Black Legion (1937)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

Robert Lord (story)
Abem Finkel (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 January 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Plot:

When a hard-working machinist loses a promotion to a Polish-born worker, he is seduced into joining the secretive Black Legion, which intimidates foreigners through violence.

Plot Keywords:

Foreman | Machinist | Chicken Farm | Machine Shop | Fear

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Frank Taylor
Dick Foran	...	Ed Jackson
Erin O'Brien-Moore	...	Ruth Taylor
Ann Sheridan	...	Betty Grogan
Helen Flint	...	Pearl Davis (Credits) / Pearl Danvers
Joe Sawyer	...	Cliff Moore (Credits) / Cliff Summers (as Joseph Sawyer)
Clifford Soubier	...	Mike Grogan
Alonzo Price	...	Alf Hargrave
Paul Harvey	...	Billings
Dickie Jones	...	Buddy Taylor
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Judge (as Samuel Hinds)
Addison Richards	...	Prosecuting Attorney
Eddie Acuff	...	Metcalf
Dorothy Vaughan	...	Mrs. Grogan
John Litel	...	Tommy Smith

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 (1937) | Finland:(Banned) (1937) | USA:Approved (PCA #2507)

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Banned in Austria, Switzerland, Cyprus, Finland, Trinidad and France. The ban in France was lifted after a year, and it opened to extremely negative reviews. Australian and British release versions were heavily censored.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Legion trusses Mike Grogan to the tree branch before flogging him, in the shot from the front both of his arms are fully extended from the branch. However, in the shot from behind, his right wrist is strapped to the branch with his arm bent at the crook of the elbow.

Quotes:

Cliff Moore: Read!
Frank Taylor: [reading the Black Legion oath] In the name of God and the Devil, one to reward and the other to punish, and by the powers of light and darkness, good and evil, here under the black arch of Heaven's avenging symbol, I pledge and consecrate my heart, my brain, my body, and my limbs and swear by all the powers of Heaven and Hell to devote my life to the obedience of my superiors and that no danger or peril shall deter me from executin' dere orders...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Warner at War (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Fancy Meeting You

Powerful, Punchy, Brave Tale.

A wonderful example of how good writing and strong direction can tell a tale which stands the test of time. Director Archie Mayo enjoyed a career directing films spanning some 30 years, and 84 titles.This one was Directed 20 years in and was number 67. It shows.None of the 83 minute running time is wasted, and if some of the characters come across as caricatures,it is only in the interests of brevity and pace.

A youthful Bogart delivers a fine performance as an ordinary working man of his time seduced by the specious ideology of the Black Legion, whose ideals clearly reflect that of a Ku Klux Klan very much alive in the US at that time.Although carrying a UK PG certificate, Mayo portrays flogging and beating scenes in a manner that although are understated, leave you in no doubt as to what is going on.

Traditional family, friendship and civic values are naturally triumphed, but the insidious nature of xenophobia and the crippling effect of moral rectitude are skilfully played out in a sharp, pacey story.

An almost textbook example of how to tell a powerful, entertaining story with a message in less than an hour and a half, with a fine Bogard performance merely the centrepiece of a strong supporting cast.