sol ***SPOILERS*** First of five movies that Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart were together in has Robinson as tough incorruptible and straight as an arrow NYC cop Johnny Blake infiltrate the mob in order to get the goods on who's behind it and paying off the local police and politicians to keep the mob immune from the law.Getting together with his boss police Captain Dan McLaren, Joe King, Blake has himself booted from the force for no other reasons then not having his tie straightened during the annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade. This ridicules charade on both Blake and Capt.McLaren's part is farther enhanced that during a boxing match at Madison Square Garden Blake belt's the police captain in front of mobsters Al Kruger and his #1 Man Bugs Ferner, Barton MacLane and Humphrey Bogart, in order to convince them that his firing by Capt.McLaren was in fact on the up and up.Impressed by Blake's actions which Capt. McLaren refused to press charges against him Kruger offers him the #2 spot, after Bugs Ferner,in him crime organization. Unknown to Kruger but not the smart and quick on his feet,in smelling a rat, Ferner Blake is planning to not only set him up but his bosses, a bunch of big Wall Street type, for the fall. That's in having the police headed by Capt. McLaren catching them red handed with the good's or money from their criminal enterprises like loan sharking bookie and the numbers rackets.Ferner who never trusted Blake and with good reason soon gets a bit ticked off with his boss Kruger in him being so naive and stupid in letting Blake in on his mob operations and offs, guns down, Kruger making it look like a rival mob boss did it. Blake who was promoted by Kruger as his #1 Man in now becoming the Main Man, after Kruger's murder, finally gets to see who's big or #1 boss or bosses, the Wall Street movers and shakers, and plans to set them up! That's before Ferner gets wind of what he's planning for them as well as himself! It's now a race against time in Blake getting his bosses to take the weekly numbers profits that he promised them before a mad as hell, in being double-crossed by Blake, Ferner gets to him first!***SPOILERS*** The what seemed like smart cookie Blake turns out to be as silly and self-destructive as his former and dead boss Kruger by for reasons known only to himself, and the movie script writers, has Ferner track him down at his secret hideout in downtown Manhattan to end up getting shot, as well as shooting Ferner in return, by him. With his girlfriend numbers racket gun moll Lee Morgan, Joan Blondell, giving him a lift in her car to Wall Street Blake brings back the bacon,illegal numbers money, to his bosses only to have them busted and thrown behind bars by Capt. McLane & his boys as soon as they laid their hands on it! As for Blake he'll never live to see what his heroic as well as brainless actions accomplished by dying from the wounds inflicted on him by Ferner that he, by not using his head, could have so easily avoided!

Michael_Elliott Bullets or Ballots (1936) *** (out of 4) A hard boiled detective (Edward G. Robinson) gets kicked off the force so a gangster (Barton MacLane) hires him onto the underground. Robinson pretends to be telling them how to stay clear of getting busted but a second hand man (Humphrey Bogart) rightly suspects the detective of just being undercover. Here we have yet another gangster film from Warner and yet another winner as the film contains some very good performances, nice action and some true drama. The actual story of a cop going undercover is certainly nothing new and the film really doesn't hit on anything new but that really doesn't take away from any of the entertainment. The story this time out is also rather low key and we don't get any major action scenes but that's okay because the dialogue is strong enough as are the performances to give us the drama we need. Robinson turns in another fine performance as it's always nice seeing him play the hero. MacLane does a very good job in his role as the top guy and of course it's always fun seeing Bogart playing the second fiddle. Joan Blondell does a fine job as well even though her character, a numbers runner and friend to Robinson, is underwritten. Then for comic relief we get Frank McHugh but he too doesn't have that well of a written character. In terms of the Warner gangster films this certainly can't compare to Little Caesar, Angels with Dirty Faces or White Heat but on its own it's a nice little drama that has enough appeal to overcome its weaknesses.

MartinHafer Okay, I'll admit that MOST of the Warner Brothers films of the 1930s starring actors like Cagney, Bogart and Edward G. Robinson were predictable and formulaic. But, they were also very entertaining and the public loved them. I happen to be a real fan of the films but know that they aren't exactly "high art" or always 100% believable! Well, this is such a film, as you really need to suspend disbelief and just sit back and enjoy--and boy, did I enjoy this dandy film.Robinson played a tough as nails detective who used to be a force to be reckoned with in the police department, but in recent years instead of smashing organized crime, he's been reassigned to more mundane activities. And, he's got REAL ATTITUDE, as when hoods see him on the street, he's likely to slug them if they don't show him "proper respect". At the same time, the grand jury is outraged by the proliferation of organized crime, so they appoint a new Police Commissioner. However, unexpectedly, this new Commissioner unexpectedly fires Robinson instead of having him return to his old mob-fighting ways! Now at this point, considering who Robinson's character was, it seemed obvious that his being fired was NOT "strictly on the level". Where this goes and how the movie wraps everything up, I'll leave to you.The acting is fun and exactly what you'd expect from an old gangster picture. The combination of Robinson, Barton MacLane and Bogart as the leads is exceptional and is sure to please, though I must admit that MacLane's character, at times, seems a bit stupid and gullible--he wasn't the best written character in the film.

bkoganbing Edward G. Robinson stars in yet another classic gangster film from the folks who did them best at Warner Brothers. This time his character of John Blake is based on real life NYPD detective John Broderick.Back in the day you would not have given much chance for Broderick to grow old and die in bed. Yet in 1966 that's what he did do. Back in the day too many of New York's noted underworld figures felt his knuckles in various parts of the anatomy.Broderick was independent, fearless, and honest, the last being a rather rare commodity in the days of and just after Prohibition. Good thing he retired before the Miranda decision. He didn't think that hoodlums had any civil rights.Because Broderick was so open and known to all undercover work was impossible. But in Bullets or Ballots Robinson is kicked off the force for excessive brutality and joins the hoods he's been beating on.But it's all an act. It's a deal worked out by Broderick and the Police Commissioner so he can go undercover and get the goods on the numbers racket. The ostensible heads, Barton MacLane and Humphrey Bogart and the respectable types they're fronting for.Though the ending is melodramatic, Bullets or Ballots holds up pretty well today. And who knows, Broderick's real life might yet rate a good biographical picture today.