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Bullets or Ballots (1936)

 -  Crime | Drama | Thriller  -  6 June 1936 (USA)
7.0
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Ratings: 7.0/10 from 1,358 users  
Reviews: 22 user | 10 critic

After Police Captain Dan McLaren becomes police commissioner former detective Johnny Blake knocks him down convincing rackets boss Al Kruger that Blake is sincere in his effort to join the ... See full summary »

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(screen play), (from a story by), 1 more credit »
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Title: Bullets or Ballots (1936)

Bullets or Ballots (1936) on IMDb 7/10

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Lee Morgan
...
Al Kruger
...
'Bugs' Fenner
Frank McHugh ...
Herman
Joe King ...
Capt. Dan McLaren (as Joseph King)
Dick Purcell ...
Ed Driscoll (as Richard Purcell)
...
Wires Kagel
Joseph Crehan ...
Grand Jury Spokesman
Henry O'Neill ...
Ward Bryant
Henry Kolker ...
Mr. Hollister
Gilbert Emery ...
Mr. Thorndyke
Herbert Rawlinson ...
Mr. Caldwell
Louise Beavers ...
Nellie LaFleur
Norman Willis ...
Louie Vinci
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Storyline

After Police Captain Dan McLaren becomes police commissioner former detective Johnny Blake knocks him down convincing rackets boss Al Kruger that Blake is sincere in his effort to join the mob. "Buggs" Fenner thinks Blake is a police agent. Written by Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Every real citizen should see it! See more »

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

6 June 1936 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Balas o votos  »

Company Credits

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 »
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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

"Bullets or Ballots" was so successful at the box office that it gave Edward G. Robinson the clout to negotiate a new contract with Warner Bros., which gave him rights of story and script approval and allowed him to make one movie per year for another studio. See more »

Goofs

When Johnny Blake and the cop on horseback get into a fight, after the fight is broken up, the cop isn't wearing his badge. See more »

Quotes

'Bugs' Fenner: You know, that hat on the bed might be bad luck.
Al Kruger: For you or for me?
See more »


Soundtracks

"The Lady in Red"
(1935) (uncredited)
Music by Allie Wrubel
Whistled by Edward G. Robinson
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User Reviews

 
Edward G. Robinson: A Tough Guy With A Heart
23 December 2006 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

This turned out to be a decent '30s gangster movie, not a lot different from a few others I've seen where Humphrey Bogart plays the bad guy and is the main adversary of the hero. Several films had James Cagney up against him; here it was Edward G Robinson.

Robinson plays policeman "Det. Johnny Blake," who goes underground, so to speak, by posing as a gang member to get the goods on them. (It's based on a real-life character.) Robinson, as usual, is very interesting to watch and is a tough guy BUT with a soft heart. In fact, he even feels bad about betraying the head crook because he has such principles of being a "straight shooter" that he doesn't feel right lying to anybody, even the gang leader "Al Krueger" (Barton MacLane).

Bogart plays "Nick Fenner," Al's number-one guy and is more of the villain than his boss. Joan Blondell gets second billing but that's not right because she's at least fourth in the amount of screen time and lines. There really is no real love interest in this movie; it's strictly a crime story.

When I first saw this movie, a little over a decade ago on VHS, I wasn't that impressed but last week, watching this on DVD, not only was the story better than I remembered but the picture was excellent. The blacks, whites and grays in here are beautiful. This was part of the "Tough Guys" DVD package and they did a wonderful job on the transfer.


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Bullets or Ballots ... excellent movie Classic_TV_82
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