Dark Hazard

Interesting film about the early days of American greyhound racing based on W R Burnett 1933 Novel by the same name,I read the book it is above average and better than the movie for it goes into deeper character development and motives which is hard to do in a 72 minute movie. Few people realize it but WR Burnett was a greyhound owner and a huge fan of greyhound racing.The champion dog "War Cry" featured in the movie was actually owned by W.R Burnett.Greyhound racing as we know it today started in Emeryville,Ca. back in 1919.I believe the film was released in 1934 so the sport had been around for only 15 years when the movie was released.The filming of the actual greyhound race scenes were beautifully done,it even shows hurdle races which was later banned.

The movie has a great cast of well known stars of that time but Edward G Robinson is the star here,for he is in almost every scene.It is pre-code ,Buck the Edward G Robinson character makes reference to sexually satisfying his girlfriend which would of been cut out after the code was established also the ending is very positive which probably would of changed after the code was set up for most people looked at gambling as a vice back then.One mistake in the movie was it made reference to greyhound racing in Hawaii but it never existed there.

The movie moves along swiftly and covers a lot of years.Robinson does a convincing job in this film as a man who puts his love of greyhound racing over everything else.This is the only known movie totally based on greyhound racing.This film was remade a few years later as Wine, Women and Horses but Dark Hazard if far superior to the remake , the remake does star the beautiful Ann Sheridan which is its only attribute.

Dark Hazard (1934)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Great performances highlight this Warner melodrama about professional gambler Jim Turner (Edward G. Robinson), a man who decides to get married and stop his old ways of life or at least that's what he tells his new bride (Genevieve Tobin). Soon the two are on their way but Jim becomes addicted to gambling and it reaches the point to where the wife decides to leave him. DARK HAZARD is working with a "C" screenplay to say the least but there's no question that the cast is an exceptionally strong one and helps keep the film from falling apart. I think it goes without saying but Robinson easily steals the film as the down-on-his-luck gambler who places one bet too many. At least the role has quite a bit for the actor to do as he not only gets to play the gambler but there's romance, some laughs and a tender side story involving him an a race dog whose name is the title of the film. Robinson perfectly nails all the emotions and is certainly very believable in the scenes where the character breaks from all his gambling. Tobin is also pretty good in the film and it's clear that she and Robinson has some good chemistry together. They had previously made the horrid I LOVED A WOMAN but at least this role gives the two something to work with. Glenda Farrell plays her typical blonde/sex appeal part and does fine work with it. Sidney Toler has a hilarious bit early on picking on Robinson for a certain reason. Henry B. Walthall is mentioned in the credits but while his character's name is said, he never actually appears in the movie so I'm guessing his scene was edited out. Overall, DARK HAZARD features great actors doing strong work but in order for the film to have been better the screenplay still needed some work. At just 72-minutes there's not too much meat but fans of the cast will still want to check it out.

Is this movie about gangsters? No, it's about dogs! (Well, in a manner of speaking.) Eddie plays Buck Turner, a gambling addict who wins and loses large sums of money. Buck goes to a boarding house where he meets his future wife, Marge, who comes from the "right side of the tracks". After they marry, Buck tries to go "straight" with a respectable job, as a night clerk at the Northland Hotel.

Funny scene: The phone switchboard is alight with many calls, and Buck tries to answer them all. He listens quietly to the question of one caller, then responds, "Noooo, sir! You've got to have baggage!" One "customer" repeatedly bullies Buck and incites him into a fight, which gets him fired. Mission accomplished: the bully actually wants Buck to work for his organization, the dog track. Buck is back in the gambling racket… He becomes attached to one racing greyhound in particular: Dark Hazard. He wants to buy him, but his wife puts her foot down. She is not liking his return to gambling at all.

Later, Dark Hazard is injured in a race, and his owner wants to put him down. Buck saves his life by buying him for $25, and nursing him back to health. All the while, Buck and Marge have been going through many ups and downs in their marriage. Who will Buck side with, his wife or his dog? In 2017, an easy answer for most men, but this was a different era.

As an aside, I really love these 1930s Warner Brothers movies where they show the actor and the character name during the opening credits, so the audiences can connect the two. In this flick, they even gave credit to the starring dog. War Cry is the thespian who portrayed Dark Hazard.

Compulsive gambler Edward G. Robinson marries nice girl Genevieve Tobin and tries to settle down. His gambling and irresponsibility causes problems between them. Soon he's spending time with ex-girlfriend Glenda Farrell and his wife leaves him. Eventually he buys an injured racing dog named Dark Hazard and nurses him back to health, planning to make a winner out of him.

Fine role for Edward G. Robinson with a solid cast backing him up. Glenda Farrell is always enjoyable. Genevieve Tobin has the thankless role of the suffering wife. Sidney Toler plays the guy who gets Robinson back into gambling. Was remade just a few years later as Wine, Women, and Horses starring Barton MacLane and Ann Sheridan. This is the better version of the two but that one's not bad. Both are pretty simple programmers.

Dark Hazard is 80 minutes of sheer delight in this Edward G. Robinson '34 item directed by Alfred Green that I was totally unfamiliar with. Robinson gives a heart warming interpretation of a race track tout and gambler who falls for Genvieve Tobin, somewhat of a wasp with whom they have wedding bliss in California where he's hired to look after Sidney Toler's 1/3 interest in a dog track. His infatuation with gambling causes her to move back with her mother in (Ohio?); he follows her and patronizes the local dog track where he follows the horse Dark Hazard closely. After the horse is injured he buys it for $25 and nurses it back to health and wealth. He has left Tobin and goes back to his old flame, Glenda Farrell (at her intense best). Has all of Warner's fine snap crackle and pop ingredients of that era.