Black Legion

In order to fully appreciate this movie, a person needs to understand what the United States was like back in the 1930s. America was in the midst of the most severe depression it had ever known, with approximately 25% of the workforce unemployed at one time. That said, here we have Humphrey Bogart playing the role of Frank Taylor, who has worked at his job for many years, is well-liked, and happy. He is fortunate to have a good wife named "Ruth Taylor" (Erin O'Brien-Moore) and an adoring son. Unfortunately, because a Polish immigrant gets a promotion he thought was rightfully his, he angrily joins a secret society known as the Black Legion--and things take an immediate turn for the worse after that. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be a pretty good movie with Humphrey Bogart beginning to establish himself as the superstar he eventually became. One interesting aspect of this film is that he got to deviate from his typical "tough guy" role and showed a bit more emotion in this film. Additionally, even though Ann Sheridan (who played Ruth Taylor's next-door neighbor) gets more credit, I thought Erin O'Brien-Moore gave a truly excellent performance. The film was well-directed, had a decent supporting cast, and the original story was nominated for an Academy Award. Not only that, but the National Board of Review selected it as the best film of 1937. In short, this was a very good movie for its time, and I think anyone who gives it a chance will be glad they did.

Humphrey Bogart is first-rate in this thinly disguised story of the Ku Klux Klan and how it plays on the fears and prejudices of the poor and uneducated (and how it's run by the well-to-do and educated, a point often missed by reviewers). Bogart plays a factory worker who was expecting a promotion, only to see it go to a "foreigner" (in this case, a Pole--and, by implication, a Jew, which is where the Klan gets involved). Angry, resentful and worried about his future, Bogart gets caught up in a racist, Klan-like group called the Black Legion, which, in the manner of all fundamentalist right-wing terrorist groups, proclaims its patriotism and its "defense of God and country" against "dirty foreigners." The interesting thing about this film is that it really doesn't blame Bogart's character for what eventually happens; he's just a pawn in the political agenda of the right-wing business and political interests who actually control the group. Warner Bros. was known for its muckraking films, and this is one of its better ones. It took guts for Warners to make this type of picture during this particular period in American history; there was a strong resurgence of Ku Klux Klan activity all over the country--there was even a Klan parade, with thousands of hooded marchers, that passed directly in front of the White House in Washington, DC--and lynchings and racial murders were skyrocketing, especially in the South. While maybe not as strong as some would have liked, the picture still radiates the Warner Bros. passion for the underdog, and they did a good job here. Strong performances by the principals, tight direction by Archie Mayo and the usual Warner Bros. grit make for a first-rate film. Highly recommended.

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.

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?

At the time it came out Black Legion came from the B Picture Unit at Warner Brothers. Some of the players in it became A list stars later on. Nevertheless this was playing the second half of double features when first released. But it made a tremendous impact and viewing it almost 70 years later, still makes an impact.

Warner Brothers as the working class studio was the only one who could have made a film like Black Legion. Working class stiff Humphrey Bogart gets passed over for a promotion at a job, losing it to Polish American Henry Brandon. This makes him ripe for the propaganda of a nativist crew of nightriders who call themselves The Black Legion.

Another co-worker Joe Sawyer gets Bogart to join with a whole lot of bad consequences for just about every principal player in the cast.

Since this film was about ordinary people it had a great message to tell. We've had nativist outbreaks in America through out our history. The Twenties and Thirties with groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Legion were particularly bad. Bad economic times usually bring out either the best or the worst in people.

Humphrey Bogart is joined by a whole bunch of people from his film debut in The Petrified Forest. Joe Sawyer, Dick Foran, Paul Harvey, Eddie Acuff, it must have seemed like a reunion film. For me this has always been Joe Sawyer's career role for the screen. In The Petrified Forest he was one of Bogey's gang. Here he's the evil influence on Bogart, a nice reversal. He had a similar part in San Quentin.

Dick Foran is the Mercutio/Benvolio part here, the good friend to Bogart. He was actually a bigger name than Bogey at the time this was made, as he was starring in a bunch singing cowboy films for Warner Brothers. This was one of the few times he was show he could do more than he was usually given.

Films back then had a whole lot of stern father figures like Lionel Barrymore and Lewis Stone who could deliver lectures like no other. Capping this film is Samuel S. Hinds as a trial judge telling the Black Legion defendants what Americanism and the Bill of Rights is all about. Words to live by still.