Brotherhood of Murder

Brotherhood of Murder is a 1999 American crime drama television film directed by Martin Bell and written by Robert J. Avrech, based on the 1988 autobiography by Tom Martinez and John Guinther. The film stars William Baldwin, Peter Gallagher, and Kelly Lynch, and tells the true story of the white supremacist group The Order, its founder Robert Jay Mathews, and the largest cash robbery in US history.^[2][3] It centers around group member-turned-FBI-informant Martinez and his involvement in the group. It aired on Showtime on December 12, 1999.

Brotherhood of Murder
Genre	Crime drama
Based on	Brotherhood of Murder by Thomas Martinez John Guinther
Teleplay by	Robert J. Avrech
Directed by	Martin Bell
Starring	William Baldwin Peter Gallagher Kelly Lynch
Music by	Laura Karpman
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Nelson I. Korchak Thomas DeWolfe
Production location	Vancouver
Cinematography	James Bagdonas
Editor	Nancy Baker
Running time	90 minutes[1]
Production company	Showtime Networks
Original release
Network	Showtime
Release	December 12, 1999 (1999-12-12)

Synopsis

Following his military discharge, Tom Martinez returns home to Philadelphia and learns his wife Susan is pregnant. He struggles to find work to support his family. After losing a job at a bakery, he begins working as a janitor where he is taunted by some black kids. He meets Walter West in a bar, who invites Tom to a meeting of The Order. There, he is introduced to Bob Mathews, leader of the white supremacist group.

The Order funds its activities by robbing video stores and armored cars. But their real source of income turns out to be counterfeiting. After Walter is killed as a traitor, Tom is apprehended by the FBI and used as an informant and witness in their case against The Order.

Cast

• William Baldwin as Tom Martinez
• Peter Gallagher as Bob Mathews
• Kelly Lynch as Susan Martinez
• Stephen E. Miller as Walter West

Background

The film is based on the self-published book Brotherhood of Murder by Tom Martinez and John Guinther about Martinez's recruitment into The Order, and subsequent involvement in the group.^[4][5][6] Filming took place in Vancouver.^[1]

Reception

Writing for Variety, Laura Fries described Baldwin's portrayal of Tom Martinez "sympathetic instead of believable", Lynch's performance as "listless", Laura Karpman's music as "uneven", and Nancy Baker's editing as "entirely random".^[1]

See also

• The Order (2024 film)