music and some bongo music, a bit of a dark film overall... makes a pretty good prime time film I think or a late night flick!

7.5/10

Honestly, it's pretty good, and not for all the wrong reasons.

[Weaselsarefree · 8/10 · 28 September 2011]

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.

Pay phones, bongo drums and men with pretty hair...

[yonhope · 7/10 · 14 December 2008]

This was released in 1959. It came out the same year as The many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Both productions feature a Maynard G. Krebs type character. Bob Denver's was a little more over the top and fun to watch. This movie is good. It is worth watching. Peter Falk does give a nice performance although it is doubtful this was a springboard for anyone. Maybe. Peter does his job well here as a bad guy who is the money man for a small group of criminals. This actually would have been a good vehicle for Elvis as the good guy trying to find the killer. Replace the poets and bongos with a tight 4 piece rock band. It is mentioned in the film that the long distance call is five dollars a minute so we can see some things have improved. This is similar to DOA and maybe both films as a double feature would be entertaining. This movie also needs more outdoor scenes with nice old cars that were new then. Also look at The Cheap Detective or Murder By Death if you like Peter Falk and detective yarns. A better title would have been easy to come up with, such as Burger Murder or Do You Want Everything on Your Burger?

Anything for Kicks

[richardchatten · 6/10 · 29 June 2019]

Just two years after their paths crossed on the set of this sleazy little exploitation quickie shot in Toronto, Peter Falk was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in 'Pocketful of Miracles' while cameraman Eugen Shufftan actually won for his work on 'The Hustler'!

In just his second feature film Falk feeds a delivery boy a hamburger laced with ground glass in a manner reminiscent of Leopold & Loeb, and was creepy enough find plenty of work for the next few years playing hoods before the role of Lt. Columbo found him a second niche as unkempt eccentrics.

Real horror happens in society among some not quite so civilized people.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 11 October 2018]

This is a case that would have Columbo both perplexed and disgusted, especially if he had to face the look-alike who committed a vile murder simply for "thrills". Peter Falk delivers a truly spine-chilling performance as Rico, a well dressed self-declared outcast from society who provides beatniks with places to party at a price. Along with cynical TV commercial director Ron Hartmann, Falk decides to kill someone just for the power and pleasure of it and choose a hard working young college student (William Kowalchuk) delivering a telegram as their victim. When the young delivery boy calls up his brother (Jack Betts) to tell him that he's in horrible pain then suddenly collapses (later dying), Betts decides he will find the perpetrators who fed him a hamburger laced with ground glass and make them pay. Clues lead him to the address where his brother tried to deliver a telegram, and several seemingly insignificant conversations make him realize that Falk and Hartmann were behind his brother's death. With the aide of one of the beatniks, a recovering junkie (Barbara Lord), Betts sets his plan in motion, but encounters with gang members and the suspicious Falk puts him in grave danger that just might meet his ending, too!

Watching my usual retrospective of horror films during the Halloween season somehow lead me to this one, a Canadian underground film that probably had some small release somewhere, but is little known commercially. Not a traditional horror film, it does however contain monsters of the human kind, ones who wear neckties, hold down day jobs yet have an abhorrence for society and the world in which they live and anybody "respectable". To see the poor William Kowalchuk die in such a horrific way may have you shaking. Betts eulogizes his brother to a cop friend as a kid who always wanted to make everybody like him and had hopes to be a doctor, so that makes the hatred towards the villains here even stronger. Falk's character is completely vile, a total scumbag you want to see go down in the worst way, but his performance is so mesmerizing that you can't take your eyes off of him. He got two Best Supporting Actor nominations the year after this and the following year, and it is obvious that his talent is enormous if he can make you hate his character this much yet be unable to take your eyes off of him. An amazingly disturbing scene has Falk watching a dying old man who has walked in to one of their hangouts, expressing delight at the opportunity to see death knocking at the door, yet somehow strangely sympathetic to someone he doesn't know or care about, as if he saw his own fate in the old man's eyes.

Mainstream Hollywood films couldn't dare tell a story like this because they knew that they'd lose a good percentage of their audience with such horrible characters on the big screen. But the independents and underground filmmakers could tackle the uglier side of the world, and along with Falk, Hartmann really expresses the horrors that are on the dark side of humanity. Even a shot of him working making a commercial don't hide his darkness as he begins to panic, not out of guilt but of worry of being caught, when he reads of the brutal murder in the newspaper. Ron Taylor, as another one of the beatniks, shows a gentler side of the outcasts of society, playing the type of "cat" that digs poetry, bongo drums and wild music to dance to, yet wouldn't stoop to the contemptible actions of his supposed "friends". Future soap actor Jack Betts, who played some delicious villains on the soaps (and was featured as Boris Karloff in "Gods and Monsters") is excellent as the determined brother. My only disappointment was with the jarring ending which not only was too easy on the bad guys but just came too fast and wasn't really satisfying.

Unknown...Unacknowledged...Down-Beat...Little-Seen "Beatnick" Sleeper...Darkly Confined Sets...Early Peter FalkFalk

[LeonLouisRicci · 8/10 · 11 July 2023]

Virtually Forgotten Among the J. D. & "Beat" Films of the 50's, Usually Only Referenced as Peter Falk's 2nd Feature Film.

But it has Much More to Offer than a Look at Falk at the Beginning of a Celebrated Career. "Spoiler" The "Colombo" Actor Looked Exactly the Same, Never Aging.

The Worst Part of the Movie is that it is too Short to Deliver a Lasting and Indelible Impression with some Abrupt and Awkward Transitions and Scenes Cut Short, that would have Benefited Immensely with some Breathing-Room for Plot and Ambience Development.

But What is Here is an Above Average B-Movie with Gravitas, Loads of Atmosphere, and Very Good Performances. It Captures the "Scene" Quite Well as Mixed-Up Crazy Kids and Young Adults Seek "Explanations" and Rebel at Life's Very Existence.

Falk is a Low-Level Mafioso Dealing Drugs to the Dregs Looking for "Kicks". A Psycho that Goes Off the Deep-End Murdering People Because...Well...Just Because.

Plenty of Bongos, Jazz, Street-Poetry, and Sexy Dancing. Contains Hints at Nudity, Free Love, and a Scene Puffing Pot, Almost Unheard of for the Time.

Add to That some Bloody Beatings (to be true to the title) and Hard-Core Characters.

Jack Betts, who had a Prolific Career in TV (108 Credits) and Supporting Parts in Films (played Boris Karloff in "Gods and Monsters" (1998), is Great as the Lead "Square".

The Movie Delivers the Goods, but Could Have Used a Longer Running Time to Really "Flesh" Things Out.

Highly Recommended.

Bloodthirsty beatniks

[MissSimonetta · 7/10 · 11 March 2020]

THE BLOODY BROOD is far more competent than you might expect from a low-budget shocker shot in sixteen days. The story is essentially an amateur police procedural, with the family member of a murder victim trying to sniff out who killed his brother for no discernible reason. His search takes him to the beatnik scene, a drug-laden, sex-crazed world of psuedo-philosophizing and amoral nihilism.

But chances are you're only watching the movie to see Peter Falk play a thrill-killer beatnik, am I right? That was my reason too.

Falk is amazing within the confines of this part, ever the cold-blooded hipster as he feeds his victim a burger laced with ground glass. He never overplays the beatnik angle like the other actors do. Falk dances on the edge of camp without quite going over it, so he actually carries some sense of menace. While the movie is interesting enough without him and never overstays its welcome at a brisk 68 minutes, Falk is what elevates the material and what will stick with you when it's all over.

"He didn't die. He was murdered by life."

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 9 August 2020]

Peter Falk is just great in his second screen role in this Canadian depiction of the "Beat Generation". Nico (Falk) is the self-appointed ringleader of a bunch of beatniks who deals drugs and violence, but still has to find ways to amuse himself. Determined to "make a statement" in regards to the topic of death, he ends up feeding a burger laced with broken glass to an unsuspecting delivery boy (William R. Kowalchuk). Soon, the boys' grieving older brother (Jack Betts, who's done everything from two "Sartana" films of the early 70s to mainstream titles like Sam Raimis' "Spider-Man", and "Gods and Monsters") decides to do some investigating of his own, infiltrating Nicos' crowd.

"The Bloody Brood" may not be truly "great cinema", but it deserves some respect for being one of the earliest Canadian-made films of any note. (The producer-director Julian Roffman went on to make the trippy, surreal 3D horror flick "The Mask"). Its depiction of the Beat Generation is quite a hoot, complete with "artistic" types like the poet Paul (Kenneth Wickes), and a bespectacled goofball named Dave (Ron Taylor). Cliff (Betts) does develop an attraction to Ellie (Barbara Lord), a lovely member of this crowd. Overall, this picture is well-paced (wrapping up in just 72 minutes), generally agreeable nonsense, with impressive, atmospheric photography by Eugene Shuftan, who won an Oscar a few years later for his shooting of the Hollywood classic "The Hustler". The jazzy score is quite engaging.

The acting from the able cast (also including Ron Hartmann as TV commercial director Francis, Robert Christie as Detective McLeod, and W.B. Brydon as thuggish greaser "Studs") keeps this consistently watchable, as well as a funny script with its fair share of loopy dialogue. (Four people collaborated on the screenplay: Anne Howard Bailey, Ben Kerner, Elwood Ullman, and Des Hardman.) But make no mistake: Falk, in a performance that commands ones' attention, is the main reason to watch.

This makes an interesting companion piece to another, much better known 1959 film, the Roger Corman / Dick Miller classic "A Bucket of Blood".

Seven out of 10.