The Dark Horse

The Dark Horse (1932)

*** (out of 4)

The dimwitted Zachary Hicks (Guy Kibbee) gets nominated for governor through a complete mistake but since he's such a long horse his secretary (Bette Davis) suggests that they hire political spinner Hal Blake (Warren William) to try and help them win the election. THE DARK HORSE is a Warner comedy at its very best as we get a fun story, some pre-code moments and of course there's the terrific cast that really seals the deal. The majority of the credit has to go to the terrific cast, all of which deliver perfect performances. William has no trouble playing the fast-talking spinner who constantly has to be on his toes try to cover and make people like this idiot. Kibbee can play dumb like no other and he does it in a charming way. I think most actors would have been annoying playing a character as dumb as this one but Kibbee manages to make the character very charming and fun. Davis is basically reduced to a supporting role but it's fun getting to see her at this early point in her career and she has a nice chemistry with William. Vivienne Osborne is perfect as Blake's ex-wife who is a complete snake that you love to hate. Frank McHugh plays his typical comic relief role and does a nice job with it. I think the film works best when it's making fun of politics. The last portion of the film finds the ex-wife working for the other party to set up Kibbee and I think some of this was a bit too far fetched to be entertaining. Still, the terrific cast and amount of laughs make this a must see for fans of this era.