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 ...
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Title: Bullets or Ballots (1936)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Edward G. Robinson | ... | Johnny Blake | |
| Joan Blondell | ... | Lee Morgan | |
| Barton MacLane | ... | Al Kruger | |
| Humphrey Bogart | ... | 'Bugs' Fenner | |
| Frank McHugh | ... | Herman | |
| Joe King | ... | Capt. Dan McLaren (as Joseph King) | |
| Dick Purcell | ... | Ed Driscoll (as Richard Purcell) | |
| George E. Stone | ... | 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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Plot Summary
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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 Keywords:
new york city | manhattan new york city | fired from a job | greed | no music |Taglines:
Can we bust this brain trust behind the crime trust? (Trade paper ad). See more »Parents Guide:
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
6 June 1936 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Balas o votos See more »Filming Locations:
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USACompany Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
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Al Kruger: For you or for me?
See more »
(1935) (uncredited)
Music by Allie Wrubel
Whistled by Edward G. Robinson
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
In the film, it is suggested that Joan Blondell's character got the idea of the numbers racket from her assistant, "Nellie". In reality, the numbers racket was pioneered by black gambling racketeers in Harlem. The "Nellie" character was based on Stephanie "Madame Queen" St. Clair (Nellie scoffs at being called "Madam Nellie"). As in the film, the numbers racket was eventually taken over by 'Dutch Schultz' (qav) and 'Lucky Luciano' (the Humphrey Bogart and Barton MacLane characters, respectively). 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
See more »
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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.