L'ultimo ricatto

Almost 30 years before John Wayne did his tribute film to Earl 'Red' Adair the famous fighter of oil fires, Edward G. Robinson starred as a man with an oil fighting company, married to Ruth Hussey and with a son in little Bobs Watson. But in Black mail he's a fugitive from a chain gang being convicted of a robbery he didn't commit and escaping. Robinson keeps a low profile, as low as he can, but it isn't the law that spots him.

No it's Gene Lockhart and he knows him from when the robbery was committed. It was when both were in the navy and Lockhart was the real thief, but got scared and the money from the ship's purser which he stole in Robinson's bunk.

Now the scurvy little sneak develops a new scheme after first ingratiating himself with Robinson asking for a job and then rats him out with an exchange for a confession. You have to see how this works and I can't believe Robinson fell for it, but Lockhart gets control of an oil well that Robinson has a lease on and Robinson goes back to the chain gang.

Gene Lockhart made a career of playing all kinds of rat roles, but he really tops himself in Blackmail. You will love seeing how he gets his in the end.

The chain gang scenes are copied well from the classic film from Robinson's home studio of Warner Brothers. Chain gangs are as bad as they were when Paul Muni was serving on them and he too was framed for the crime he was sentenced for by circumstance. There's also a nice supporting part for Guinn Williams as Robinson's lunkhead assistant who has a good heart and actually proves valuable to him.

Fans of Robinson will like Blackmail it holds up well after almost 75 years.

Tough guy Edward G. Robinson, who normally dominates every movie he's in, is upstaged in this one, a good, unambitious actioner, first by raging oil well fires, then by the sly performance of Gene Lockhart, as a particularly loathsome, scheming villain, complete with a baby talking Down East accent. The movie is otherwise unexceptional though very skillfully made at MGM, and features an innocent Robinson on the run from the law for a crime he did not commit. As his sidekick, Guinn Williams is presented as so moronic one wonders how he can hold down any job, much less function as E.G.'s second in command in such a dangerous profession as putting out oil well fires, but the ways of Hollywood are sometimes mysterious. The capable Ruth Hussey is wasted in the boring and irritating role of the wife, from whom we want the movie to get away as quickly as possible. Robinson at first seems out of place in the Oklahoma oil fields but is so robust as the hard-driving entrepeneur hero that this is easily forgiven, and besides, he always excelled at playing fearless men.

All chain gang movies take us on a journey. We start with a nice guy, usually innocent, being brutalized on a chain gang until he becomes a seething mass of controlled rage out for vengeance. This movie is no exception.

Edward G Robinson has been victimized before so his situation here is no real surprise. The surprise is the object of his rage. A total psychopath named Ramey, played by non other than Gene Lockhart of all people. The casting director in this movie was a genius. Who would have ever thought of this perennial nice guy as a villain. Crybaby Bobs Watson does his bit as EGR's kid Hank. Big Boy Williams is his loyal affable self. It is no wonder he stayed busy for decades. Only Ruth Hussy drops the ball in this one. She just doesn't seem gritty enough for this kind of melodrama.

It may sound crazy, but there is something comforting about the savage routine of a chain gang when compared to the terror of escaping and becoming a fugitive. You would think that every police force in the country has nothing to do but search for this guy.

I won't get into the ending - it's a little hard to swallow, but I think it's worth waiting for. Just remember, this takes place long before the Miranda decision. This is a little programmer that gets lost between "I Was a Fugitive From a Chaingang" and "Cool Hand Luke", but as chain gang movies go, this is a winner.

Here's to You Mr. Robinson. Even when Slightly Miscast and Upstaged by the Villain Edward G. managed to put Verve and Gusto in any Role. Here he goes from Family Man to a Rage Filled, Revenge Seeking Psycho Hell Bent on Saving His Family and Fortune from a Slimy and Totally Repugnant former "Friend".

There are some Minor Cringe-Inducements mostly at the Beginning with some Comedy Relief and Smarmy Family Stuff, but Once the Blackmailer Shows Up Things Kick into Overdrive and there are some Very Effective Chain Gang Scenes and a Suspenseful Escape.

The Oil Fires are Realistic and this is one of the Few Times that MGM tried to be Gritty and Deliver a Message. They were Aping Warner Brothers and did a Pretty Good Imitation.

Edward G. Robinson is rather implausibly cast as an oil-field firefighter named John Ingram who is even more implausibly married to beautiful Ruth Hussey. Turns out Eddie G. has a big secret in his past: he's a fugitive from a chain gang. Slimy Gene Lockhart shows up and tries to blackmail him. When that doesn't work, Lockhart cooks up a plan to steal Eddie's business and send him back to the chain gang.

Excellent work by Gene Lockhart. I've seen him in lots of movies, usually playing very similar roles in a very similar manner. But here he's playing a hobo shakedown artist -- with an accent, no less! He gives the best performance in the film, though Eddie Robinson is solid, as usual. Ruth Hussey is lovely and plays the courageous wife well. Guinn Williams plays Robinson's annoying friend. Some nice footage of the oil firefighters. The chain gang parts are a little reminiscent of a certain classic Paul Muni film. Diminutive Robinson's escape scene is lots of fun to watch, though. Look at him go! An enjoyable movie that fans of Robinson will enjoy. It's not one of his best but it's good entertainment.