Film Review
After having played a host of hardboiled gangsters and decidely nasty
villains in a dozen or so films, Edward G. Robinson finally gets to
play the good guy, and does so with great elan and conviction in this
superlative noir crime drama. This is the film in which he
first appeared apposite another screen icon, Humphrey Bogart, who, like
Robinson previously, had become hopelessly typecast in tough gangster roles.
The two men would appear together in four more films, including the
classic
Key Largo (1948), in which
their roles are reversed, in more ways than one.
Bullets or Ballots is the
classic 1930s American gangster movie, developed from a story (based on
factual events) by real-life crime reporter Martin Mooney. The
film is directed with immense flair by William Keighley, a highly
regarded filmmaker whose other notable credits include
G Men (1935) and
The Prince and the Pauper
(1937). Cinematographer Hal Mohr does an excellent job,
effectively using lighting and unusual camera angles (a precursor to
what we now recognise as the quintessential
film noir
style) to build atmosphere and tension. Mohr is perhaps best
known for his work on Arthur Lubin's classic horror film
Phantom of the Opera (1943).
Whilst the film offers few surprises, it is meticulously crafted and
superbly played by a cast of highly talented performers. Robinson
is the perfect casting choice for the ambiguous character Blake,
combining the toughness of his earlier gangster roles with a gentleness
and nobility that was much closer to his off-screen
persona. Those who have only seen Humphrey Bogart in
Casablanca
(1942) and his subsequent films will be shocked to see the actor in
this film convincingly playing a psychopathic killer with no redeeming
features whatsoever - it recalls his unforgettable turn as Duke Mantee
in Archie Mayo's
The Petrified Forest (1936).
With his intense brooding look and the
staccato way in which he belts out his hate-filled lines, Bogart
is the definitive screen hoodlum, and here he is at his villainous
best. With so much going for it,
Bullets or Ballots can hardly fail
to be a rewarding and stylish example of its genre.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
New York newspaper publisher Ward Bryant embarks on a one-man crusade
against the racketeers who are, in his belief, wrecking the moral
fabric of his country. One crook who isn't prepared to tolerate
Bryant's interference in his lucrative activities is trigger-happy
mobster Bugs Fenner, who fills him with lead one evening.
Bryant's death triggers an immediate police crackdown, led by the newly
appointed Commissioner McLaren. Honest cop Johnny Blake is fired
for inefficiency and ends up being recruited by gangster boss Al
Kruger. Fenner is immediately suspicious of the ex-cop but Blake
proves his worth by setting up a lottery that proves to be the gang's
most lucrative enterprise. What neither Fenner nor Kruger know is
that Blake is working undercover to expose the men who are behind the
town's crime syndicate...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.