The Duke Brothers: The Unseen Comeback Of Comedy’s Greatest Villainous Duo

Played by Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche respectively, Randolph and Mortimer Duke were the main antagonists of John Landis’ 1983 comedy classic, Trading Places. A caricature of the ugliest side of Corporate America, the two Hollywood legends played their roles to perfection.

A pair of greedy, racist and sociopathic brothers, the Dukes were the wealthy founders of a successful commodities firm. Randolph, the elder and slightly more pleasant brother had always believed that anyone could achieve success if put in the right environment. Mortimer, a true elitist and the more openly antagonistic brother, was of the view that success was a hereditary trait inherited by a select few.

To test their differing hypotheses, the brothers make a twisted wager for a measly one dollar to see which one of them was right. They ruin the life of their loyal and successful managing director, Louis Winthorpe III (played by Dan Ackroyd) and take poor street hustler and conman Billy Ray Valentine (played by Eddie Murphy) into their company.

Randolph wins the bet. Winthorpe soon becomes unhinged and sinks into poverty and crime while Valentine grows into a successful corporate executive. However, Valentine overhears the brothers discussing the bet as well as their plan to illegally corner the orange market.

Now fully aware of the Dukes’ vile nature, Valentine decides to seek out Winthorpe and the two men succeed in getting their revenge against the brothers. Using their own scheme against them, Winthorpe and Valentine bankrupt the Dukes while becoming wealthy themselves.

It was satisfying for audiences to see the two villains reduced to abject poverty and blaming one another for causing their collective downfall. It was karmic justice for the Dukes and a lesson to audiences that no amount of money could ever excuse such disgusting behavior.

The Iconic Cameo

It seemed that Trading Places was going to be a one off film. A critical and commercial success with a satisfying ending that left no loose ends untied, there seemed to be no reason to revisit the lives of Winthorpe, Valentine and the disgraced Dukes.

However, audiences got one last glimpse of the iconic villains in 1988’s Coming To America. Once again directed by John Landis with Eddie Murphy in the starring role as well too, the Duke’s made a brief but very memorable cameo in the film.

After Murphy’s character, Prince Akeem passes a large amount of money to a homeless man, the camera zooms towards the World Trade Center as the theme of Trading Places begins to play. It is then revealed that the homeless man that Akeem had given the money to was none other than Mortimer Duke.

It seemed that in the five years since their downfall, the once wealthy Duke Brothers had been reduced to a pair of homeless bums, sleeping in the streets not far from the place where they lost their fortune. It also appeared that their relationship had yet to heal following the end of Trading Places.

However, all seemed forgiven as soon as both brothers counted the money they were given. Exchanging triumphant smiles with one another, the brothers seemed rejuvenated. They were last seen thanking Akeem before excitedly heading off somewhere else.

At the time, this was just passed off as a fun cameo. It seemed to be nothing more than a cheeky nod to a previous Landis and Murphy film while also giving a slightly happier end to the Duke’s story. After suffering on the streets for five years, they seemed to have gotten a break and appeared genuinely thankful.

Fans would like to believe that the experience helped Randolph and Mortimer change their ways. However, we soon see over three decades later, that this may not have been the case.

The Unseen Comeback

By the time of 2021’s Coming 2 America, both Randolph and Mortimer are long dead (as were the actors who played them). However, it was also revealed that their company was once again and was now in the hands of one of their grandsons, Calvin.

Judging by the fact that Calvin was just as racist and condescending as his grandfather and great-uncle before him, it seems that Randolph and Mortimer did not learn their lesson in the end after all. In hindsight, the Duke brother’s appearance in the original Coming To America was more than just a one-off cameo after all. In fact, it fully cements the fact that Coming To America and Trading Places canonically share the same universe

Based on what we are shown in the sequel, it is strongly implied that Randolph and Mortimer were able to swiftly rebuild their wealth with the money Akeem had given them. In fact, the two brothers seemed confident that they had returned to prominence as soon as the money was handed to them.

The fact that nobody seemed to stop them this time around may also imply more sinisterly that they had somehow gotten their revenge on Winthorpe and Valentine. While it is a daunting thought that these vile villains may have ended up getting the last laugh, this rather intricate side plot has raised quite a few questions.

Were their plans in place for Trading Places 2? Or perhaps some sort of movie featuring the brothers’ return to prominence and/or their revenge on the people who defeated them in the first place? Regardless of whether such ideas truly existed or not, I personally would have loved to see more of Randoph and Mortimer Duke.

While nobody can ever match the acting skills of the late Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche as the Dukes, something tells me that we have yet to see the last of the family that generations of audiences have loved to hate.