alexanderdavies-99382
"Black Legion" is one of the more controversial films from "Warner Bros" and it should have made Humphrey Bogart a star. The film's premise is daring for the times, especially after the American Film Censors had clamped down pretty hard on Hollywood films in general. Bogart plays a factory worker who has had the same job for many years. He is a married man with a son and has an ordinary existence. At the beginning of the film, Bogart has the chance of being promoted to that of shop steward at the factory. However, he is passed over by a young worker who is from an Eastern European background. Angry and resentful, Bogart is coerced by a work colleague into joining a secret society that tries to rid America of all citizens who aren't born and bred Americans. The society is a thinly veiled version of the Klu Klux Klan, as aggressive and violent means are employed. Before long, Bogart is in over his head and it's not long before tragedy occurs. This is the kind of film that reflects the old fashioned kind of Republican politics and is disturbing because of that. The cast of talented actors do full justice to some excellent dialogue. The violence is quite stark and unflinching. I wouldn't be surprised if "Black Legion" ran into Censorship trouble. The film turns into a human interest story about how American society is reflected and portrayed via the politics from the secret society. Humphrey Bogart does very well in the leading role. If only "Warner Bros" had found more films like the above for him, Bogart wouldn't have been stuck in a rut the way he was until 1941. The climax is what you would expect from a film like this but it rounds up a fine film.
AaronCapenBanner
Archie Mayo and Michael Curtiz co-directed this hard-hitting drama that stars Humphrey Bogart as Frank Taylor, a machinist in a factory who loses a promotion to a "foreigner", and has his disappointment turn to bitter hatred when he is coaxed on by a co-worker(played by Joe Sawyer) to join a secretive organization called the Black Legion, which preaches violence against all foreigners. They resemble the Ku Klux Klan, and Frank gets sucked into this violent world, that turns him mean even to his own wife. When his friend and neighbor Ed Jackson(played by Dick Foran) becomes a target, Frank tries to get out, but it is too late... Compelling film is surprisingly potent for its time, and uncompromising in its content. A bit predictable and obvious at times, but remains most prescient and worthwhile viewing.
drystyx
Okay, so Bogie is great at everything, but what is he absolutely the best at? Here, we have a story about a group called THE BLACK LEGION, but clearly implied is that it is the KU KLUX KLAN.It is a well written account about how a very ordinary man is swept up into the group. We see hordes of men clinging to the safety of the group. When in the lynch mob, they become different.We see the man's life torn apart, but also the lives of those around him who just want to make their lives, and the lives of others a better place.We are given lots of views of what is taking place in this drama. The drama is full of action, too. It isn't the Macbeth like horror, but the more realistic, every day horror that is depicted, and how it gets out of hand.And that brings us to what Bogie does best. Like the Sierra Madre and other Bogie classics, he is the absolute best at giving us the villain with insecurities, the "realistic" villain, who we see fighting within himself. Much of this is clever writing, also. But it's hard not to think much of it is the genius of Bogart.Obivously a top film, and still as entertaining and interesting today as it was then.
calvinnme
1937's "Black Legion" tells a story of a man's involvement with what amounts to the Klan without coming out and calling it that. Humphrey Bogart stars as Frank Taylor, a working man who loses a bid to become foreman when a foreign-born man gets the job instead. The Legion is right up Taylor's alley, reinforcing his belief that his woes are all the fault of the foreign-born. He gradually gets more immune to the violence as he gets in deeper and deeper with the Black Legion. It really is a very good vehicle for Bogart's acting talent as his morality gradually unwinds. The sermon at the end seems a little tacked on, much like a similar scene in 1933's "Wild Boys of the Road", but it doesn't detract too much from the overall film.
AD
