Grade: C
Synopsis: A disgraced detective (Edward G. Robinson) punches out his boss and joins the mob, but one hood (Humphrey Bogart) doesn’t buy it.
Bullets or Ballots is an entertaining enough entry in the Warner Brothers gangster genre, albeit one that would be done better a few years later as the similar, but not identical, The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938). This time around, things are a bit more predictable, but lead Edward G. Robinson carries things well, playing a super-tough guy who ain’t afraid of nobody, see? MORE »
Posted 114 days ago in Movie Reviews and Humphrey Bogart. No responses
Grade: C
Synopsis: A hood (Humphrey Bogart) on the run from the law hides out at a boarding house, which he soon converts into a nightclub.
It All Came True is an entertaining comedy that works thanks to great performances from Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart.
Sheridan, who has top billing, shines in a charismatic performance that never feels too broad or over-the-top. She’s feisty, but levelheaded, and easy to root for. While there isn’t a whole lot of chemistry between her and her love-interest, second-billed Jeffrey Lynn, she still works. Indeed, if it’d been, say, William Holden, instead of Lynn as her love-interest, the film could have really clicked. MORE »
Posted 126 days ago in Movie Reviews and Humphrey Bogart. No responses
Grade: D-
Synopsis: A wrestling promoter (Humphrey Bogart) pits his lug of a grappler (Nat Pendleton) against an Ozark mountain man, with an Amazon blacksmith as the prize.
Swing Your Lady is awful. In fact, it may be the worst movie of Humphrey Bogart’s career. Yes, worse than The Return of Doctor X (1939). That disaster was so bad it was laughable. This disaster is just so bad. MORE »
Posted 126 days ago in Movie Reviews and Humphrey Bogart. One response
Grade: C+
Synopsis: After struggling to reestablish himself in society, an ex-con (George Raft) goes to work for a hoodlum (Humphrey Bogart) in order to finance his younger brother’s (William Holden) dreams.
Director Lloyd Bacon almost ruined Invisible Stripes. Usually, when it comes to casting, studios override directors to the detriment of the film—think 20th Century Fox’s nixing Billy Wilder’s choice of Walter Mathau for the lead in The Seven Year Itch (1955)—but here it’s the other way round. Bacon wanted to cast perennial lug Wayne Morris in the prominent role of George Raft’s character’s younger brother, but the studio, Warner Bros., insisted on William Holden, who’d just come off his breakout role in Golden Boy (1939). Bacon reluctantly agreed, but rode Holden mercilessly throughout production, up until Raft finally told the director to “lay off the kid.” MORE »
Posted 171 days ago in Movie Reviews, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. No responses
Grade: C-
Synopsis: After her husband gets mixed up with a gangster (Humphrey Bogart), a doctor (Kay Francis) seeks revenge.
King of the Underworld isn’t a great film, but it could have been a lot worse had Warner Brothers not used it as a means to humiliate Kay Francis. Francis, who a few years prior had been the top female star, was now considered box office poison, yet she still commanded a high salary due to her contract. In an attempt to get her to quit and thus void her contract, Warners gave top billing in this film to Humphrey Bogart and beefed up his part, at the expense of Francis’. MORE »
Posted 192 days ago in Movie Reviews and Humphrey Bogart. No responses
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