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IMDbPro

Black Legion

  • 19371937
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
Humphrey Bogart in Black Legion (1937)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:42
1 Video
27 Photos
CrimeDramaFilm-Noir
A hard-working machinist loses a promotion to a Polish-born worker, he's seduced into joining the secretive Black Legion, which intimidates foreigners through violence.A hard-working machinist loses a promotion to a Polish-born worker, he's seduced into joining the secretive Black Legion, which intimidates foreigners through violence.A hard-working machinist loses a promotion to a Polish-born worker, he's seduced into joining the secretive Black Legion, which intimidates foreigners through violence.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
    • Archie Mayo
    • Michael Curtiz(uncredited)
    • Abem Finkel(screen play)
    • William Wister Haines(screen play)
    • Robert Lord(story)
  • Stars
    • Humphrey Bogart
    • Ann Sheridan
    • Dick Foran
    • Archie Mayo
    • Michael Curtiz(uncredited)
    • Abem Finkel(screen play)
    • William Wister Haines(screen play)
    • Robert Lord(story)
  • Stars
    • Humphrey Bogart
    • Ann Sheridan
    • Dick Foran
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 54User reviews
    • 29Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar

    Videos1

    Black Legion
    Trailer 1:42
    Watch Black Legion

    Photos27

    "Black Legion" 1937 Warner Bros.
    Humphrey Bogart, BLACK LEGION, Warner Bros., 1937, **I.V.
    Humphrey Bogart, BLACK LEGION, Warner Bros., 1937, **I.V.
    Humphrey Bogart in Black Legion (1937)
    Humphrey Bogart, Dennis Moore, and Lee Phelps in Black Legion (1937)
    Humphrey Bogart, Helen Flint, and Joe Sawyer in Black Legion (1937)
    Humphrey Bogart in Black Legion (1937)
    Humphrey Bogart and Erin O'Brien-Moore in Black Legion (1937)
    Black Legion (1937)
    Humphrey Bogart in Black Legion (1937)
    Eddie Acuff, Henry Brandon, Dick Foran, Charles Halton, and Joe Sawyer in Black Legion (1937)
    Dick Foran, Charles Halton, and Paul Harvey in Black Legion (1937)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Humphrey Bogart
    Humphrey Bogart
    • Frank Taylor
    Ann Sheridan
    Ann Sheridan
    • Betty Grogan
    Dick Foran
    Dick Foran
    • Ed Jackson
    Erin O'Brien-Moore
    Erin O'Brien-Moore
    • Ruth Taylor
    Helen Flint
    Helen Flint
    • Pearl Danvers
    Joe Sawyer
    Joe Sawyer
    • Cliff Moore
    • (as Joseph Sawyer)
    Clifford Soubier
    • Mike Grogan
    Alonzo Price
    Alonzo Price
    • Alf Hargrave
    Paul Harvey
    Paul Harvey
    • Billings
    Dickie Jones
    Dickie Jones
    • Buddy Taylor
    Samuel S. Hinds
    Samuel S. Hinds
    • Judge
    • (as Samuel Hinds)
    Addison Richards
    Addison Richards
    • Prosecuting Attorney
    Eddie Acuff
    Eddie Acuff
    • Metcalf
    Dorothy Vaughan
    Dorothy Vaughan
    • Mrs. Grogan
    John Litel
    John Litel
    • Tommy Smith
    Henry Brandon
    Henry Brandon
    • Joe Dombrowski
    Charles Halton
    Charles Halton
    • Osgood
    Pat C. Flick
    • Nick Strumpas
      • Archie Mayo
      • Michael Curtiz(uncredited)
      • Abem Finkel(screen play)
      • William Wister Haines(screen play)
      • Robert Lord(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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
      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

      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. That I will exert every possible means in my power for the extermination of the anarchist, the Roman hierar...

      [He has difficulty in pronouncing it]

      Frank Taylor: ... hierarchy and their abettors. I swear that I will die fighting those whose serpent trail has winnowed the fair fields of our allies and sympathizers. I will show no mercy but strike with an avengin' arm as long as breath remains. I further pledge my heart, my brain, my body, my limbs never to betray a comrade and that I will submit to all the tortures mankind can inflict and suffer the most horrible death rather than reveal a single word of this, my oath, before violatin' a single clause or implied pledge of this my obligation. I...

      [He pauses]

      Frank Taylor: Do I have to say dis?

      Cliff Moore: Say it!

      Frank Taylor: I will pray to an avengin' God and an umerciful Devil to tear my heart out and roast it over the flames of sulfur, and lastly may my soul be given into the torment that my body be submerged into molten metal... and stifled into the flames of Hell, and that this punishment may be meted out to me through all eternity. In the name of God, our creator, Amen.

      All: Amen.

    • Crazy credits
      The names of all characters -- the characters themselves-- the story-- all incidents and institutions portrayed in this production are fictitious-- and no identification with actual persons, living or deceased, is intended or should be inferred.
    • Connections
      Featured in Hollywood and the Stars: The Angry Screen (1964)
    • Soundtracks
      The Lady in Red
      (1935) (uncredited)

      Music by Allie Wrubel

      Whistled in part by Humphrey Bogart

    User reviews54

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Bogart Plays a Bigot
    Very unusual movie for Humphrey Bogart, made a few years before he would become a headline star for WB. He plays a machine shop worker who takes for granted that he will become his shop's new foreman because of his seniority. But when they give it to an educated young Polish-American instead, Bogie becomes resentful and angry. This leads him to joining up with a hate group known as the Black Legion, which is basically the KKK. The Black Legion has a pledge that has to be heard to be believed, so make sure you pay attention to it.

    Strong performance from Bogie, as well as a great supporting cast that includes Ann Sheridan, Dick Foran, Joe Sawyer, John Litel, Samuel S. Hinds, and more. A lot of people seem to pick on the movie for not being strong enough in its message, despite the fact that they can't point to any other movies from the period that were even brave enough to try this much. They did what they could do. It's a powerful movie, even if it seems watered down by today's standards. But today we aren't exactly living in the age of subtlety, are we?
    helpful•16
    0
    • utgard14
    • Feb 28, 2014

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 30, 1937 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Providencia Ranch, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 23 minutes
      • Black and White
      • Mono

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