Black Legion (1937)

Director:

Archie Mayo
(more)

Writers:

Abem Finkel (screen play) and
William Wister Haines (screen play) ...
(more)

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 | Machine Shop | Polish American | Fear | Immigrant

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Frank Taylor
Dick Foran	...	Ed Jackson
Erin O'Brien-Moore	...	Ruth Taylor
Ann Sheridan	...	Betty Grogan
Helen Flint	...	Pearl Davis
Joe Sawyer	...	Cliff Moore (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
Henry Brandon	...	Joe Dombrowski
Charles Halton	...	Osgood
Pat C. Flick	...	Nick Strumpas
Francis Sayles	...	Charlie
Paul Stanton	...	Barham
Harry Hayden	...	Jones
Egon Brecher	...	Dombrowski
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Don Barclay	...	Drunken Member (scenes deleted)
Joseph Crehan	...	(scenes deleted)
Paul Graetz	...	(scenes deleted)
Robert Barrat	...	Brown (uncredited)
Ted Bliss	...	Radio Announcer (uncredited)
John Butler	...	Jenkins - Auto Salesman (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler	...	Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
Larry Emmons	...	Man in Drugstore (uncredited)
John Hiestand	...	First Radio Announcer Breaking Story (uncredited)
Robert Homans	...	Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Charles Frederick Lindsley	...	March of Time Announcer (uncredited)
Wilfred Lucas	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Fred MacKaye	...	Third Radio Announcer Breaking Story (uncredited)
Carlyle Moore Jr.	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Dennis Moore	...	Reporter at Jail (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Frank Nelson	...	Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Guard at Jail (uncredited)
Sam Rice	...	Extra on Bus (uncredited)
Frank Sully	...	Truck Driver's Helper (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	News Commentator (uncredited)
Max Wagner	...	Truck Driver in Diner (uncredited)
Billy Wayne	...	Jim - Diner Counterman (uncredited)

Directed by
Archie Mayo		(as Archie L. Mayo)
Michael Curtiz		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Abem Finkel		(screen play) and
William Wister Haines		(screen play)
Robert Lord		(story)

Produced by
Robert Lord	....	producer (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
George Barnes		(photography)

Film Editing by
Owen Marks		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Robert M. Haas		(as Robert Haas)

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson		(gowns)

Production Management
Frank Mattison	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Sullivan	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
C.A. Riggs	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Fred Jackman Jr.	....	special effects (uncredited)
Hans F. Koenekamp	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Gene Davenport	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
George Gordon Nogle	....	second camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
W. Franke Harling	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Howard Jackson	....	composer: March of Time sequence (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun	....	composer: music cues (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. (presents) (as Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (1937) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. First National Films (1937) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1937) (France) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros-First National)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Nothing's New Video (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros.

Trivia:

The film was inspired by a real case involving a racist/nativist organization called The Black Legion in Michigan, in which a WPA worker was murdered.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The movie end credits list the name of the character played by Helen Flint as "Pearl Davis" but throughout the movie - particularly during her courtroom testimony - her character is referred to as "Pearl Danvers."

Quotes:

Frank Taylor:How yuh doin', Ed?
Ed Jackson:Oh, terrible! I feel like a drill was driving right through the top of my head.
Frank Taylor:It might be a good idea to let out some of dat beer you slopped up last night.
Ed Jackson:Aw, quit riding me, will yuh?
Frank Taylor:Oh, I ain't even started on you yet. C'mon, let's eat.
Ed Jackson:No, Frank, I couldn't.
Frank Taylor:Oh, come on. Do you good. You gotta eat.
[He snaps his finger]
Frank Taylor:I got just the thing to straighten you out.
Ed Jackson:Yeah? What is it?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Taxi Driver (1976)

Soundtrack:

I've Been Working on the Railroad

A good one

Humphrey Bogart is first-rate in this thinly disguised story of the Ku Klux Klan and how it plays on the fears and prejudices of the poor and uneducated (and how it's run by the well-to-do and educated, a point often missed by reviewers). Bogart plays a factory worker who was expecting a promotion, only to see it go to a "foreigner" (in this case, a Pole--and, by implication, a Jew, which is where the Klan gets involved). Angry, resentful and worried about his future, Bogart gets caught up in a racist, Klan-like group called the Black Legion, which, in the manner of all fundamentalist right-wing terrorist groups, proclaims its patriotism and its "defense of God and country" against "dirty foreigners." The interesting thing about this film is that it really doesn't blame Bogart's character for what eventually happens; he's just a pawn in the political agenda of the right-wing business and political interests who actually control the group. Warner Bros. was known for its muckraking films, and this is one of its better ones. It took guts for Warners to make this type of picture during this particular period in American history; there was a strong resurgence of Ku Klux Klan activity all over the country--there was even a Klan parade, with thousands of hooded marchers, that passed directly in front of the White House in Washington, DC--and lynchings and racial murders were skyrocketing, especially in the South. While maybe not as strong as some would have liked, the picture still radiates the Warner Bros. passion for the underdog, and they did a good job here. Strong performances by the principals, tight direction by Archie Mayo and the usual Warner Bros. grit make for a first-rate film. Highly recommended.